M116A3 - First Overland Trailer Build!

[tobyS]

Good for you....will make a great base to build from. Apparently the A3 is a bit wider than A2. It should have free backing as well.

 

[Jeepadict]

Good for you....will make a great base to build from. Apparently the A3 is a bit wider than A2. It should have free backing as well.

The box and frame are the same IIRC, they just widned the axle and adjusted the fenderwells accordingly.

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[Bill Nutting]

I built a camper once out of a M101. What I like about these trailers is their suspension. They pull like a dream. One word of advice as you build it out. Watch the weight of your materials. It adds up very fast and you can wind up with a cool trailer that doesn’t go off road very well.
When I converted my M934 to a “motor home”, I bought a travel trailer from a dealer that came in as a trade in. Someone parked it in grass and let it sit. The floor was shot but everything else was like new. The trailer cost me a little more than the price of an rv refrigerator. What I was able to harvest from it:
Propane/electric refrigerator (still had stickers in it)
Propane furnace
Complete water system including water heater, shower, vanity, 25 gal. tank, and 12 volt pump
Propane stove/oven (never used)
Dual propane tank regulator with switch
I gave the shell to a friend. He uses it for dear hunting shelter
If you look around you might find a camper with frame or axel issues that you could set on your trailer bed.
Please post pictures as you progress. These are fun projects...

 

[unleashd]

Step 1: Found the same set of wheels as my EX for the trailer today and bought them.

 

[Coug]

I thought these trailers use lug centric wheels, not hub centric. Will the hub centric wheels still work on them?

 

[tobyS]

I thought these trailers use lug centric wheels, not hub centric. Will the hub centric wheels still work on them?

I think he plans on making/buying an adaptor. They are 170mm and need to attach to a hub 8 on 6.5. It would be easy enough to drill a second set of hole since it has eight, with the chamfers and avoid adaptors.

 

[Coug]

I think he plans on making/buying an adaptor. They are 170mm and need to attach to a hub 8 on 6.5. It would be easy enough to drill a second set of hole since it has eight, with the chamfers and avoid adaptors.

okay, I was just double checking because I know on my M116A2 the H1 hub centric wheels I have lying around don't properly fit.

 

[unleashd]

That is correct. I’m going to buy the space/adapter to cover the bolt pattern. I will get the hub centric spaces for these wheels.

 

[tobyS]

That is correct. I’m going to buy the space/adapter to cover the bolt pattern. I will get the hub centric spaces for these wheels.

How will you connect the adaptor to the hub? Seems like protruding bolts will be in the way.

Edit....okay I see some on eBay....aluminum and about 2" thick. The added thickness works with the wheel since it's big offset.

 

[unleashd]

How will you connect the adaptor to the hub? Seems like protruding bolts will be in the way.

Edit....okay I see some on eBay....aluminum and about 2" thick. The added thickness works with the wheel since it's big offset.

Yes. Something like this

I’m usually not a big fan of spacers. But this will have to do until I can swap axles sometime in the future.

 

[unleashd]

Spent some time this morning working on the trailer. Accomplished the following today

- Switched out the HMMWV wheels to Superduty wheels to match the Excursion
- Converted the lights to run on 12V. Cut off the 12 pin plug and installed a 7 pin trailer plug.

 

[unleashd]

As it stands now, the trailer still sits quite a bit higher in the back essentially having a nose down kind of profile when hooked up with a 4" riser hitch. Has anybody switched the axles to go 'over' the leaf springs instead of under them as they come from the factory? I see that there are trusses on the outside of where the leaf spring is mounted which might block the plates when the u-bolts are flipped. Trying to avoid cutting/welding. I will have to replace the shocks to compensate the lower height.

 

[juanprado]

Easiest thing would be to just change your riser to a taller one. I assume you have a class 3 or 4 reciever hitch, so they are easy to find. With the multiple holes you can always adjust down with other equipment. They are not too outrageous.
Pic of my set up.; not an expedition but a tahoe with similar hieghts.

 

[unleashd]

Easiest thing would be to just change your riser to a taller one. I assume you have a class 3 or 4 reciever hitch, so they are easy to find. With the multiple holes you can always adjust down with other equipment. They are not too outrageous.
Pic of my set up.; not an expedition but a tahoe with similar hieghts.

Actually, I did use a 4" raised hitch and the trailer still is nose down I can't go any higher on the hitch as the barn doors would not open.

 

[Jeepadict]

Actually, I did use a 4" raised hitch and the trailer still is nose down I can't go any higher on the hitch as the barn doors would not open.

I'm in an identical situation with a similar setup. We got our M101A3 to accompany my wife's Traverse in lieu of the SUV and pickup she had. It provided a substantial increase in usability with a lower operating cost.

Our trailer pulls slightly nose-down behind all of our vehicles. If we were go with a taller Pintle mount it would interfere with the liftgate on both the Suburban and Traverse. A little research led to finding the 5-position adjustable coupler that installs in place of the Lunette ring. Croft wanted an obnoxious price for the part so I contacted the manufacturer directly.

Calvin (the owner) at Mendenhall Industries contacted me after I filled out the contact form on their website. He had me send him some pics of the tongue assembly as there is an earlier and a current variety. One phone call later, Calvin had a box of goodies shipped to me for a fraction of what Croft wanted to rape me for...courtesy of a generous military discount. Said box consisted of everything I needed to get the braking system back to its deserving glory and the adjustable coupler that allows me to run any hitch coupler (ball or Lunette and height settings) as my little heart desires since the bolt pattern is an industry standard.

Croft has an exploded parts diagram for the surge assembly with correlating part numbers. Document can also be had from the Mendenhall website.

Note, I've seen a few fellas take this route tho they have taken the route with a torch to the Lunette and welded the adjustable coupler channel to the preexisting component. This would easily prove to be a more cost effective way, but I prefer the proper parts as I'm horrible with a welder.

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[unleashd]

Just documenting some of the measurements. With the HMMWV wheels, the trailer sits about 3" taller than these measurements. I have 33" tires on them for now.

 

[lfhoward]

@unleashd, I bet you could get a buyer for the 12 pin NATO plug you cut off. If you remove any parts from your trailer during the build, there are folks here who would jump at the chance to get them.

The Excursion wheels look good!

 

[unleashd]

@unleashd, I bet you could get a buyer for the 12 pin NATO plug you cut off. If you remove any parts from your trailer during the build, there are folks here who would jump at the chance to get them.

The Excursion wheels look good!

I think I am going to paint the trailer black. The tan & Chrome don't go well

 

[unleashd]

Slight change of plans for the tow rig.

After unsuccessfully trying to convince my wife that she could learn to comfortably drive the Excursion while on trips, I have decided to sell it. It will be replaced by a 2001 Lexus LX450 that I made a deal on this morning. This also means that some of the pans that I had for the M116A3 trailer will also be changing. I will need smaller wheels to match the LX, and this time, I am thinking of just prioritizing the axle swap to happen sooner so that I do not have to spend money on spacers once more. I will put the stuff that I bought a couple of weeks back on sale to fund the axle swap

 

[DMax82]

Alright! You will love the Lexus. I have a 2005 GX470 with the same drivetrain and it tows my M116a3 without breaking a sweat. 235k miles and I would drive it across the country today.