jpeaslee's M416 Trailer Build

[jpeaslee]

So last august I found a guy selling a M416 a couple hours away from me for a pretty good price. The frame had already been sandblasted and POR15'ed. The floor of the tub supposedly was too. The trailer was completely disassembled, which was the reason for the good price. Soon after I got it, I got tied up with work, and then moved in December, unfortunately leaving the trailer behind. I finally got the last of my stuff moved up here, so almost a full year later I can finally get started building it!

The frame really is in great shape. The axle is in ok shape, but the handbrake is cut. The tires look like a damn beaver attacked them. This being the case, I've decided to put a new axle under it and throw on some wheels/tires to match the ones on my runner (or at least the same size).

My goal for it is an offroad/expo build, but primarly using it as a base camp. Some of what I'm doing probably is overkill for that purpose, but if I'm going to put the time and money into it, I want to do it right so I can use it for whatever in the future.

Mostly my plans for it are:
1. Fix the rust and paint
2. Fab some sort of lid. Might end up just using a canvas top. I keep going back and forth on this. This trailer might be what finally gets me to buy a welding machine and learn to use it.
3. Add a rack to support a rooftop tent or kayaks/canoes, etc.
4. replace the original hitch mount thing with slightly longer 2" receiver tube to accommodate a MaxCoupler.
5. Put a new idler axle under it to match the 6 on 5.5 pattern on the 4runner and get some matching wheels/tires (or at least same size)

Other possibilities I'm contemplating
6. Some camp lighting or something.
7. A water tank
8. Mounts for a LP tank and some gas jerrys.

The Tub is pretty rusty, but it's mostly surface rust. I spend the better part of this weekend trying to eat through the rust and the old paint so I could start from scratch and know what metal was under there. Turns out the body is in great shape, and the layers of paint on this thing are a PITA to get through. After about 6 hours yesterday and another 6 today, I got the inside walls of the tub cleaned up and most of the top rail. The floor of the tub was coated in POR15, but it was prepped poorly or something, cause it is rusty.

Here are a couple quick pics as proof it exists:

 

[jpeaslee]

Finally starting to make some progress on the trailer. A few months ago I got everything on the inside of the trailer and the top tube down to bare metal, Osphoed it, and primed it. I think I'm going to clean up the slight bit of surface rust on the outside and prime/paint over it as it's in fantastic shape. I'll be using black Al's spray on bedliner.

I picked up a Highland Expedition Outfitters RTT (made in the same factory and to same specs as a CVT MT. Shasta Extended). I'm currently using a set of Yakima Lowrider mounts and some 58" bars to mount the tent to. Ideally I ould like to get it sitting about 6-8" higher to have a little easier access beneath the tent, but I do want to keep the center of gravity as low as I can. With the spring over axle and 33's, it's sitting plenty high enough as it is.

I've got a max coupler and a set of wheels on their way and as soon as I can make it to ATL, I've got a set of grabber red letter 285s waiting on me.

The dexter Axle I ordered is 58" hub face to hub face, 39.25" spring centers, and 3500lb rating with a 6x5.5 hub pattern.

I even got them to give me a tag for it without having a title or inspecting it (which is good, cause it was still in pieces in my basement when I got it registered, haha).

All that said, I'm hoping to have this thing rolling in the next few weeks.

 

[WallyT4R]

Congrats on starting the build. I got mine over six years ago, tore it apart and it has been sitting in a pile since last month when I finally took everything to get sandblasted....It is still at the powder coaters getting sand blasted. I went back and forth about what or if I wanted anything powder coated. Ended up having the fenders and the frame powder coated. Everything else will be POR15'd. I will also have to have some metal work done on the tub and I'm going to have a lid fabricated. I'm going to go with all stainless hardware and have not begun the task of sorting through that yet. Can't wait to get it back so I can start the process. Good luck with yours and thanks for posting your build :surfer:

 

[jpeaslee]

