M1101 ?'s

[KRD702]

Hey all,
I'm new to the site. I have done a little searching and posted a few things on Exped Portal. I have been intrigued by the M1101/M1102 trailers for a while. With a Jeep JKU as a tow vehicle I am concerned with the weight. Several ideas have gone through my head as far as trailers go. At the risk of offending some by taking one of these trailers and cutting it to make a custom trailer, here are some questions for some of you.....

M1101 diet: If a guy were to start changing things on the platform, how much could a guy remove as far as weight goes?

Width: Tell me if I am crazy here...I have access to a very good metal fabricator (best friend since childhood).

• I was thinking of taking a trailer, separating the box from the frame
• building a new frame a little less heavy duty in the width that will match the jeep's width and put it on Timbren Axles
• take the aluminum body, trim 12 inches out of the center and welding it back together and put it on the new frame
• Take the original frame and make a flat bed on it for use on the farm.

I have thoughts of building an aluminum framed "camping pod" that I could put in and take out.

 

[Tinstar]

Welcome to Steel Soldiers.

Guys modify these trailers all the time.
Some really ingenious and excellent ideas have produced some amazing trailers for different uses.
They will chime in on your questions soon.

Read and search the old threads and you will find amazing ideas.
The trailer Technical Manuals are free and available for download in the TM section.

The Jeep should handle the trailer fine.
It all depends on how heavy you load it.
Guys who use that setup can answer that better than I.

If you get one, do what your imagination, skill and budget allows.

 

[Mainsail]

I'll start with the standard disclaimer; it's your money and your time; spend them any way you want.

From what you've written it sounds to me like you'd save a lot of time and money if you just built the trailer you want from the ground up. That would save a lot of disassembly time- the M1101/M1102 trailers are riveted together with extreme prejudice.

The M1101/2 trailers are very light already, even lighter if you take the HMMWV wheels/tires/run-flats off and put regular wheels with regular tires on instead. Unless your jeep is the 4-cylinder it should pull it just fine.

As for making a camper- it's been done and the results are always cool. I thought about doing it but I looked at it critically and abandoned the idea because for the type of car-camping I would do the trailer would be the least efficient. Here's why.

First, a trailer based camper would limit me to camping only where I could reasonably get a trailer into. The Forest Service roads here often dead end, or become blocked by trees or slides (or both), so backing a trailer, especially a short trailer, has to be considered, and when I do consider it I realize it would often be impossible to do. The alternative is to camp in campgrounds- something I'm loathe to do (why would I pay when there's thousands of acres of free USFS land out there?) Campground camping to me feels like I'm just pretending to be homeless for a day or two. So for me, the roof top tent works best. I can get my M1009 with the tent on top into places no vehicle of any kind with a trailer can go.

Second, is it cheaper to convert a military trailer into a camper or cheaper to just buy a purpose built camping trailer and jack it up a couple inches? With the camper I get all the amenities assembled by professionals. I could build that on a military trailer myself but it would be very expensive. Yes, the mil trailer camper is way cool and can travel into places a commercial camper can't, but realistically would I ever use/need that capability? For me where I live the answer is no. As mentioned above, the geography requires the ability to back out sometimes, and historically I have had to do just that, and recognized when I did so that if there was a trailer in tow it would have required a helicopter to get me out.

So looking objectively at the options, I abandoned the mil trailer to camper conversion. I love my M1101 trailer for what it is- a big, tough, capable, and good looking utility trailer. My jeep can pull it easily with a yard of gravel inside (admittedly it's a Hemi).

 

[98G]

The jeep JKU is rated to tow 3500lbs.

The M1102 is 1480lbs empty.

There is no issue other than hitch height. If your jeep is lifted, that's resolved.

We have a jeep JKU as well as an ECU trailer on an M1102 chassis. The ECU trailer contains a large generator and heater/AC. It's heavy, coming in at 4200lbs. The JKU tows it fine. Our jeep is the 6cyl with 373 gears, lifted and 35's.

 

[juanprado]

Having done just a little work underneath on a m1101/2 ; As stated by Mainsail, it would be an intensive project to remove the bed. It is not simply bolted down like a M101 to the frame.

The m101 series could be another option for you. They are steel but not that much heavier and narrower than a m1101. It would probably tow better than the wider m1101 behind your jeep.

YMMV

 

[tobyS]

I agree with the wise men above.

