MKT identification help

[Jeep Stew]

Hello folks, first post and from a complete noob to MKT trailers.

Picked one up dirt cheap, but I'm not seeing any kind of identification plate on it. Been trying to scour the internet for an answer including YouTube, but the best I've been able to even remotely narrow it down came from this website.

If anyone can tell me-
1. What model MKT this is?
2. What model stoves these are?
3. What kind of fuel do these stoves use? Assuming it's diesel? Maybe propane?
4. Where the fuel hookup actually is?
5. An axle swap suggestion for this so I can run electric brakes?

I would be very much obliged! Thank you.

As you can see, the canvas is kaput, what you see is pretty much what you get, it had virtually no utensils or cookware but does appear to have all of its poles.

 

[flyfishtrailer]

Welcome Jeep Stew! I can help out a bit but there will be a few more that will chim in. First, go to the TM section of this website and get a copy of the TM for the MKT. It will help you quite a bit. I will answer your questions below:

If anyone can tell me-
1. What model MKT this is?
So, the first MKT was a MKT75, then 85, 90 and finally 99. Yours is equipped with the old gas burners (which are very dangerous, outdated and not worth even trying to move forward with using). My guess is probably a 75 or 85 that never had the upgrade to a 99 like most of them did. The nice thing about these is the size of the trailer never changed so all parts are interchangeable with all models.

2. What model stoves these are?
These are the old gas burning stoves that were replaced with the MBU (Modern Burner Unit) which is a diesel-powered unit. Your MKT does not have MBU's, nor the MBU power cables or the power converter to convert household current to 24 volt the MBU needs to run its computer. To get all of the items I listed you will either need to hunt for the parts here or on a certain aUction site (or local market places). This may take your bargain price of the MKT up considerably. Others will chime in that have done propane conversions. The ovens you see are M59 field ovens (and there is a TM for them as well)

3. What kind of fuel do these stoves use? Assuming it's diesel? Maybe propane?
Those stoves were gas powered. Too volatile and there are many stories of explosions and burns from operating them (hence the conversion to diesel, plus all motorized field vehicles tend to run on it so diesel is not hard to find)

4. Where the fuel hookup actually is?
Those stoves would be pulled out and filled with gas, then pumped to pressurize them. MBU units have a built-in pump and have a hose quick connector to fuel them in place with the fuel source (usually a 5-gallon fuel can) outside of the MKT

5. An axle swap suggestion for this so I can run electric brakes?
There are all kinds of possibilities her and a lot of that would depend on how much money you want to spend and what vehicle you are going to use as a tow vehicle. Even empty, this trailer weighs over a ton. I converted the air/hydraulic brakes to electric/hydraulic brakes so that i can use a brake controller and tow it with my 3500 pick up or my LMTV. the cost for this a few years ago was about $800 which at that time was cheaper than a new axle, rims and tires.

Hope all of this helps and remember to look through the TM. Lots of very knowledgeable folks here that are willing to share their experience and answer questions, but by reading up you will answer many yourself. Congrats on the MKT. They are a lot of fun to use (although former MKT cooks will say otherwise LOL). Enjoy and keep us posted. We love pictures so always take and share a lot of those. Oh, almost forgot, there is also a ton of threads on MKT related stuff so use the search bar as well.

 

[flyfishtrailer]

Welcome Jeep Stew! I can help out a bit but there will be a few more that will chim in. First, go to the TM section of this website and get a copy of the TM for the MKT. It will help you quite a bit. I will answer your questions below:

If anyone can tell me-
1. What model MKT this is?
So, the first MKT was a MKT75, then 85, 90 and finally 99. Yours is equipped with the old gas burners (which are very dangerous, outdated and not worth even trying to move forward with using). My guess is probably a 75 or 85 that never had the upgrade to a 99 like most of them did. The nice thing about these is the size of the trailer never changed so all parts are interchangeable with all models.

2. What model stoves these are?
These are the old gas burning stoves that were replaced with the MBU (Modern Burner Unit) which is a diesel-powered unit. Your MKT does not have MBU's, nor the MBU power cables or the power converter to convert household current to 24 volt the MBU needs to run its computer. To get all of the items I listed you will either need to hunt for the parts here or on a certain aUction site (or local market places). This may take your bargain price of the MKT up considerably. Others will chime in that have done propane conversions. The ovens you see are M59 field ovens (and there is a TM for them as well)

3. What kind of fuel do these stoves use? Assuming it's diesel? Maybe propane?
Those stoves were gas powered. Too volatile and there are many stories of explosions and burns from operating them (hence the conversion to diesel, plus all motorized field vehicles tend to run on it so diesel is not hard to find)

4. Where the fuel hookup actually is?
Those stoves would be pulled out and filled with gas, then pumped to pressurize them. MBU units have a built-in pump and have a hose quick connector to fuel them in place with the fuel source (usually a 5-gallon fuel can) outside of the MKT

5. An axle swap suggestion for this so I can run electric brakes?
There are all kinds of possibilities her and a lot of that would depend on how much money you want to spend and what vehicle you are going to use as a tow vehicle. Even empty, this trailer weighs over a ton. I converted the air/hydraulic brakes to electric/hydraulic brakes so that i can use a brake controller and tow it with my 3500 pick up or my LMTV. the cost for this a few years ago was about $800 which at that time was cheaper than a new axle, rims and tires.

