M1102 from Barstow to Sacramento. Logistic help!

[nanlin]

Yeah, I think we are all set. I have backups for all bad scenerios that I can think of, and also check with the Mayan gods who promised not to end the world before I get my trailers.

That being said, if anyone sees THREE M1102 trailers on CA-99/58/I-40 on Monday heading north from Barstow, please wave and say "GO STEEL SOLDIERS"! If, you see us in a state of despair on the roadside, please help and I will buy you a drink later!

A full documentary will be coming at the conclusion of this project.l.

 

[Mainsail]

I took my trailer out for the day, since it's now all legal like. I snapped a picture of the tongue/hitch at full extension. I think I could get by with only one quick-link, although in the picture I have the equivalent of two. I'm using a snap hook I already had.

 

[nanlin]

*********Successful Recovery of M1102 at Barstow***********

At the conclusion of all your inputs, I am very happy to report that today was a great day!
Though exhausted, but let me share my experience with you before I forget.

We drove to Barstow the night before and stayed at Ramada Inn. Got a great deal through priceline, but you may not get the bed configuration of your desire. We were assigned a king bed, but the man at the desk was nice enough to switch it over to 2 queen beds without charging us more. Being nice to people is always a good thing. This is a 2 star motel, and appropriately so, but I was pleasantly surprised that they have free internet so I got to do some last minute preparation, like reading the TM on how to crack open a jam break if necessary. Try not to pick a room facing the backside because that is the train track side. We did, and we had train coming by just about every half hour. Continental breakfast was ok.

Drove to the base in 3 trucks. Appointment is at 8am, we got to the security gate at 7:45pm and was told we need to go to the side building to get a visitor's pass. Kind of surprised as I did not need to do that in French Camp. There were many contractors before and after us to get pass, and it was not a quick procecss. So my tips to you newbies like me, just show up early and beat everyone.

Got the pass, the guard said GL was the last silver building on the right side of the main street. He can't you can't miss it. And of course, we missed it. It was actually on the left hand side, entered through a small side S shaped street downhill. Checking in was easy. Told to drive to the lot and wait on the outside for someone to come. Brian in a forklift then showed up, told us to drive in and dumped our trailers on the pintle hitch precisely. He mist have googled on how to do it last night.

The trailer is smaller than I thought, but great looking! Very good condition with minor rusts here nad there. We towed the trailers to outside the lot and started our preparation.

Safety Chains: Indeed they were short with the big riser we put in on 2 out of 3 trucks we got. So yes, you suggested Home Depot extensions and Quicklinks, and I have them, placed on nicely and no problem.

Electrical: Spent the most time to prepare for this, but was not successful. Last time I checked I have a degree in electrical, so it was rather discouraging then the newly swappe din 12V bulbs did not work. No worries, backup plan was the temporary trailer lights and it looked great. Don't do stupid things like we did though. We put the R and L lighs reverse, and had to switch them after it was all secured. The lights were tied down with ties and stainless steel wires. I probably bought a cheap set because one light failed on the drive back.

Tarp/Bow: both removed easily.

Tires: the recommended PSI was 17 plus or minus 2. We filled it to 17 but thought maybe we should not have as the trailer was pretty bouncy on the way home. Great threads!

We did maximum turns to make sure chains/wires don't get stretched. Worked under the hot sun for 3 hours and we finally got these 3 trails road worthy and legal. We drove out the base, then on East Main Street, and stopped back at Ramada Inn to check again. Nothing is loose, the hub caps were not hot, breaks were off, and lights were secured. Continued on East Main to Chevron, added more air, and off we go.

The trailer tows very very nicely. It is a great trailer. Did not feel heavy either with our V6 or V8 engines. It is a little wider than my RRS, but this way I can see how the tires are doing via the side mirrors. I am very much impressed with the trailer! We had no problem going through the pass. I was going 55-60, but had to go 70 a few times to avoid joining traffics. Took 99 up to Sac. Too much traffic coming in and had a few close calls. Will take I-5 next time. Had a lot of curiosity looks from passing traffics. I think our convoy was too visible which made the traffic slow. Spotted a CHP on roadside on CA 58. He did not chase after us.