If you have ever taken the frame out from under a uni-body car, you will have the same issues with the mods you describe. If it's got a straight body, keep it stock. Taking large portions of the ALUMINUM trailer away hardly makes a difference on the weight...keep it all.

Here is a front tongue mod to bring it lower and fit my 2 5/16" ball for my welding/tool trailer and 1/2 ton.

I went to a 16" wheel and truck tire, so lower than the 16.5.

My bed was all beat up on the top so I made it fit a Geithner Enclosure then decided it was better as a welding/tool trailer.

 

[KRD702]

Thanks for all the replies. the jeep has 3 inches of lift ( and so will the future Gladiator....SHHHHHH don't tell the wife just yet) I looked at the M101 but the aluminum would be nice here in MN with the amount of salt they use on the roads 6-7 mos a year.

Just wondering if anyone had tried to cut the wieght of an m1101 and what were they able to cut? I know the wheel and tire replacement would be a huge start. I have read that guys have replaced the jack too, but it seems they are pretty basic as far as being able to cut much more weight.

I like the roof top tents, but on my trips out west I would like something I could stealth camp in. I have been leaning towards a trailer because it would be nice to set camp and still be able to run around with the jeep. It is getting less and less fun to drive more than 12-15 hours at a time. The last two trips out there, I have run into struggles at finding rooms, and hate paying for it when I am only there to sleep for 6-7 hours. It would be nice to pull over in a rest stop and crawl in for a few hour nap.

Some of those toppers look pretty cool, but I can see those are going to run plenty. I wish someone made one with tip up top to create more head room. Which led me to a custom drop in pod that I could take in and out.

 

[DeadParrot]

IMO, leave the frame and body mostly untouched. Consider adding some type of streamlining nose or cropping the front corners. It is a wide trailer and that extra width causes a lot of drag at higher speeds. These were meant to run behind Hummers, a similarly wide vehicle. Swap the tires to civi trailer tires/rims and you can put a spare under the tail of the trailer. The surge brakes work well as is.

Your custom camping pod might be a good idea since you have access to your metal fabricator friend. When it is out, you have a heavy duty utility trailer. In, you have a rough terrain camping trailer.

 

[Tinstar]

My two M101A2’s were galvanized at the factory and then painted. Beds, not the frames.
Zero rust on the beds. Typical light surface rust on inside of frame.

The M1101/2 will also be affected by salt.
Aluminum will corrode.
Sometimes a lot faster than steel.
It hides it better. Then when you discover it, it’s too late to save.


Having a trailer that is wider than tow vehicle would be a negative to me in a off-road setup.
Not only the aerodynamic issues, but the off-road ones also.
If the tow vehicle can fit between the trees, etc, then the trailer will fit also.
That won’t apply to the M1101/2
Just my opinion.

I have had a LOT of Jeep guys come up to me asking where to get a M101A2/3.
A few mentioned the M1101/2 as being too wide for them.


I would just swap the tires/rims on the trailer and call it good.
Huge weight savings there.
Cutting away some aluminum isn’t going to save you all that much.
It all depends on the build.
Looking at the old threads, several have cut panels away for various reasons.
Difficult and time consuming, but possible.

If you’re going crazy custom, then the M116A2 (M101A2 w/o bed) frame is the way to go.
Rustproof the frame and go from there.

Lots of options.

 

[Skinner23]

I’m in the process of setting my M1102 up as a camping trailer to go behind the hmmwv. I may use it behind the Jeep but it is just soooo wiiiiide!! I’d recommend getting a sheet of plywood and leaning it up against the back of the Jeep and mark the width of the trailer on it and then get in the Jeep and look in your rear view mirrors to get a feel of how big it is back there. From an aesthetic stand point it dwarfs my Jeep. I don’t have a lift and only have stock rubicon tires on it though (for now). The nice thing is that you can put a full size mattress in the trailer. And the mattress will fit in their across the trailer. That shows just how wide it is! If you’re car camping in campgrounds it would work great but if you plan on going down any tight trails with it I’d look at a different option. For weight it is fine I think. There isn’t really anything you can cut off of it with out cutting party of the bed off. I should have my camper build done this weekend and will try to remember to post some pics. I just have the standard tarp over mine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mainsail]

Adding some thoughts about aerodynamics.

I've towed mine behind the Grand Cherokee at 70mph empty and partially loaded and it towed perfectly. No swaying and no drama. As to any aerodynamic penalty I haven't noticed any at all.

Being wider than the jeep allows me to see the running lights through both side mirrors- that's how I know the electrical is still connected.