Rear hitch on M1101 / 1102?

[1stDeuce]

Rear hitch on(--> Stacking) M1101 / 1102?

Gents, likely getting back into MV's pretty soon in the form of getting a M1101 trailer. I have searched all I can search, and haven't seen where anyone put a rear receiver on the back of one of these trailers. Is the rear xmember strong enough, or is it lighter weight like the 101 series trailers? I was thinking of removing the center lights and using the four holes that mount that bracket. Probably have to tie into the next crossmember forward too if they're fairly light... ??

Would be handy for a spare tire on longer trips, winching out backward when the poo geets too deep, mounting a cargo carrier for a little extra carrying capacity and less tongue weight...

Anyone??

 

[zebedee]

Unless you want to pull a second trailer (legality issues naturally), I think you would achieve your goals more efficiently by putting two short receiver tubes (the 2"ID outer tubes) under the ends of each chassis rails - this will give you a more sturdy mounting for the 'added rack'/ spare tyre carrier, which would have two of the 2"OD inner tubes that stick out. Would take a lot of the wiggle/slop out of the attachment and avoid messing with the center lights.


EDIT: Found pic and realised all the work is already done. Just make the rack and 'size' the inserts to match the shackle tubes. Add tyre straps, tie down points and whatever. Could add a hitch in the middle for shunting multiple trailers, or even make it hinge up for stowage when not used.

Maybe "Those military guys" will pick up on this and fab some for sale to those that don't weld! I'll take $1 a piece for "concept" !!!!!

 

[harleyhouse]

The trailer is aluminum but the lift ring mounts are steel.
get a piece of 2 x 3 heavy wall long enough to bridge them and weld a 2" receiver under it.
That way the tow / tie down rings are still intact and it will sit lower than the clearance lights under the gate.

 

[1stDeuce]

Thanks guys! This sounds like it will be just the ticket!! Looks like you have some good google sketchup skills Zebedee!!

If I put in a cross tube with a reciever on it, it WOULD work well for shuttling! Hmmm... (Double towing is legal out here in the wild wild west, or "wasteland" if you like.

Didn't realize that the frames were aluminum too... Makes them practically worth more in scrap than the current prices on GL!

 

[m16ty]

Just be careful towing doubles. I've done it before but you need to make sure you have some extra weight (200lb or so) in the front of the front trailer or it could be disastrous (trailers will fishtail).

 

[1stDeuce]

Thanks m16ty. I tow doubles all the time, but usually it's a gooseneck towing my Jeep, or the Jeep on a tow bar with the motorcycle trailer hooked on back. I'll be sure to add some weight to the first trailer if I go that route. Looks like I did get two trailers. Dang it, the most expensive two non-covered ones went to me... Grrrr. Since I was competing with the same bidder for both, my guess is that someone was buying all of them from the location I bid at. They are nice trailers for the price, that's for sure!!

Probably gonna need some measurements to make a rear hitch for one of them now... Think there's one for sale locally. Hopefully they'll let me measure it.

 

[auctionaddict]

Here is one I made, Even put 500 lbs in the front trailer, Fishtailed like crazy !! Didn't make it 2 miles !! (for sale cheap)

 

[1stDeuce]

Here is one I made, Even put 500 lbs in the front trailer, Fishtailed like crazy !! Didn't make it 2 miles !! (for sale cheap)

Crap. Having the cover on the front trailer might not have helped at hwy speeds... I assume the front trailer was banging the crap out of the hitch?? Was it really windy? I figured 55-60mph tops anyway...

Thinking about this a little more, it must be the tongue weight from the back trailer makes the front trailer tongue light, which would definitely make it fishtail like crazy... Add windage from the cover pushing back up high and the tongue weight is even more negative. 500lbs in the front of the front trailer didn't help??

1. I have a problem.

 

[auctionaddict]

I tried it 3 different times, I had bought 13 trailers so it was a trial and error thing.

1st attempt, 2 without tarps, no wind, hitch way off level (low in front) got to 35mph and had to stop.
2nd attempt, front with tarp, no wind, rear without (in pic) modified hitch (level) 45mph before fishtailing
3rd attempt, level hitch, no wind, both without tarps, 500lbs in very front of first trailer, Thought I was good, made it to 65mph for a few miles, went to change lanes and the rear trailer got crazy on 1 wheel fish tailing and slung the wheel scotch out of the trailer !!

I gave up after that, I think if I had some weight in the rear trailer it might have worked.

Crap. Having the cover on the front trailer might not have helped at hwy speeds... I assume the front trailer was banging the crap out of the hitch?? Was it really windy? I figured 55-60mph tops anyway...

Thinking about this a little more, it must be the tongue weight from the back trailer makes the front trailer tongue light, which would definitely make it fishtail like crazy... Add windage from the cover pushing back up high and the tongue weight is even more negative. 500lbs in the front of the front trailer didn't help??

1. I have a problem.

 

[1stDeuce]

Wonder if their being so tall is part of the problem. Wonder if the GL guys will flip one upside down on top of the other for me... Wonder if i can find a longer trailer to rent locally to haul them both back on...
So many questions...

 

[auctionaddict]

I put 2 on my 18ft car trailer, No problem.
I don't have a pic, but here is one same trailer with 2 105s !