DONE! Well, for now. So here's how it sits:
-Original Frame, sandblasted and POR15'ed. 2" receiver tube added, replacing the factory lunette/landing foot assembly.
-MaxCoupler hitch
-Highland Expedition Outfitters RTT (Basically a CVT Mt. Shasta Extended)
-Yakima Lowrider w/ 58" bars
-Al's Bedliner in the tub, Duplicolor Rattle Can Bedliner on the exterior
-Vision HD66 16x8, 4.25" backspacing w/ General Red Letter 285/75r16s
-Dexter 3500lb axle, 58" Hub Face, 39.25" spring centers (spring under axle)
-Ebay taillights in metal housings

The only immediate plans I have are adding RV stabilizer jacks to the rear, and a jack to the front.

Fenders may be a bit of a trickier situation to fix without having someone fab some up for me.

I'm using Plano Sportsmans 1919 containers for storage in the tub, and they work great!

 

[Trixx]

Beautiful build! I've been looking at selling my adv bike and doing something similar. If you don't mind, any idea around how much $ you have into the build? I'm amazed at some of these off road trailers that basically look identical to yours, yet they somehow ask like $10k for one. I feel like I could put together a pretty similar one for closer to half that.

 

[jpeaslee]

Beautiful build! I've been looking at selling my adv bike and doing something similar. If you don't mind, any idea around how much $ you have into the build? I'm amazed at some of these off road trailers that basically look identical to yours, yet they somehow ask like $10k for one. I feel like I could put together a pretty similar one for closer to half that.

If I were to buy a manufactured trailer, I'd look heavily at Highland Expedition Outfitters t3 or t5, they run closer to that price point you're talking about, but TOP notch build design and quality. Jeff really knows what he's doing and his passion comes through in his builds.

I'm in it for right about $2k, including the tent. The key to that for me was getting a SCREAMING deal on the tub and frame. A lot of guys have done a ton of custom fab work to theirs, mine has very little, and zero welding, the few mods I did were all bolt on.

 

[Trixx]

If I were to buy a manufactured trailer, I'd look heavily at Highland Expedition Outfitters t3 or t5, they run closer to that price point you're talking about, but TOP notch build design and quality. Jeff really knows what he's doing and his passion comes through in his builds.

I'm in it for right about $2k, including the tent. The key to that for me was getting a SCREAMING deal on the tub and frame. A lot of guys have done a ton of custom fab work to theirs, mine has very little, and zero welding, the few mods I did were all bolt on.

Thanks for all the info! Checked out highland expedition and they still look to start at about 8k-11k depending on size. Still feel like I could build something quite a bit cheaper.. maybe not quite at the level of yours, but even if I could rebuild an older M416 and be into it for 3k-4k I'd still be well ahead, plus the enjoyment and self satisfaction of tackling a project like that.

Did yours come with a title or how does that work? I see here in SC they don't require registration for utility trailers under 2500 lbs, but I do contract work and travel all over and know that not all states will be that friendly. I do see a lot of trailers for sale without titles, however.

 

[jpeaslee]

Thanks for all the info! Checked out highland expedition and they still look to start at about 8k-11k depending on size. Still feel like I could build something quite a bit cheaper.. maybe not quite at the level of yours, but even if I could rebuild an older M416 and be into it for 3k-4k I'd still be well ahead, plus the enjoyment and self satisfaction of tackling a project like that.

Did yours come with a title or how does that work? I see here in SC they don't require registration for utility trailers under 2500 lbs, but I do contract work and travel all over and know that not all states will be that friendly. I do see a lot of trailers for sale without titles, however.

I just had a bill of sale with mine. In Alabama, that's all I needed to get it tagged. They didn't even inspect it (which is good, because when I went to get a tag for it, it was still in pieces in my driveway.)

The biggest thing with these old trailers is finding one in good shape. So many of the tubs are just rotted out and have to have some serious work done to make them functional. Most m416s I come across that are in good-great shape are 1200-2500. I've seen a few moderately rough ones lately in Tennessee for 600-800.