CMT-F Tactical Trailer

[scranch18121]

They all looked pretty complete, all had rear outriggers, etc. Two had tarped area, two did not. Three had brackets on top of the wheel wells for the outriggers, one had them flipped up on the back and no wheel well brackets (you can just see it at the far right of the attached picture).

I'm a bad influence on Pawnshop! I told him I didn't know what they were for, but I LIKED them and was going to bid on one. He decided he wanted one too, so we ended up with both the tarped ones.

Mine has a square pad on the front landing leg, his has a wheel.

Once we recover them and get a chance to examine them more closely, we'll report back.

Cheers

I got the one in the front of the line. No tarp with a wheel on the landing gear

 

[61sleepercab]

deleted bad pictures

ROPS protection for Army pup tent? I recently bought a M103a2 deuce trailer with head board, fenders, canvas bows and no sides. The floor was 1/4 inch steel plate and had mounting holes and outline of a large genset (removed) in the floor. Top bows were bent 1X3? box tubing with a strip of plywood down the center. Your trailer's rack looks like Army overkill for something.Who knows?

 

[61sleepercab]

Sorry for bad attachments tried to delete them without success.

 

[Pawnshop]

We picked up the trailers today and STILL have no idea what it was used for. Inside, under the cloth cover, was a cargo net and ratchet straps to secure a load, but no sign of what the load was. The aluminum frame is very nicely made, looks machine welded, so I don't think this was fabbed on post (not that the Army can't weld, just sayin...) The data plate is blank in the "model" field so no clues there too (and I expect that to be a problem at the tax office). One nasty surprise was the lack of an intervehicular cable, it was cut off at the frame! I always have a set of magnetic trailer lights in my truck so I was prepared but M183RC had to go to the local TS to get his lit. It was a bit bouncy at first due to 22psi in one tire and 17psi in the other, once I made them both 17psi everything was better.

 

[M813rc]

In my defense, the magnetic tow lights were in my "originally scheduled" tow vehicle, they just didn't make the trip into the last-second replacement tow vehicle!

We did have extra lights, bulbs, adapters, and a bunch of other stuff, but all of it is just ballast without a plug cable...
But I needed a new set of lights for one of my civvie trailers anyway, so bought a set at TS and we rigged them very quickly to this trailer.

Any thoughts on these being genset trailers are now laid to rest, there is no indication that they ever had a genset in them.

They have 'arms' that stuck out the sides (which we had to unbolt to get the tarps off), and there are square frames ahead of the wheel wells, all of which have attachment points for something. So, the search for information continues...

Cheers

 

[bikeman]

Once I get settled, I'll start messing with FEDLOG and such to see if I can scrounge anything up. very confused with these things.

 

[M813rc]

I'm going to start carefully removing the paint used to cover up the unit markings (Pawnshop is going to do the same) to see if the previous-owner unit type will shed light on the use. If it belonged to the 143rd Pillow Distribution Co, or something, that info might get us on the right track.

GL apparently got the CMT-F designation from Scranch's trailer, since it is on his data plate. The others have an empty spot for model type.

Cheers

 

[Pawnshop]

Here are the photos from GL. If you Google image search "CMT-F trailer" the only images you find will be three of the four trailers in this auction, for some reason the photos of my trailer didn't come up (so mine is not pictured here). The unit with no cover and unpainted frame I believe is the oldest of the four, and actually has "CMT-F" in the model space on the dataplate and has no fender mounted stowage points for the stabilizing legs, it belongs to SCRANCH. The trailer with the cover and flat foot landing leg is M813RC's unit, mine is identical except it has a wheel instead of a foot. BOTH of the covered trailers had the intervehicular cable cut off at the frame, the uncovered pair had the cables intact. Inside the covered trailers was a cargo net and ratchet straps but nothing else. The covers are very well made and tightly fitted, it looks like it was made to be loaded from the front or back, side loading would not be easy due to the brackets attached on the sides. The framework is all aluminum and machine welded with threaded inserts for tie down loops and other unknown reasons. The trailer has holes drilled on the front and back lips for tie downs I assume, there are several rivets removed in the middle of the floor (to make a flat area I assume), otherwise no mods to the stock trailer that I can find. Due to the lack of information I am wondering if these are the only four ever made! The mystery continues...

 

[emmado22]

Schutt Industries or Silver Eagle made these trailers, call them up and give them the serial #. They may know what project the trailers were made for. Try it, you may get lucky.

 

[Pawnshop]

I had that thought this morning, I will email them a photo and see what happens, this one is a Silver Eagle.

 

[emmado22]

I'd have the serial # and reggie #, date or manufacture, and anything else at my fingertips when you call.

 

[Pawnshop]

I just found several Silver Eagle cargo trailers (M1101/M1102 style) with dataplates marked "CMT-C" with 1997 production dates. It appears that Silver Eagle used the "CMT" designation for their early contract trailers made before the surge brake system upgrade. CMT-C is the cargo variant and CMT-F would be the flatbed. Just a theory based on trailers I have seen.

I have seen a technical drawing on Silver Eagle's website of a trailer they are calling the CLTT-FE (Commercial Light Tactical Trailer- Flat Extended) but the drawing itself is labeled "CMT-FE" so I am going to assume the "CMT" means "Commercial Military Trailer"

 

[M813rc]

My trailer has 97K5?? painted out on it. That is a USAF tac marking, so looks like these did something for the Air Force rather than the Army. Hmmm.....

Cheers

 

[Piper Cub]

I just stumbled onto a GL wins thread from 2009 and there are a few more of these trailers out there - http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showth...what-on-12-NOV&p=482380&viewfull=1#post482380. Page 1, 5 and 13 have some guesses on what they're for but still no definite answer.

 

[Pawnshop]

Interesting to know that there were more of these trailers out there, it's definitely NOT an MSPU unit.

 

[keithlacey2007]

Don't know if you got your answer already. If it's a tactical trailer, I'm assuming it has something to do with communications. Those large boxes on the ground in your pic and the one from fuzzytoaster are Communications Vans. We used to call them Quick Vans in the Navy. You can have any number of interior configurations to install your equipment with.

 

[M813rc]

We still have no answer for the actual use of these trailers. Silver Eagle didn't know (or wouldn't admit knowing?).

Someone told Pawnshop that he thought they were used with tactical drones of some type, but couldn't say in what capacity.
That might explain why USAF trailers were being sold off Ft Hood though.

I did show them to a friend who is in an Army drone unit, he had never seen these type trailers before.

Running the NSN on the tags and trailer, it comes back as Light Tactical Trailer, Marine Corps Chassis. No help there.

Cheers

 

[Another Ahab]

We still have no answer for the actual use of these trailers. Silver Eagle didn't know (or wouldn't admit knowing?).

We all want to know. But, don't push it TOO far, please.

Or he might tell us something, and then have to kill us all.

That's getting to be trend around here. And soon it might REALLY start cutting into our membership.