M105 questions.........

[DUG]

So I bought a cheap M105 last month. Drug it out of a farmers field up by Barstow so it probably came from up there way back when. Data plate says 1956, it's got a single wheel landing gear. We rigged up some civie lights, crossed our fingers with the ugly looking tires and came home slow. No problems at all. While doing some research I found SS and read a M101 trailer would be better behind my 2008 2500HD (diesel) GMC. Thought about reselling the M105, but after closer inspection we noted the airline and electrical was dry rotted and junk. No one is gonna want it for their deuce when there is so many better ones out there for not much more. Three of the side rails where there but the wood was shot. Me and the boy got a saw, some new 1 x 4, a box of carriage bolts, a drill and a can of flat green paint. New rails done! Tried to find the parts to make the rear, but no bites so we fabbed up our own. We have the stuff for the bows, but the wood is trashed and I doubt we would ever use them. Pick up three replacement wheels and tires off of Craigslist that are much better. Greased every thing up and discovered the front wheel now rolls and turns. One parking brake cable was bent and frozen. Cut off all the air brake gear and old wiring. Wired up new lights. Loaded it for it 1st dump run and even found a cheap camo tarp at harbor frieght that fits perfect. Got the biggest pintle drop set up I could find for the truck and installed it upside down. Felt a little uneasy about it so I called the manufacture who assured me it could be used up or down. Trailer sits slightly nose down with the tow ring flipped down too. Made the dump run today, no problems. Towed easy and had to keep reminding myself to slow down. Diesel towing is the only way to go. On the way home I started wondering how many decades ago the wheel bearings had been done. Slowed way down then. Came home and felt the hubs. Cold, no worries. Got the jack and stands and pulled one side apart - the side with the frozen park brake cable. Wanted to die when I saw how bad that 1960's grease looked. Pulled the hub and noted some young private worked on it last since he used a hammer and chisel to get the bearing nuts off. Probably didn't have the correct socket. I didn't either and I used the same spots he did. Went to NAPA and got two very expensive grease seals and plenty of wheel bearing grease. Cleaned the bearings and inspected them for overheated - none noted. Used a ton of grease and WD40 to get the park brake unstuck. Works perfect now. Started looking at all those leaves in the suspension. I'm only gonna make dump runs and haul two quads - figure 1200 pounds max. Undid the ubolts - working on OG Cali stuff is nice - it comes right apart. Ditched the over load springs and the bottom 5 leaves. Now I'm stuck cuz my ubolts won't work until I get them cut down and retapped. I'm hoping to lose 3-4 inches after the extra springs are gone. So my QUESTION is - can I run 7.50 x 20 civie tires and lose a few more inches? Thanks and sorry for the long read.

Oh and I'm getting me a bobbed deuce fer damn sure!!

 

[JDToumanian]

Three of the side rails where there but the wood was shot.

The rear is exactly the same as the front.... They're interchangeable.

Jon

 

[DUG]

The rear is exactly the same as the front.... They're interchangeable.

Jon

Thanks. I got that from a previous post. Problem was, the rear (or maybe the front) wasn't there. I didn't have the pieces so we fabbed up everything. Made for a great father son project though.

Now I need to know if I can run 7.50 civie tires on it and if so how much height would I lose?

I can't wait to see how much I lost by taking out the bottom 5 spring leaves. (waiting on my U bolts to be threaded deeper)

When I'm done I'll have new tires and everything freshly greased. The only thing I won't have is trailer brakes. If I keep my loads under 1500 lbs I think I'll be ok.

Got a bid in on a deuce - now we wait...........................

 

[M543A2]

I believe you can put the 7.50 tires on the rims with no problem. I pull one of these behind my Dodge Cummins one ton single wheel truck and find it to be a pleasure to pull. I flipped the lunette eye also to change the ride height, and raised my hitch a bit. I left all of the springs in because I like the carrying capacity. As you say, with careful driving and no overloading, I have no problems stopping. There are not too many trailers that will pull nicer than these.
Regards Marti

 

[gimpyrobb]

This was posted explaining the height of an 1100r16, but it will give you the formula to figure out any tire size.

1100 is the width in hundredths of an inch. so 11 inches wide.
wheel diameter is the R16 to the wheel diameter is 16 inches.
The tire diameter is calculated by adding twice the tire width to the wheel diameter so 2*11 + 16 = 38 in tall.

BTW, this is the same for all tires. It's not specific to the military.

 

[DUG]

This was posted explaining the height of an 1100r16, but it will give you the formula to figure out any tire size.

Thanks! I measured the stack of springs and think I'll lose 3 inches. I can drop another 3 inches with tires for a total of six. I need about 2 inches to sit level with my current pintle set up, so anything extra is just gravy.

But, before I run out and buy tires, I need to wait on this deuce auction to end. My $$$ might be needed elsewhere.