Hope all of this helps and remember to look through the TM. Lots of very knowledgeable folks here that are willing to share their experience and answer questions, but by reading up you will answer many yourself. Congrats on the MKT. They are a lot of fun to use (although former MKT cooks will say otherwise LOL). Enjoy and keep us posted. We love pictures so always take and share a lot of those. Oh, almost forgot, there is also a ton of threads on MKT related stuff so use the search bar as well.

And I live just east of Sacramento (Cool CA). I see your close. I may have parts for stuff you may need. Most of the MKT guys here live way east of us.

 

[SCSG-G4]

Chris has answered pretty much everything you need to know. Vinyl/Canvas roofs, walls and carry covers are HARD TO FIND and EXPENSIVE, but if you can find a boat canvas shop and some those items as patterns, you may be able to squeak by. I did not see a griddle in your pictures, or the three stainless steel splash guards. To use the griddle, you would also need to obtain a grease funnel and catch pan for the grease and stuck food scrapings. In addition to here and evil-Bay, there is a buy-sell-trade MKT group on Facebook where you may be able to find parts. If you don't have them the 10 and 15 gallon pots that go in the M-59's, you will have to get surplus ones - make sure you also get a 'steam riser' that attaches to the lid of each pot. Baking trays are another GI specific size. Most everything else is the international Gastro Norm size specification. Utensils can be obtained at any decent restaurant supply house. Look for the CAMBRO type food and drink containers on the surplus markets. The inserts will be found where you buy utensils.

 

[Jeep Stew]

Awesome! Thank you folks! I will go looking for that TM manual, that is actually what brought me to this website. I just didn't know which version I had.

I would absolutely love to hear how Chris did the air to electric brake swap as I would love to just simply keep this axle and simplify life. I think my google-foo sucks as I've looked online several times before even purchasing this trailer but have not found much on this process. It's actually prevented me from buying several different trailers over the years, both military and civilian. I'm probably giving away a million dollar patent idea, but I've often wondered why no one has come out with a simple plug in converter electric compressor brake controller...? But then again maybe I'm just using the wrong search terms.

As far as the stoves go, are they actually easily removable? They look like they are hardlined in. But yes, I've seen a couple stories about how the old models are completely unsafe. Does anyone have any pictures of models that came previous to the MBU that I could stare at?

Nope, no griddle, just the four burners area. A griddle would certainly have been nice, but I do have a barbecue insert that if I can make these, or get a hold of some MBUs, that makes a pretty good griddle top..

Thank you for the suggestions on suppliers and where to look, that one had me baffled, have spent years on craigslist always looking for the most random crap, only once at least in my region have I ever seen an MBU that I stumbled across. Literally only just got on Facebook within the last 6 months as I've got a solar mobile generator and all the answers seem to be on a forum only on Facebook. Never thought about checking there for military supply stuff. So again thank you!

I know I have some follow-up questions, but I think I've got to do some more research and a little more searching of suppliers.

You guys rock! Thank you!

 

[Guyfang]

Now your cooking with Gas!!!

 

[flyfishtrailer]

Awesome! Thank you folks! I will go looking for that TM manual, that is actually what brought me to this website. I just didn't know which version I had.

I would absolutely love to hear how Chris did the air to electric brake swap as I would love to just simply keep this axle and simplify life. I think my google-foo sucks as I've looked online several times before even purchasing this trailer but have not found much on this process. It's actually prevented me from buying several different trailers over the years, both military and civilian. I'm probably giving away a million dollar patent idea, but I've often wondered why no one has come out with a simple plug in converter electric compressor brake controller...? But then again maybe I'm just using the wrong search terms.

As far as the stoves go, are they actually easily removable? They look like they are hardlined in. But yes, I've seen a couple stories about how the old models are completely unsafe. Does anyone have any pictures of models that came previous to the MBU that I could stare at?

Nope, no griddle, just the four burners area. A griddle would certainly have been nice, but I do have a barbecue insert that if I can make these, or get a hold of some MBUs, that makes a pretty good griddle top..

Thank you for the suggestions on suppliers and where to look, that one had me baffled, have spent years on craigslist always looking for the most random crap, only once at least in my region have I ever seen an MBU that I stumbled across. Literally only just got on Facebook within the last 6 months as I've got a solar mobile generator and all the answers seem to be on a forum only on Facebook. Never thought about checking there for military supply stuff. So again thank you!

