• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

M101A to off road camper

SWAMPMAN

NAXJA Forum User
hey fellow jeepers , as requested by my freind overlandxj this is my story bout a little trailer build .. i have been camping all my life since i was a yr old with my parents .. from tent trailers to hard tops to backpacking, canoetrips , lots of winter camping. to whatever , anyway now that i am gettin older i am starting to like the creature comforts and luxuries just a little bit more.. so i decided an off raod camper was the way to go .. i searched and searched till one of my buddies put me on to a collector of military stuff.. thanx freddy.. so the collector guy had about 15 trailers and i bought the best one he had ,, it had already been restored and was in mint shape , i wasnt keen on the colour but it wasnt gonnna stay that way ..the tub and frame were mint , rust free the inside had been done with bedliner the wheels and tires mint michellinx 10ply and still have the nubs on them..

this is how it looked when i brought it home
IMG_1119.jpg

the only other thing was the lights were not original but i could live with that too... i gotta go find the rest of my pics. i'll be back
 
ok so i hap a palamino that i bought new in 2000 but it was too large for the places i like to go.. but sometimes when the whole gang is with me i need the room my girlfriend ,her 2 daughters and my 2 daughters .. thats me and 5 girls, .. NOT FUN ! the first season i used the new trailor as is til icould figure out what i really wanted and or needed
0021-2.jpg

out with old and in with the older
DSCF4476.jpg

0025-1.jpg

0032-1.jpg

0033-1.jpg
 
ok . back to the trailer so first move was a spring over and 33's to match the jeep . the spring over took me about an hour and half i just flipped and rotated the axle and made a new plate to extend the brake lines .. a new set of hubs from the local trailer shop . bought some sport king's cheap and a couple of rims for 40 bucks
IMG_1853.jpg

IMG_1856_2.jpg
 
by the way im a little embarassed bout the garbage in the fire picture . my campsite has been dicoverd by the atv group. and they messed it up good , garbage everywhere.. ropes in the trees, they f#&*ing cut down a huge live tree for firewood.. michelle and i spent an hour cleaning up " our spot " there is no reason why i should have to take home somebuddy else's f#*#%ing garbage... rant over for now..
 
did you notice the springs?? 1979 camaro hood springs.. very strong but they did not work out unfortunately they open up, and out , they would have been cool if they worked .
IMG_1877.jpg

notice also the frame of the tailgate 2''sq tube for support welded thru the bottom welded to the frame
 
i think it was at this point were we started on the fenders, i needed tire coverage , i wanted , a place to mount stuff later and use as a table bench or whatever
IMG_1889.jpg

although functional and what i wanted , i didnt like em . so we cut the corners off at the front
IMG_1933.jpg

i re-used the support bar from the front of the trailer as a fender support had to modify it a bit but it turned out good i think , it looks like it supposed to be there so for the rear i used some round bar heated it up and bent up to kinda match the front..
IMG_1936.jpg
 
back to the lid, i need to open this thing, the lid weighs somewhere around 100 lbs. the tent on top will weigh about 180# .
2 gas struts 150# from mcmaster carr
IMG_1900.jpg

now where to install them .. what a job !! to find the right location . we ended up drilling 5 holes in the side trying to find the right spot there are calculations to figure out the weight and positioning but im not that smart. i sat on the lid cuz i weigh just about what the tent weighs.. eventually we got it right and added some support to the support
IMG_1939.jpg
 
so thats just about it.. now its clean up grind up and smooth up stuff so i can paint it.. i didnt want to paint at randy's home garage so he gave the use of his shop for a couple of days and i painted it there..
05_07_0.jpg

05_07_9.jpg


all done .. painted to match the jeep i know i have left out lots of the little details.. but thats the way it is for now
newtrailerpics025.jpg
 
Back
Top