 

[harleyhouse]

I have done it with my M101A2 and M116A2 but only below 30 mph then in a parade.

 

[tim292stro]

Wonder if their being so tall is part of the problem. Wonder if the GL guys will flip one upside down on top of the other for me... Wonder if i can find a longer trailer to rent locally to haul them both back on...
So many questions...

I think the length of the trailers is the issue in general - short trailers have a fast/short frequency/period - this of this like a clock pendulum - the shorter the distance from the fulcrum to the weight the faster it swings. Other than that, you'll have to put a damper in the hitch system so that the trailing unit can't swing faster than the damped frequency.

 

[Recovry4x4]

1101 stacking 101!
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?124466-Oh-YES-you-can&highlight=

 

[John Galt]

I put 2 on my 18ft car trailer, No problem.
I don't have a pic, but here is one same trailer with 2 105s !

View attachment 505606

Thanks for the info. I have been debating if a standard 83" wide trailer would work for trailer recovery and it looks like it will. A super-wide is a lot more money and a deck over is less practical for other tasks.

Have you been happy with your 18' length?

 

[m16ty]

Just be careful towing doubles. I've done it before but you need to make sure you have some extra weight (200lb or so) in the front of the front trailer or it could be disastrous (trailers will fishtail).

I will add that when I towed doubles it was with M105s. Could do 70mph and they just followed right along.

I assumed M101 trailers would do the same. Judging by the other post, I may have been mistaken.

 

[John Galt]

Is it the surge brakes that makes towing doubles a challenge?

 

[auctionaddict]

The 18' is perfect for me, Glad I didn't get the 16 !
Here is a couple I picked up today.

 

[1stDeuce]

Well, I was hoping to score a 24' flatbed gooseneck before the week was over, but it isn't meant to be... I'm heading down sunday. Talked to Mr. Lowe at Ft Bliss and he says they have a forklift and will use it to stack my trailers for me. I'm going to stack them right side up instead of upside-down. Found at least one picture online that indicates that it should work... (I stole this image off g503, with credit to George Paxinos for the doing!)

Looks like track width is a bit tight, but if I air the tires on the upper trailer way down, I think they'll wedge in OK.

Should be able to lift the top trailer off with a crane truck that the guys next door to my shop have.
I'd really like to set it in backwards, with the tires of the upper trailer in front of the wheel wells, and the tongue pointing backwards, but I don't think that's going to work with the track width being as wide as it is. Hmmm. I wonder if it would work if I pulled the tires off and set it on them... No, I think I read that even with the tires off, they don't nest well.

Hopefully if I do this in the future, the gooseneck will save me this trouble!

Thanks to all for good advice!!
Chris

 

[1stDeuce]

It worked!

The deed is done and my two M1101 trailers are sitting at the shop waiting to be un-stacked. I arrived at Ft Bliss at 9:30AM Monday. GL guy didn't return any of my calls Monday morning, so after 1.5 hours of driving around looking for the lot and waiting for him to call me, I finally saw another load of trailers heading out and backtracked where they came from to find the GL lot. He was on the phone when I got there, and it sounded like he had been most of the time.

Anyway, he found my trailers and with a little direction from me, we were able to get them stacked up pretty quickly. They towed very well this way, and I'll do it again if I buy more and still don't own a decent gooseneck.

If anyone else is looking to do this, here are some helpful pointers...
First, let ALL the air out of the tires of the upper trailer. And set the parking brake on both wheels. I tossed a couple of 4x4's on the top of the wheel wells of the lower trailer for the upper trailer to sit on. Pick up the intended upper trailer from the side and position it over, but slightly ahead of, the lower trailer. (To get a little more tongue weight.) Lower the trailer, with the side away from the forklift slightly lower until the tread of the far side tire is just below the bed side. Have the forklift operator drive ahead a little, so that the closer tire tread will also drop just inside the bed. (You have to "squeeze" it in, or it'll just sit on the bed side.) Lower the trailer some more until the tongue starts to drop. Connect straps between the rear tie down/lift points of the trailers to keep the tongue from dropping more. Forklift is done. Cinch the straps down to raise the tongue, then put chain in their place and relaxed them until the chain is tight. X the straps front and rear. I didn't tighten the front ones much, just enough to keep it from bouncing.

I aired up the lower trailer tires to 20psi for the tow home, and they seemed to like that pressure. I checked several times, and one hub was always a little warmer than the other. I'm guessing the bearings on that side are a bit tight, since the brakes didn't seem to be dragging. Surge brake seemed to work fine, though my hitch could have been a couple of inches higher.


Front straps "X"'d. Rear chain holding things in place, with X'd straps for good measure.


Top trailer just a little ahead of the bottom one. This was pretty good positioning for tongue weight. No problems towing to 70mph, and no wiggle from the upper trailer, even over some pretty rough roads.
Note I put the tailgate down on the upper trailer for better aerodynamics!! hahaha


You can see it's a tight squeeze to get the upper trailer in. This is why you let the air out of the tires. The bedsides of the lower trailer did bow out just a little, but they'll spring back. The 4x4's keep the tires from dropping too far into the bed, which would probably bow the sides even more. It's pretty much sitting on the runflats as far as I could tell.



Chris