(01greentaco's) M416 trailer build.

Just picked this up a few months ago for CHEAP!!!! Got a lot of ideas running through my head right now. Funds are limited but main concentration is going to be on paint, limited body damage repair, tear down and rebuild of the hubs and parking break. Removal of the tub and repair the rust and reattach the rear tailgate.

End goal is to make it usable as a ExPo trailer and attach a RTT. Lots of plans and hopefully I will be able to make it as good as some of the other ones out there. Lots of inspiration from a lot of you guys!

(I copied and pasted from my build thread on TTORA so the dates are all screwy so bear with it...)



So I finally got a chance to do a little work on the trailer yesterday and all afternoon. A few weeks ago I tried out the sand blaster and man was it tedious! So there had to be a better alternative. I did a little research and came across this...


It was worth a shot so I bought a can for $11.99 and went to town on the trailer front. It says on the can to wait 5-15 minutes for results to be seen (it's very evident when it starts to work)




After this I used a plastic scrapper to remove the loosened paint from the panels. IT WORKED!!! I was amazed at the quality of this stuff. In the beginning I was doing very light coats but after 2 or 3 I decided to go thick and really paste it on. That resulted in just about every paint particle being removed.



This was the paint that had been stripped from the front and a little bit on the left side of the tub.


I did the fenders too and got them all primered up.



I'm slowly making progress but with school and work its hard to find time to work on the trailer plus my friend just got him a 2003 dbl cab TRD Tacoma so we've been working on making his one off for the past two weeks. Also installed a new lift on both our trucks but since all that is out of the way and work is slowing down a bit, more time should be allotted for the trailer. I'm ready with a ton of ideas in my head and am itching to make them a reality. Thanks for looking.

Did a little work on the trailer this weekend after I towed it home to the shop and had access to a few more tools.

Managed to get the tub removed, partially sandblasted the frame, added new shocks and did some mock up on how the fold down tail gate is going to get done. Little by little its coming.





Did a little more work over thanksgiving break. Was able to weld the tailgate back on with hinges this time, do some more sand blasting on the frame, remove the rusted floor and replace it, and repack the bearings. Hopefully over Christmas I'll be able to do some final touches on prepping for paint, get it painted and use it for a little while while I figure out how I'm going to make a lid for it.

Here are some pictures:









Did a pretty good amount of work, on the trailer over the past few weeks and weekends.

Managed to do more paint prep, sanding and sand blasting and man are they tedious and time consuming but in the end, (after I lost track of how many hours spent on trying to make the sheet metal perfect and all the way back to bare sheet metal, I gave up and just decided to go ahead and paint it.

I was fumbling with ideas for colors and patterns to do the trailer and of course I wanted to color match it but while purchasing the semi gloss black paint I stumbled upon a can of dark green. It was mixed in with the black cans and I sprayed a little test spot on the provided paper and was amazed at how similar it was to the factory color of my truck (Imperial Jade Mica) so I purchased the only can of Charleston Green they had and asked the nearest associate where another store was that had some more cans. Luckily it was only 20 miles away. I went there and got three cans and started prepping, priming and painting. Here are the end results. I am thrilled with the end result and how similar the color of the trailer is to the truck (it's not exact but pretty darn close)

I also relocated the hand brake so I can later add a tongue box for all my secondary wiring, switches, batteries, water, heaters, propane and other etc.



More pictures to come. Only one I have on my phone currently.

After this weekend, I wrapped up the tailgate limiting chains, the latching mechanism for the tail gate, touched up the paint in the areas that needed it, started to herculine the tub but ran out. (I was just using what I had left after a previous project) added some rubber floor matting to help sound deaden the tub and began to run the wire for the tail lights. Hoping to get the tail lights installed in the frame in the next few weeks. Time has been tight since I purchased a new (to me) four wheeler and been working on restoring it to a much newer looking and better performing four wheeler. It's a 1991 Honda TRX Fourtrax 300 4x4.

I know that all anyone wants to see is pics so here they are...










And here is a before and after of the restore of the Honda I've been working on...

 

love the before/after of the fourwheeler!

 

This thing looks sharp!
keep us all posted these trailers are great.... well for just about anything
cheers

 

Thanks! It's been a really fun project to work on. Tedious work but satisfying in the end. The end goal is to make a lid for it, add a RTT (roof top tent) and take a few trips over to the East Coast and maybe one or two trips out to the West Coast area too.

 

i really want one, but also want to build a inclosed 5’X7’ trailer.

 

I definitely lucked out on finding one at such a good price. Unfortunately, I keep spending all my money on other projects... Now that this LBL meet is fast approaching I need to refocus my funds and attention to the M416 and get it ready for the meet!

 

hey what are the measurements on the trailer? (length and width)

 

Here are all the dimensions: Not sure if you want the tub dimensions or the whole trailer so here ya go.

http://forum.ih8mud.com/trailer-tech/151174-m416-dimensions-specs.html

 

sweet build man!

 

Excellent resto. I have an 86 fourtrax 350. Love those rigs.

 

Very cool, I like to see others peoples trailer builds. Gives me ideas. I have an M100 currently sitting outside my shop door with about a foot of snow on/in it. This spring I'm going to get things really going, and hopefully have it finished by late summer.

 

Thanks! I love this thing!

They are unstoppable. Next mod for it is probably going to be the disc break conversion kit from Hilifter. I hate not having any brakes!!

I'm looking at a M100 online now and possibly going to purchase it as my next one to goof around with. These trailers are so versatile and such a cool piece of equipment! I hope you do a build thread of yours on here. Not too many trailer on TW but there are an awful lot on ExpoPortal and IH8Mud.

 

hey thanx for the measurement link. more than i was looking for, realized i wanted to know other measurements.

 

Glad my overachieving was beneficial to you! You looking to get one?

 

would like to, but unemployed. do the trailers seem about the same width as the 1st gen tacomas?

 

Mine, when pulled through some mud or sand, matches perfectly with the width on my truck tread pattern. When looking from the rear behind the trailer, the tire mathc up perfectly. I love it!

 

well "Gravy!" then. i think i will look into finding one,when finances allow. hopefully soon. i'm wanting to start traveling every summer. i think i remember seeing you found ur trailer on craigslist?

have u got any pics from the back of ur trailer hooked up to ur truck?

 

Yes, the trailer was found by my buddy and fellow TW member (TacoSkeet) on Craigslist. It was for sure a rare find and I have been searching high and low all over the south and east on Craigs for him one, but having no luck.

 

Actually, I found it in the north Mississippi craigslist for $200. I didn't have my truck at the time so I showed it to him. Needless to say, we went and picked it up the next day and its been a blast to work on ever since

 

well "score!" for u guys. i'll keep an eye out for one for u tacoskeet, even though i'm here texas.

thanx u guys