Modified lunette on M105a3 trailer

[Nonotagain]

I picked up a couple of M105a3 trailers a few months back. These are the latest in the US Military inventory.

There are a few differences between the a2 and a3 trailers, the most striking are that the a3 uses surge brakes verses air over hydraulic of the a2.

I have a couple of vehicles which I use to tow with, a dually Ford, a Chevy Suburban and a Toyota 4Runner.

The height of the lunette on the trailer is great enough that in order to tow with the Suburban or the 4Runner you need a 12" plate on a hitch adapter then the pintle hook. Even with the adapter in place the trailer does not tow level, meaning that the front of the trailer is lower than the rear by a good 8".

I set about fabricating a drop for the lunette.

The spacing on the lunette is 3" which works out well as I had some 3" box tubing with 3/8" wall thickness. I machined a piece of tubing using the 2 inch hole spacing used on the lunette. Once I drilled the holes for the mounting of the tubing to the lunette adapter, I drilled up a couple of 1/2" thick plated and bolted them to the sides of the tubing using grade 9 bolts.

Once I have enough time to evaluate the towing stability of my adaptation, I'll sand blast and CARC coat the parts before re-installing.

If anyone needs dimensions, chime in and I'll post what I used.

 

[frodobaggins]

I'd put more bolts in the top.

 

[jasonjc]

I would be afraid that the brakes would not work. The hitch is not pushing inline like it should, now the hitch is trying to twist the acturator not push it inline like it should.
But that is just my

 

[Skip]

Trailer Hitch

I would try to brace the eye. If you can run two braces from the eye up to the "V" arms coming from the front of the trailer. If you slot the bolt holes at the top you should still get the brakes to work and get the bracing needed to support the eye.

 

[oregonfirefighter]

Unless the tubing flexes, the force on the actuator is still horizontal.

I would be afraid that the brakes would not work. The hitch is not pushing inline like it should, now the hitch is trying to twist the acturator not push it inline like it should.
But that is just my

 

[Tinstar]

Since all that was done almost 9 years ago, would be interesting to see if it worked.
Looks comical to me.

Definitely to big and heavy a trailer for a 4Runner.

 

[porkysplace]

Since all that was done almost 9 years ago, would be interesting to see if it worked.
Looks comical to me.

Definitely to big and heavy a trailer for a 4Runner.

Yeah. looks like something that would twist. I doubt we will get a update he hasn't logged on to SS in 3 1/2 years.
Last Activity 11-14-2014 09:32

 

[Tinstar]

Just the shear forces alone would break something.
No way that worked properly.

Maybe the reason for the long absence.