Adding Manual Dump to M101A1 Trailers -How I did it

[acme66]

I know they were never really designed for heavy use like this but you know you have thought about it. Lots of ways to go about it, this is just how I did it. My method could be done without a welder for a small shop DIY'er, just substitute the C metal I welded in place for some heavy 3" angle iron and bolts.

Dump Conversion Video

Be sure to read the video description (pasted below for your convenience) for a 'years later' revisit and update of the idea.

From the video description:

"Easy modification!

I finally got around to putting an adjustable trailer jack on my M101 3/4 ton trailer. It isn't quite as convenient as a true swinging trailer jack but it will suffice. When I find one I would like to put a swinging wheeled jack on the pintle but this will do double duty for now.

LONG TERM REVISIT 3/21/2013:

Well other than I should have put more paint on everything because of how much it has rusted, two years of use and she is still there working fine. I don't dump it much as the trailer fame can be difficult to wiggle back down and pin. Grinding the inside of the mounts to get more room would help as would bending them to help funnel the brackets back in. The jack I used is WAY to light duty to dump a load of sand but it works ok for lighter things. I think you would need 3000lbs minimum, the one I used is 1500. 1500 would be great for hitching duty on the tong but it is not enough for dumping. The leverage is all wrong for the jack so it needs to be stronger than normal. Plunk a 5000lb from a mail order place on there and you would be in good shape. I still feel this is a very simple and functional way to dump one of these for occasional DIY use. Add a limiting chain where your jack tops out to keep the bed from tipping WAY up and slamming back down when the load slides out. Just trust me on that one.

Also, how can I put this, the whole idea seems more useful in your head than it is in reality. This is not and never will be a dump truck. I rarely tip it, even in situations where I could."

 

[paraclete comes]

to bad you dont have a handle four your swing down stock jack, such great trailers

 

[Hpwr]

I think this is a pretty cool way to dump the M101 series. I have no affiliation with the vendor shown in the video.

See the following: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf-R6XjhKVQ

Hpwr

 

[acme66]

Huh, maybe what I really needed was better tires. All I did was shove it around on the grass.

 

[Hpwr]

Acme66,

Well having run heavy equip & driven dump trucks in years past I could see where that might happen; especially if the load CG was way forward in the bed, I would say that for this to work the load CG would have to be just slightly forward of the tipping point.

 

[doghead]

All this has been posted and discussed/debated previously.

The trailers are not dumping trailers and were never meant to be.

You will experience failure(breakage) at the pivot point eventually.

RTM

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

When I need to dump mine I put a farm jack under the tongue. No stress on the folding points. Works for me.

 

[KsM715]

Wonder if I can hold the guy in the YouTube video liable when I break folding bracket on my trailer and lose control of it going down the highway and kill a minivan full of kids?

Hpwr, if you have a 101 and use it in that manner it will break. It's been proven on this site. If you want to use it as a dump trailer it has to be modified.

 

[JH1]

I did some searching for exactly what has to be changed and how, and am not seeing the mods. Anyone have a link?

 

[hendersond]

I never understood this one. I must be missing something. I thought the tongue folded to reduce the cubic feet required for shipping???

Do you need to replace the taillights every time you dump or just sometimes?
Do you dump your load on the tailgate and then shovel it off?
Do you unchain the tailgate and bend it under when you back up?

 

[quickfarms]

Wonder if I can hold the guy in the YouTube video liable when I break folding bracket on my trailer and lose control of it going down the highway and kill a minivan full of kids?

Hpwr, if you have a 101 and use it in that manner it will break. It's been proven on this site. If you want to use it as a dump trailer it has to be modified.

If the cast brackets do break the front of the trailer will just drop. Remember there are four points attaching the tongue to the trailer.

 

[doghead]

I never understood this one. I must be missing something. I thought the tongue folded to reduce the cubic feet required for shipping???

Do you need to replace the taillights every time you dump or just sometimes?
Do you dump your load on the tailgate and then shovel it off?
Do you unchain the tailgate and bend it under when you back up?

If you read the previous posts/threads, the folding instructions were posted.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?24414-M101-Dump-Bed&highlight=fold+transport

What you're "missing" is, of the 4 tongue frame attachment points, only 2 are inline(able to pivot without binding). Those 2 are the front bolts that you're removing to "dump".

 

[doghead]

If the cast brackets do break the front of the trailer will just drop. Remember there are four points attaching the tongue to the trailer.

And since the cubic space of the trailer could hold as much as 3 tons or more(yeah I know, nobody is going to really fill it full of stone, just because it fits).

Just how do you stop that with a broken brake line and all the weight skidding on steel on blacktop at any speed, or even keep that behind your vehicle?

 

[JH1]

Yes, the intended use for the folding is to take up less space for storage/shipping. As an afterthought, it can be faked into use as a dump trailer. At least a few times, they say.
No, the tail lights are tucked up under far enough to miss the ground.
You unhook the tail gate and use the chain to support it, and when you tilt the trailer, the tail gate becomes horizontal, at the ground level. Yes, you have to shovel some stuff off that doesn't roll out naturally.
I think the mod people are referring to is one where the rear pivot point is upgraded from a bolt and a hole to a real, intended hinge. I have never seen the actual mod, or mods.
I have seen a M101 trailer modification from someone in the Portland, OR area that used a hydraulic ram up front, oriented vertically. Mechanically, that takes most of the strain off of that rear pivot point during the tilting, plus it eliminates the problem of too much tongue weight preventing tilting while backing. You can add wheel chocks to kinda force the tilting if you have too much front weight.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Ram or not, you'd still need to upgrade the pivot point. That's the weak link.

I've thought about doing that with a ram, but I'd have to have some serious spare time on my hands to tackle it. It's just not a high priority.

Like the man said, it's probably not as useful as it looks like it might be. If I were hauling gravel or something like that regularly, maybe...

I haul trash & uncut firewood regularly. I can't dump the trash, and the firewood just doesn't dump very well. It's only once in a while I get out the farm jack.