Help me figure out what this trailer is

[fordbroncodave]

I had this trailer at my grandpas farm and it has been sitting for a long time. I have asked him where he found it but he doesn't know he has it (he has dementia).

My grandpa was a cook in the army. He never participated in any wars and his duty was to cook.

Back to it, this trailer has been here for longer then I have been alive. I want to know what it was used for and where did it come from?

pictures attached

 

[jheck74]

Does the front of the trailer have a drop gate? It could be a M104 trailer

 

[Another Ahab]

Nice item.

You KNOW it wants to "go to work".

Just needs somebody to give it a new lease on life. That would be pretty neat, seeing how it belongs to your grandad and all.

You think you might tackle a restoration?

 

[steve6x6x6]

It has a special job with that half moon cut out front and rear in the middle.

 

[Another Ahab]

It has a special job with that half moon cut out front and rear in the middle.

Yeah, I was wondering about that steve6, and that's a good sized radius (like it was for hauling a lineman's pole or something).

But then: how could a trailer that short pull that off?

 

[NDT]

Can we see a pic of the connector on the tongue? Trailer looks 1 ton WWII Ben Hur, but it isn't.

 

[LowTech]

Looks like it's in photo 3. Also looks like someone welded plates over and under the pintal to turn it into a ball hitch?

 

[KsM715]

I can't help you with the trailer. However, your grandfather, shake his hand for me and say thank you. He raised his right hand and said "I'll do it" , and that in itself deserves a certain amount of respect regardless if he saw combat or not.

 

[fordbroncodave]

Does the front of the trailer have a drop gate? It could be a M104 trailer

The gate in the rear is the only gate. the box is like 3.5 feet by 6ft.

It has electric brakes. all the wiring is butchered and has an old school 7 pin type round connector socket.

The pintle ring has a piece of flat steel welded over the top with a small pin hole for tractor type hitches.

It feels like its built very tough and tall enough to take off road. I am going to license it and fix some problem areas and give it some nice camo paint.

A member of a different forum said orange and yellow colors are usually aviation colors so maybe this was used in the army air sector.

 

[fordbroncodave]

I can't help you with the trailer. However, your grandfather, shake his hand for me and say thank you. He raised his right hand and said "I'll do it" , and that in itself deserves a certain amount of respect regardless if he saw combat or not.

Yah the stories he has told me are actually very interesting. We as a family use his original army cookbook time to time and make basic soups as described from his service days.

He told me a story once that him and a crew of chefs fed 1000 men palm full of rations each for thanksgiving because food supply had not maken it to the site where they prepared food

 

[quickfarms]

Looks like an old utility company trailer.

 

[73m819]

It was used as built new to haul a line pole, when the pole is on the trailer, the trailer is secured to the pole with chain/binders along with a second hitch ring secured to the pull end then the pole is set, the trailer is hooked to the truck with it's own hitch ring

 

[timntrucks]

that is a must save trailer for sure. glad your going to make it right again

 

[F18hornetM]

Yup, we call them pole dinkys. Although have never saw one with a bed on it. Ours are just steel frame with bolsters. Like 73M819 said would bolt a lunette eye to the butt end [fat end] of the pole, the trailer would be chained to the pole. Although our trailers would carry 4-5 poles this way. Not sure if you could do that with this one. Neat glad you saved it. Looking at the pics again, looks a lot taller than ours with a pole sitting on the bed. With a pole on it, the angle to the hitch [bolted to the butt] would be really steep. But don't really know anything else it could be used for. Back in the day, poles were a lot shorter.

 

[73m819]

This type of trailer would carry the pole and the transformer, ect., more of a replace of a pole rather then a major project.

 

[3dAngus]

This might be the first time I've seen 7X20 tires.
I'm not a purist, but I definitely do believe there are certain MVs worth going back to as far as original as possible, especially Korean war era and back. This would be one. Hope you do find the exacting military designation on it, and can do more research on it.
Dang, I would love to have that trailer and work on it. Great find. I love the pole cradle!

 

[F18hornetM]

Maybe your right, we carry the transformers in the trucks now. Still could not have been a large pole, but back when it was new, I'm sure small, maybe even telephone poles.

 

[quickfarms]

Maybe your right, we carry the transformers in the trucks now. Still could not have been a large pole, but back when it was new, I'm sure small, maybe even telephone poles.

They could carry a very long pole.

They would put the pole on the trailer but forward with the center of the pole over the axle. They would clamp either flags of lights to the end of the pole. They would then attach the portable lunette eye to the but end, I have seen these attached with either clamps or bolts. The trailer would then be hooked to the truck and off they went. These trailers were used by the utility companies doing maintenance.

 

[fordbroncodave]

someone emailed me that it is a variant of a M416 trailer with slight modifications. Not a Minnesota power company trailer, they were all white with green lettering, formerly known as NSP now Excel Energy

 

[quickfarms]

someone emailed me that it is a variant of a M416 trailer with slight modifications. Not a Minnesota power company trailer, they were all white with green lettering, formerly known as NSP now Excel Energy

Not a M416

The trailer is old probably 40's or 50's and today's color scheme for the power company is probably not what it was years ago and without finding a name it hard to say what company owned it. Could have also belonged to the dot or some private contractor.