Shelter mounted on trailer?

[Guruman]

Gents,
I'm fishing for an idea....

One of my non-military rides is a new Jeep Rubicon 392.... I'm looking to take an extended trip out to Montana and Wyoming in it this summer.

I've been looking at either a rugged off-road camper or a simple cargo trailer.

A cargo trailer would simply let us take a bunch of gear with us, and we would unhook it for day trips into the mountains. Sort of OK, but not ideal.

A rugged camper would let us overnight deep in the backcountry, something that I like the idea of doing very much. But, it would have to be pretty rugged, and lightweight enough to make the journey and fall under the 3500 pound towing limit of the Jeep.

I've been looking at purpose built overlanding trailers and they are stupid expensive for what they are. I mean CRAZY expensive.

So.... I'm thinking. Something like a s-250 mounted to a small military trailer like a m116a3, or a M1101, something like the old m416 is probably too small for what I want, and the m105 might be too big/heavy.


So, My question is has any of you done something similar? and What might be a good shelter/trailer combo to give me some interior volume while keeping the weight and bulk down?

I'm thinking that the m116/s250 combo might be a good setup. The m116 seems to have a lower deck height that something like the m1101, which would be better for me for getting in the thing, reducing aerodynamic drag on the road, and to keep the center of gravity lower for offroad travel. but I'm not sure how much effort it might be to get the shelter mounted on there.... would the s250 fit between the fenders of the m116?

edit: changed all of my m106 references to correctly refer to the m116 generator trailer.

 

[TechnoWeenie]

M1101 and shelter is a tried/true combination.






M101 is a viable option as well, albeit heavier. It was designed to pull behind the M715. The A2 has the same lug/wheel pattern as the CUCV, and the A3 was designed to tow behind HMMWV so it has completely different setup. It's steel instead of aluminum like the M1101.









Also..... 'Did you search?'..

M1101, M1102, S-250 Shelter

I tried out my S-250 in one of my M1102's the other day. Loaded it in, but the legs I made were for the M101A3 and did not clear the wider M1102 sides, so had to block the shelter up about 3 1/2" (two 2x4's). I took it out and pulled the combo at 50 m.p.h., then 55, 60, 65, and 70; it was very...

www.steelsoldiers.com

 

[TechnoWeenie]

I will also say, that if you're WINTER camping. An S250 is what you want. These have thick insulation and most don't even need a heater as the body warmth is usually enough to keep the inside decently warm.

If you're SUMMER camping.. I think a better option would be a topper with a custom interior. The shelter has a lot of wasted space due to its design. The M101 bed has the same dimensions of the older dodges and F250s, making it easy to find canopies/toppers (or whatever you call them in your neck of the woods)..

 

[Guruman]

Also..... 'Did you search?'..

Well, yeah. But, I found not much about the possibilities of the m116a3 and the s-250. both of these are available right now near me on CL/FB. or if there are other trailer/shelter combos I should consider.


I like the m116 due to it's lower overall height compared to the m1101... Anyone know how tall the m1101/s-250combo is? Maybe it's not as bad as I think it might be.

 

[Guruman]

I will also say, that if you're WINTER camping. An S250 is what you want. These have thick insulation and most don't even need a heater as the body warmth is usually enough to keep the inside decently warm.

If you're SUMMER camping.. I think a better option would be a topper with a custom interior. The shelter has a lot of wasted space due to its design. The M101 bed has the same dimensions of the older dodges and F250s, making it easy to find canopies/toppers (or whatever you call them in your neck of the woods)..

View attachment 888953

For summer camping I'd really like to have the insulation to make A/C an easier option. I have an extensive solar setup I can drop in and an available mini split hvac unit. If it's well insulated, I might be able to run the A/C some or all day on solar/battery power.

 

[Guruman]

Here's what i'm looking at:

Both are near me from two different sellers, trailer for 750, shelter for 1500. All of the nearby m1101/2 trailers are three or more times as expensive.

If I can mate the two up I'd have a decent camp/overlanding setup that's tough and around 1400 pounds dry.

I'm thinking the wheel well cutouts on the s-250 might just fit right over the fenders on this m116 trailer. And it should drag behind the Jeep pretty much anywhere I'd want. The m116 even looks to have surge brakes, so just getting the lights switched over to 12v, and maybe adding some stabilizer legs and it would be done. Provided the s-250 fits.

