M105 wheel / brake drum help

[Bear9127]

Will be buying an M105 pretty soon. Yes, I do realize how big they are. Had an M101 that I bought to build a camper trailer on and found that I want something a bit larger. Already sold the M101A2 with the spare parts.

Read a lot of threads, and printed several for quick reference, hope I'm not

I see you guys have figured out that the Isuzu NPR 17.5" and 19.5" wheels will fit on the M105 drums. Problem I am having is finding these wheels in 17.5" or 19.5" sizes. Seems all anybody has is the 16" wheels. Does anybody know if the Isuzu NPR 16" wheels will mount up safely. I am already dubious about finding 16" tires with enough capacity to handle most of the trailer's capacity. Or better yet, does any one have a couple of these Isuzu wheels in 17.5" that they would be willing to part with for a reasonable price?

BTW, planning on doing the electric over hydraulic conversion and the 24v to 12v change over to tow behind my Cummins Dodge. I am almost to the point of buying some 17.5" steel wheels and removing the centers, then replacing them with the centers from the GI 6 lug wheels. I guess that may not be that bad a course of action, all things considered.

Any input would be appreciated. Though, I really don't need to be told how stupid I am for doing this.

 

[Bear9127]

Oh, I forgot,....

Thanks ACMUNRO for the Isuzu NPR interchange info.

 

[hndrsonj]

You might be better in the long run just changing the axle.

 

[ODdave]

The isuzu 16s do not fit. wish they did. I have 130 brand new ones......

 

[jasonjc]

I too think you would be better off in the long run to just change out the axle. It would be so much easyer to get part for it like brakes and wheel brearing. And if you were out some where and broke a wheel you could get one and not have to make one.

As for the 24 to 12 volt , I would take all the wireing and light and plug off and sell it as a kit or buy the pice. Then put all new lights and wire on it.

 

[rlwm211]

There was a build thread a little over a year ago about someone putting a M101 axle that had been lengthened under a M105. If you get 10 ply 16" tires you can put a lot of weight on them. Probably 4500 pounds. If you can score an axle and the surge brake assembly from a M101 you can adapt that onto the tongue of the trailer and save a whole lot of work adapting another brake system onto the trailer.

 

[Bear9127]

Thanks for the replies and insights. Maybe I should check with the local trailer repair shop and see what a 6K or 8K pound axle would run.

 

[acmunro]

Bear9127, The only problem one might run into with replacing the axle with a commercial axle is normally their rating is with the spring right close to the hub. The M105 has a pretty narrow frame- so the springs would be quite a distance from the hub.

If you look at a M101A3 axle you can see how this was compensated for in the modification where a wider axle was used with the same width frame i.e. extra support between the hub and spring. I could take a couple pics of the M101A3 axle if you have not seen one so you could see what I am talking about. Good Luck

 

[wsmith350]

Hello, I'm in the same boat with the wheel issue. My M105a2 has a giant hub that sits about 6 inches from the actual drum. From what i understand the NPR's only used a 16x6 wheel. The drum on mine also has a step followed by a slight taper. From my measurements it looks like it should fit, especially with the smaller back spacing. Has anyone actually tried the wheel on the trailer for fitment? It would be nice to get away from split rims and be able to use a more standard trailer tire.

 

[harleyhouse]

http://www.stocktonwheel.com/index.html

 

[ODdave]

W smith...... Did you read my post on this thread?.....

 

[wsmith350]

ODdave, I did read your previous post about the wheels. In my case, the wheel doesn't look like it'll even make it to the drum in the first place. With the back spacing of the wheel, it measures like the drum will sit inboard of the wheel. I hope I didn't offend you by asking again, I have found on other similar sites that there's a lot of info that is simply regurgitated and not necessarily based on any experience.

 

[ODdave]

I tried it, it hits the drum 1/2-3/4 of an inch before contacting the wms. I sure wish they did fit though :/

 

[wsmith350]

OK thanks. Do you know if the lugs are replaceable?. I can turn down a set of spacers on a lathe if they're that close.

 

[ODdave]

Yes they are replaceable

 

[wsmith350]

Well I'm gonna play around on the lathe a bit and see what works. I'll post update picks. Seems fairly easy to solve the problem. I may sound hard headed about the issue, but I use a trailer quite often and wind up going thru a set of tires every 2 years or so.

 

[3dAngus]

I have tried three different size military wheels and tires, lowering the M105 substantially, and added an elevated pintle hitch lift to the back of my Silverado on 18" tires.

It still sits to high. I don't really think there is anything to do to get it level with a civilian truck with that axle over the top of the springs. It is going to sit with a tilt down on the back of your bumper.

Is a M1101/1102 out of the question. It is much easier to work with, lighter with the aluminum body by 1000 pounds, and has surge brakes for safety in towing with a civy vehicle. If you are locked onto a M105, disregard.
I think I would just tow it up to a large junkyard and try a few wheels first hand and see for yourself, before you buy.
Be sure to break the lug nuts on your M105 before departing your house. I have had some trailers that could not be broken with anything but the big 135 pound air gun. It was massive. And yes, they can turn right hand or left hand, depending. That was not the issue at the time. They sometimes just get rusted on there, and it has happened to me on three different trailers where I had to go to a truck stop to break the lug nuts loose, so you want to test before you leave.

 

[wsmith350]

About the height issue, I am going to put the axle inside the leaf spring. That will drop 9 inches off the height alone. with 235 85r16 tires, I'll drop another 3 1/2 inches. That will lower the trailer height from 34 inches to 22 inches. When I center the surge brake hitch on the main frame, it will put the level hitch height some where between 19 and 20 inches. I will compensate for the last 2 inches of added height with an offset pintle.

 

[3dAngus]

We would love to see pictures of that one, hooked up to a civy truck, before and after, and with a one ton load loaded on the back, a close up of the springs, before and after.
That would be the kind of thing well worth documenting and sharing. I wish I had pictures of that fella's M105 from Alabama. He did a nice job, but without pics, I would appreciate some from you, as would others, so we have something on here to look at for reference purposes.

 

[wsmith350]

Yeah I'll post before/after and build pics. I need the trailer to safely handle 2 tons of heating pellets at a time. That's why I started with the bigger trailer