Overall, this had been a great experience as I learned a lot from all of you as well as my own research. However, this was very tedious! I recommend that, if you are not very detail oriented and you are planning to get a trailer to several hundred miles away, then you are better off having Hundy to do it for you. Thanks Hundy for your offer. I would take up on yours or others offer of bringing the trailer to me at Sac next time.

Thanks y'all! Will try to post some pictures when available.

 

[100dollarman]

Congrats on a successful recovery!


Now we need pics!

 

[3dAngus]

I wish I would have known about this thread earlier.

You just hook the trailer chains up to the 45 degree down bar on your riser plate. Invert them on the inside. No need for chain extensions on the M1101/1102 series. You need them for a M105, which are shorter chains.

You can hook up mag lights with no issue on the steel square pipe at the back bottom of your trailer bed. They extend out perfectly for the lights, and you tie them down with tie wraps, where two 10" will do. I put one tie wrap around the circle at the base, and then use that to lace another tie wrap through it down across the bottom of the steel pipe and back up. It's tight, and better than tape.

A four pin flat connector at the rear of your vehicle is all you need for permanent or magnetic lights. Later, You can pop the rivits on the reflectors at the rear of the trailer, and install Wal Mart or Tractor Supply 12vdc lights permanently by drilling two holes where the reflectors were. I do this on mine, and now I have a easy hookup for civilian vehicle or military without the issue of an expensive adapter or wiring. Cost is about $30, time is about 30-40 minutes to wire up permanent lights, maybe $45 if you go with LEDs. I've been told some states require all lights on a trailer to work, but my research thus far indicate you need brake, turn signals and they must be a certain distance off the ground with a not to exceed number. Check your local state regulations to see if you are in this minimalistic group. You are now ready to tow with the military wiring, or the civilian wiring, and its a lot cheaper than buying an adapter and less troublesome to change out light bulbs from 24vdc bulbs to 12vdc bulbs.

I hope the next person saves money with this info. Biggest expense should be the pintle/ball receiver that drops in your 2" receiver, and the 10-12" riser. Available at Tractor Supply or Northern Tool.

 

[nanlin]

Thanks 3dAngus with your info.

Not sure what you meant about not needing chain extension though. With the drawbar in the
pintle, the chains at full extension does not reach the vehicle safety hookup.

 

[3dAngus]

If these pull to tight, you're going to jackknife the trailer. Use Mike's (SCSG) backup technique to preclude jackknifing with pintle hitch. You can find it on search.

 

[nanlin]

I see what you are saying 3dAngus. Thanks. We had discussed this scenerio earlier with everyone very kindly offered their solutions. I chose to connect the chains directly to the vehicle safety loops, so that if receiver fails then I will not lose the trailer.

 

[nanlin]

Here you go!

 

[3dAngus]

Looks good.

I don't know what the tire pressure should be for highway driving, but found about 25psi to work much better than the offroad numbers of 17psi marked on my M1101. When I first got mine it had about 8 pounds in it and was incredibly bouncy, so everyone should be sure to check before leaving the GL site with their new purchase. You could not tell by looking at them they were low on air.

 

[clutzer]

I wish I would have known about this thread earlier.

You just hook the trailer chains up to the 45 degree down bar on your riser plate. Invert them on the inside. No need for chain extensions on the M1101/1102 series. You need them for a M105, which are shorter chains.

With all due respect and props, that in no way is a good idea or safe as a permanent solution. Maybe in a pinch, but 1) you never should hook safety chains to the receiver and 2) if a cop sees it and cares, he'll nail you with improper towing.

This approach creates a single point of failure (SPF) in the receiver. Example: if the pin holding the receiver somehow came out, your trailer would be gone and careen into something.