I know I have some follow-up questions, but I think I've got to do some more research and a little more searching of suppliers.

You guys rock! Thank you!

Read this thread. I followed and used the exact same parts. Worked perfect. Do you still have the military trailer connector on this or has someone already converted it to 7-pin? If not, what I suggest is doing just that. Remove the connector end, follow the military wire numbers for the 7-pin plug and now you don't mess with any of the military connectors on the trailer and can easily convert back to a military plug if needed.

Convert M105, M200 or other air over hydraulic brake trailer to electric how-to | SteelSoldiers

 

[SCSG-G4]

Jeep Stew, you might consider sending me a USB drive that will hold at least 8 GB and get the latest version of my "MKT Thumb Drive" data. There is a lot more on that compilation and the equipment TM's available here (I have the AR's, FM's, TC's, LO's, etc.) - links to civilian catalogs, the German Karcher TFK-250 that can pressure cook 150 pounds of potatoes at a time, manuals for the trucks that pulled the MKT's in service and so forth. There is also the Armed Forces Master Menu (Army TM 10-412) with about 1700 recipes in PDF format and a lot of ancillary information on cooking. GL did some filming of my MKT setup 10 years ago at the Georgia Rally. This should be a link > https://www.youtube.com/supported_browsers?next_url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmEqVsZmSB4

 

[Jeep Stew]

Fly fish trailer, thank you for that link. I got some reading to do.

A USB stick? If I can find a decent one off of Amazon, I will certainly try and get one to you, that much info would certainly be awesome.

Thanks you guys, I'm glad I came here!

 

[Jeep Stew]

Forgot to ask, I went out and snapped another picture of the burner units, it definitely looks like a line that is running and supporting all four at once. Would you think this is a true gasoline line or a propane/LPG gas line?

How best to remove it? Should I even bother attempting to unravel these lines or should I just cut them out?

 

[Jeep Stew]

 

[flyfishtrailer]

Looking in more detail, it looks like someone converted to propane/natural gas. Follow the lines and I will bet you will find a tank connection point. The military burners were not hooked together at any time, so Bubba put that together. Not sure I would trust it without running leak checks. Did the previous owner mention anything about it?

 

[SCSG-G4]

Chris, you are correct, those burners have been modified to run on propane! Jeep Stew, USB drives can be purchased at Walmart, Office Depot, and probably most drugstores or general merchandise stores. The smallest size anymore is probably 16 GB. Last pack (of five drives) I got from Office Depot were 32 GB and cost me less than $20 total. YMMV.

 

[Jeep Stew]

Flyfishtrailer thank you for that. I thought when I was first looking and reading about these type of burners I was having difficulty believing gasoline would be pumped through these. Glad to know, even though I'm slightly ignorant to all things military I'm not that stupid after all! Lol.

Guy I got it from couldn't tell me much about it. If I remember correctly he said he bought it at a government auction with no history. He sat on it for a couple of years always hoping to do something with it..... Which he finally did - he sold it to me!

I was and still am hoping to convert it to a semi-permanent outdoor kitchen. After hearing and reading these might be the potentially dangerous MBUs My first thought was to just ditch them and maybe put something like a barbecue grill without the base in its place maybe alongside something like a black stone.

If these lines pressure test to be safe for LPG...... Is it still safe to use these overall? Is the explosion risk mitigated by this type of conversion away from gasoline or is it or was it just an overall design flaw?

 

[flyfishtrailer]

Flyfishtrailer thank you for that. I thought when I was first looking and reading about these type of burners I was having difficulty believing gasoline would be pumped through these. Glad to know, even though I'm slightly ignorant to all things military I'm not that stupid after all! Lol.

Guy I got it from couldn't tell me much about it. If I remember correctly he said he bought it at a government auction with no history. He sat on it for a couple of years always hoping to do something with it..... Which he finally did - he sold it to me!

I was and still am hoping to convert it to a semi-permanent outdoor kitchen. After hearing and reading these might be the potentially dangerous MBUs My first thought was to just ditch them and maybe put something like a barbecue grill without the base in its place maybe alongside something like a black stone.

If these lines pressure test to be safe for LPG...... Is it still safe to use these overall? Is the explosion risk mitigated by this type of conversion away from gasoline or is it or was it just an overall design flaw?

It did not come from the military auction like that, somebody messed with it after the military unloaded it. It's just gas burners and would be no different than your backyard BBQ if it doesn't have leaks. It just looks old and thrown together. I would either convert to MBU version 3's (those are the ones that run on diesel) and start chipping away at finding all the necessary parts (this could take a while and potentially cost a decent amount of cash (but I may have 4-6 MBUs that I would part with for just a hair over my cost) or start a new gas system using new fittings and regulators. I think Mike will agree with me on that. Why chase someone else's work when you can install your own. Just my two cents.