DIY Fiberglass M416/M100 info...Its not out yet

[troyboy162]

Thought of this with Lance working on his trailer. I have run into info on this project for awhile. The premise is that the old military trailers are no longer $100 and plentiful. Now they are $800ish and rusty, so this guy figures that opens up an opportunity for a cheap re-make.

-Built around cheap, readily available, Harbor freight trailer or the original military frames
-Fiberglass tub for no rust and hopefully lower cost. Not flimsy (see below pic)
-Price is still in the air. I hope its ~$1000 and his other fiberglass trailers price makes $800-$900 total possible

If anyone has info please add it to the post as its available. The threads on the internet are all over for these but its hard to follow them since they are 12-18 pages long lol

Where to buy when they are available
http://www.dinoot.com/index.php/model-line-up

modding the harbor freight trailer. I think there are smaller versions that dont need modifications to the trailer.
http://tventuring.com/trailerforum/t...8.html#pid2158


All pics stolen of course but I would think he'd be ok with some more exposure.
overview of tub idea





Real one on top and fiberglass one on the bottom (Yes I find the 5 bolt rims as disturbing as you lol):


Fiberglass and cheap would seem to be flimsy, but this guy is designing it burly. Mock up fender seen in this pic for fit testing

[Good Times]

Troy, I've been watching this same exact thread! I think a similar one is floating around on ExPo too. But this thread is more comprehensive.

I starting googling alternative options cuz I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my trailer. Originally I was thinking of selling it and making a new trailer similar to some of the crazy AU trailers but reality hit me quick and hard just by looking at the 4runner still being incomplete. lol so instead I began researching what things I can do to quickly make my trailer a bit more road worthy and figured a full tune up with some new hardware wouldn't break the bank for me and also be an easy way to get me back on the road.

I'm still eying this thread to see what comes out of all of this.

[troyboy162]

its a pretty exciting project. Given the $800-$900 price puts you on Harbor freight tires, you shouldn't be going offroad, but as you bring it out to $1500 it should be a capable little trailer edging into the bottom end of 4k trailer territory. The effort to get it up and running isn't insignificant, but not terrible either.

cool stuff! I'm not sure I will ever be a trailer guy but this one makes the price alot less of a sting to get into it.

[troyboy162]

good info in this post for beefing up the harbor freight trailers on the cheap. Ex if you want to hang 35" tires off the thing then the axle and hubs should be upgraded. Edit...still learning...I dont know if upgraded hubs are needed to deal with the extra leverage of large tires. You figure these will be ultra light weight trailers so it would be great to just get some adapters to Toyota wheels and be done with it.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f27/m...hread-1180456/

[Bob98SR5]

Gents,

While fiberglass is cool, easy to patch, light weight, rust proof, etc, I am not seeing the wisdom of paying that much more for something you cannot easily modify. Having a metal tub would allow you to weld on tabs, supports, etc. Knowing lance, he will add and/or weld so much shit onto it that it will have its own roll cage and a stinger on back!

Keep sanding away at the tub, Lance! Paint it with the rainbow camo that you were telling me about

Bob

[4x4mike]

I agree with Bob. Lance you already have the trailer and it's in good enough condition for you to put as much time into it as you have or plan.

If you're getting into a trailer the fiberglass option would be something to consider. You do need to keep in mind what your plans are for it though. It might not rust but it won't be as durable as a metal tub. Fine for casual camping but dump runs, flops and loaded wash board roads will decrease it's life.

[troyboy162]

Its not really the best option for those who already have a working trailer like Lance. With $800-$900 he could have a sandblasted and poweder coated princess than even the SD crew would be seen with. I think we can all agree the army version is more desirable from a traditional stand point.

I dont have a dog in the fight but something like this would not be harmed by all the hard core camping in the world. Fiberglass is strong enough for the application and air filled tires with suspension would treat it much better then a boat hual. Structural welds would be made to the frame and superficial tabs and brakets could be fixed to the tub like the tailgate and mods already done to the jeep version thats out.

What makes it good is you can go this route hopefully faster then restomoding a military one that you would be lucky to find in the first place. With your time invested of course, you could build something comparable for less then half the price of a expensive turn key adventue trailer. Its not the easy route but its not a bad one given the cheap trailers are all dried up

[Seanz0rz]

It would make a great option for a M762 trailer like mine. Toss that tub on top of my flatbed, then I have a trailer with a tub. and then I can take it off to haul 3x the trailers rated weight worth of tile!

[CJM]

I can see the tubs being worth it, its a good idea for those who just want a tub and wont be modifying it. I highly dislike bothering with the HF trailer. COuld easily weld something 10x stronger for 3-4x cheaper even if you paid someone, also dont trust the little axles on them things.

[troyboy162]

CJM is right. With the amount of work involved, boxing out a trailer base and sticking a axle on it wouldn't be much more work. Registration would be some hoops to jump through but worth while.