Over and Out.

 

[nanlin]

Thanks clutzer.

Thanks again for everyone's input in my quest to get M1102s from Barstow. Now that this
mission is accomplished, I will search for other threads to see what "life after recovery" should be like.

Over and out.

 

[chevimp63]

What was your major issue with wiring the lights?

*********Successful Recovery of M1102 at Barstow***********

At the conclusion of all your inputs, I am very happy to report that today was a great day!
Though exhausted, but let me share my experience with you before I forget.

We drove to Barstow the night before and stayed at Ramada Inn. Got a great deal through priceline, but you may not get the bed configuration of your desire. We were assigned a king bed, but the man at the desk was nice enough to switch it over to 2 queen beds without charging us more. Being nice to people is always a good thing. This is a 2 star motel, and appropriately so, but I was pleasantly surprised that they have free internet so I got to do some last minute preparation, like reading the TM on how to crack open a jam break if necessary. Try not to pick a room facing the backside because that is the train track side. We did, and we had train coming by just about every half hour. Continental breakfast was ok.

Drove to the base in 3 trucks. Appointment is at 8am, we got to the security gate at 7:45pm and was told we need to go to the side building to get a visitor's pass. Kind of surprised as I did not need to do that in French Camp. There were many contractors before and after us to get pass, and it was not a quick procecss. So my tips to you newbies like me, just show up early and beat everyone.

Got the pass, the guard said GL was the last silver building on the right side of the main street. He can't you can't miss it. And of course, we missed it. It was actually on the left hand side, entered through a small side S shaped street downhill. Checking in was easy. Told to drive to the lot and wait on the outside for someone to come. Brian in a forklift then showed up, told us to drive in and dumped our trailers on the pintle hitch precisely. He mist have googled on how to do it last night.

The trailer is smaller than I thought, but great looking! Very good condition with minor rusts here nad there. We towed the trailers to outside the lot and started our preparation.

Safety Chains: Indeed they were short with the big riser we put in on 2 out of 3 trucks we got. So yes, you suggested Home Depot extensions and Quicklinks, and I have them, placed on nicely and no problem.

Electrical: Spent the most time to prepare for this, but was not successful. Last time I checked I have a degree in electrical, so it was rather discouraging then the newly swappe din 12V bulbs did not work. No worries, backup plan was the temporary trailer lights and it looked great. Don't do stupid things like we did though. We put the R and L lighs reverse, and had to switch them after it was all secured. The lights were tied down with ties and stainless steel wires. I probably bought a cheap set because one light failed on the drive back.

Tarp/Bow: both removed easily.

Tires: the recommended PSI was 17 plus or minus 2. We filled it to 17 but thought maybe we should not have as the trailer was pretty bouncy on the way home. Great threads!

We did maximum turns to make sure chains/wires don't get stretched. Worked under the hot sun for 3 hours and we finally got these 3 trails road worthy and legal. We drove out the base, then on East Main Street, and stopped back at Ramada Inn to check again. Nothing is loose, the hub caps were not hot, breaks were off, and lights were secured. Continued on East Main to Chevron, added more air, and off we go.

The trailer tows very very nicely. It is a great trailer. Did not feel heavy either with our V6 or V8 engines. It is a little wider than my RRS, but this way I can see how the tires are doing via the side mirrors. I am very much impressed with the trailer! We had no problem going through the pass. I was going 55-60, but had to go 70 a few times to avoid joining traffics. Took 99 up to Sac. Too much traffic coming in and had a few close calls. Will take I-5 next time. Had a lot of curiosity looks from passing traffics. I think our convoy was too visible which made the traffic slow. Spotted a CHP on roadside on CA 58. He did not chase after us.

Overall, this had been a great experience as I learned a lot from all of you as well as my own research. However, this was very tedious! I recommend that, if you are not very detail oriented and you are planning to get a trailer to several hundred miles away, then you are better off having Hundy to do it for you. Thanks Hundy for your offer. I would take up on yours or others offer of bringing the trailer to me at Sac next time.

