New England Overland » m416

trailer update!

admin — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:28:19 +0000

Well, it’s been awhile. Been doing a bunch of commuting to NJ/NYC area that’s taken up a bunch of energy. I’ve finally managed to get the tub and frame to where I’d like them to be and mounted. I still have to complete a real tailgate, plus there are quite a few accessories I’d like to add still to come.

For now, this is what I’ve finished up with:

Still to come is mounting the new firestone NDT’s:

expedition trailer part 2

admin — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:25:21 +0000

So, I’ve been able to start the tear down process of my trailer I have found some pleasant surprise in the process, and some not so pleasant surprises. one of the best things I’ve found is that the flaking from the bottom of the floor that I *thought* was metal disentegrating, was actually a rust proofing coming off. The bottom of the pan looks pretty good. A little warped, and a pinhole or two, but other than that not too bad.

It’s down to the bare frame now:

A bunch of surface rust mainly, nothing rotted through. I’ll be putting a completely new spring set-up in.The old springs, shackles and such would only come out with a cutting wheel. Looks like I’ve got a few days of grinding ahead of me. After grinding, the frame will be cated in POR15, then painted in a chassis coat… probably black. Just because.

The parts bin is growing:

Expedition trailer project

admin — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:54:51 +0000

I’ve been looking for a military style trailer for a while now to use as an expedition/camping trailer. Although I’d have preferred a m101 Canadian style trailer, I did happen across a m416 that was for sale in Vermont. It’s been repainted a few times (poorly, I might add) and has been butchered a bit, but I think it’ll do the job nicely.

The two biggest areas of concern for me (besides rust of course!), is that the lunette has been cut off and had a 1 7/8 hitch welded over it. Not such a bad thing, except they also welded the lunette into the receptacle. My two options are to find a new lunette housing (preferred), or just cut off the remaining length of lunette and use the upper lunette mount. My hold backs to that are that a) it will look bad and b) the upper mount will probably give me difficulty in height for my hitch.

The other “modification” was to cut the rear panel out and replace it with a slide in tailgate. To make matters worse, the individual also welded angle iron to brace the sides. Unfortunately, he also welded them to the frame. So getting the tub off will require a bit of cutting. I’m still planning on how to attack that issue. I don’t mind a tailgate, I just would like it to come down and function as a table of sorts.
Check back for more progress!