I can find many examples of the m1101/02 with a s-250 on it, but I don't see anything about as-250 on a m116....

 

[Guruman]

M1101 and shelter is a tried/true combination.

View attachment 888952

See. That seems really, REALLY tall. Like 9+ feet tall, judging by the garage door.

 

[Guruman]

Also..... 'Did you search?'..

Well, yeah. But, I found not much about the possibilities of the m116a3 and the s-250. both of these are available right now near me on CL/FB. or if there are other trailer/shelter combos I should consider.


I like the m116 due to it's lower overall height compared to the m1101... Anyone know how tall the m1101/s-250combo is? Maybe it's not as bad as I think it might be.

 

[Guruman]

I did find this in another thread... seems useful. This is the m116, and it's about 3 inches taller due to the tire/wheel swap.

 

[Guruman]

Also... looking at this, it might not be a s-250, as the 250 is just chopped the whole length to allow for the wheels. This one has a cutout....

 

[TechnoWeenie]

For summer camping I'd really like to have the insulation to make A/C an easier option. I have an extensive solar setup I can drop in and an available mini split hvac unit. If it's well insulated, I might be able to run the A/C some or all day on solar/battery power.

A/C?

That's not camping, bro.

 

[TechnoWeenie]

Also... looking at this, it might not be a s-250, as the 250 is just chopped the whole length to allow for the wheels. This one has a cutout....

View attachment 888963

Not an S250.

There's an S788 and S1497 that are designed to be in the HMMWV.

S788 are all over the place. S1497 is a rare beast, from what I've seen.

 

[TechnoWeenie]

They also make/made CBCs (hard tops) for M101, M1101, and M105 trailers... Just to confuse things...

 

[Dwnorton1]

The S-250 will not fit betwwen fenders of M116-A3 without modification I added 2x3 square tubing between fender plates and frame widened just enough for about 3/4" clearance on each side

 

[Guruman]

The S-250 will not fit betwwen fenders of M116-A3 without modification I added 2x3 square tubing between fender plates and frame widened just enough for about 3/4" clearance on each side

View attachment 888970
View attachment 888969

That's what I was looking for... thanks a ton.

 

[Guruman]

Not an S250.

There's an S788 and S1497 that are designed to be in the HMMWV.

S788 are all over the place. S1497 is a rare beast, from what I've seen.

must be the 788, looks like the 1497s wheel well is open to the rear

 

[Guruman]

The S-250 will not fit betwwen fenders of M116-A3 without modification I added 2x3 square tubing between fender plates and frame widened just enough for about 3/4" clearance on each side

View attachment 888970
View attachment 888969

So the s-788 shelter has actual wheel wells..... Could the fenders on the m116a3 just be completely removed? or is there some structure to them that is required?

If I could just pull the fenders off, then I could just drop the box on with the wheel wells covering the wheels, removing anything in the way to make it as low as possible on the frame....

 

[Dwnorton1]

So the s-788 shelter has actual wheel wells..... Could the fenders on the m116a3 just be completely removed? or is there some structure to them that is required?

If I could just pull the fenders off, then I could just drop the box on with the wheel wells covering the wheels, removing anything in the way to make it as low as possible on the frame....

That is the hard part( lowering) you can remove fenders and put S-788 or s-250 they just ride on top of frame like my ealier pic. No real way to lower I am just shade tall to fit in 8' tall garage door

I have s-788 sitting on the 1101 version of generator trailer and it fit between fenderswith no mods

 

[Guruman]

That is the hard part( lowering) you can remove fenders and put S-788 or s-250 they just ride on top of frame like my ealier pic. No real way to lower I am just shade tall to fit in 8' tall garage door

I have s-788 sitting on the 1101 version of generator trailer and it fit between fenderswith no mods

8 feet is manageable for me. I could even swap out to smaller tires to further reduce the height, at least until it causes ground clearance issues on the trail.

How tall is the s788/1101 combo?

 

[Dwnorton1]

I'm not home to measure 1101, but if I recall correctly 8' 5" or so with S-788 on it.

The 1101 chassis is torsion suspension (or old one I have) I think this may be a bit taller than the 116 trailers

Of note I run 12.50 x16.5 14 ply truck tires on Hmmwv rim which lower overall by about 2" so that accounts for some of the difference.

Had S 250 in M101A3 and fit with tailgate up and room for batteries in front of bed.