Thanks y'all! Will try to post some pictures when available.

Just wondering what the major issue was with your lights? A buddy and I are picking ours up on Monday and plan to wire the 7 pin plug as well as change the bulbs to 12v (1156 and 631 if I've done my homework right). Let me know if you have any pointers! Thanks!

 

[nanlin]

Chevimp63,

I am still not sure where I went wrong, as I have not tried to splice it after I got back.
Since I cut the plug off and exposed all wires, I had to try all combinations but none worked.
Assuming my attempts were correct, then downstream I have a continuity problem.
My best advice for you is to get youself a temp trailer light set, and lots of plastic ties and
SS wires to anchor down those temp lights. Don't reverse them.

Good luck with your recovery! I think the price you paid is like half of what I paid.

 

[chevimp63]

Chevimp63,

I am still not sure where I went wrong, as I have not tried to splice it after I got back.
Since I cut the plug off and exposed all wires, I had to try all combinations but none worked.
Assuming my attempts were correct, then downstream I have a continuity problem.
My best advice for you is to get youself a temp trailer light set, and lots of plastic ties and
SS wires to anchor down those temp lights. Don't reverse them.

Good luck with your recovery! I think the price you paid is like half of what I paid.

I do have a couple of wiring diagrams that will hopefully get me on the road. If all else fails, temp lights it is! We ended up getting 2 trailers for $1230 total with fees. Not bad in my eyes. I have heard of people getting them for less but I was happy with the price. Especially when you see the trailers Lowes sells for the same price! Not much of a comparison between the Lowes trailer and the M1101 but I'm happy to shell out the cash for this one. What have you done and do you have any plans for your trailers? I'm planning on building an ultimate off road toy hauler/camper with a bed, cooking facilities, shower, power, etc. I haven't wrapped my mind around the head but I'll figure that one out.

Search YouTube for COP 4x4 Ultimate Camping Trailer and you'll get the idea of what I'm going to accomplish.

 

[nanlin]

UPDATES

So I have had my trailers for 3 months now... Have not done much.
Spliced the plug to flat 4 connector, and got lights working in one. 12V bulbs work great.
Got my SF97 without any problems. DMV liked it, but they still want to visually
inspect the vehicle with VIN confirmation before they issue the plates. Painful.

I cannot tow these trailers level with my RRS, despite the highest riser hitch I got.
I was told my options are either cut the lunette ring and offset it lower, or buy a new
towing vehicle. The former is costly, the latter is costly but picking up a CUCV at French
Camp is not a bad idea though.

Any thoughts on the most economical way of towing them level with Range Rover Sport? Thanks.

 

[harleyhouse]

Cut the hitch and weld on an adjustible channel.

 

[chevimp63]

I had the same issue with level towing. My F-250 has descent height but the trailer still sat too high even with the huge rise on the Reese hitch I bought. So.....I improvised. I picked up a set of Chevy 2500HD rims with 265/70R-16's on em. Perfectly level and the trailer doesn't bounce near as much as it did with the original tires. I'm not looking for serious off road capability with it nor was I concerned with leaving it completely military. I was concerned that it would look odd with the smaller tires but it actually looks better!! Not to mention I still have plenty of clearance remaining. I picked up the set of wheels and tires for $300 from a guy here local and sold the original wheels and tires for $550. That guy knew he got a good deal.

 

[Mainsail]

Your local muffler shop or trailer store can make you a custom riser. I bought one made by Kitsap Muffler but I need for it to be stronger. I was pulling sharply out of a parking spot and the pintle bound up in the lunette ring, and bent the riser a little.



http://www.topohiker.com/news/newspics/HardOver.png

 

[harleyhouse]

Switch the wheels out and lower it down.
They look good with 5 spoke 2000-2009 GM five spoke rims.
16" e rated tires are plentyful. chrome for bling or paint them to match the trailer.