My M101A3 Modifications: new front hitch, 3500lb electric brake axle, etc

Greetings, just purchased an M101A3 trailer off ebay ($375) and got it registered this week. Forgot to take pics before I started tearing into it, but here's some links to pics:

http://fastring.shutterfly.com/1846

So far:
- replaced axle with 3500lb ebrake axle, went 66" wide
- removed surgebrake pintle hitch and replaced with receiver hitch. Figure I'll want pintle for offroad and ball for onroad. Also wanted to keep it short to fit in my garage.
- installed rear 2" receiver hitch

Going to make it an expedition camper, with a truck camper shell and some cabinets and tie down points to carry one ATV. Ordered lots of parts to install: new propane furnace, electrical harness, lots of LED lights, flush mount tie down points and more.

For now, I have 31s that were off my old pickup but I think I'll go to 33x10.5x15s in the future if it still fits in the garage with the yet to be purchased campershell. Might narrow the fenders too.

Forgot to mention how registration went. So, this was purchased from a place in LA, CA that does movie props. No paperwork other than a bill of sale. I went to the California DMV and had the trailer inspected. They put a VIN tag on it and gave me paperwork to fill out. I went inside and the first lady gave me papers to fill out, which I did and went back for a # to get going. The second lady said I needed a certificate of origin or title. I said it was a military trailer and I had none. She said I was out of luck unless I put it together myself. She gave me a look and then asked if I had put any of it together. I started talking about how I put new lights on it and she instantly gave me the forms for self built trailer. So, I filled out the papers for a self built trailer and for $30 something bucks, got a permanent license plate and the title is in the mail. I tried searching for how to register one of these ahead of time and came up short, so hopefully that helps someone else out. I'm guessing have the SF whatever is the better way to go but if there is no VIN, its easier to go the self made route.

Nice job. Why did you decide to replace the axle?

I want to put a camper on top and need to clear my garage (need to store inside). The bolt pattern didnt match any of my vehicles and I wanted electric brakes, so the axle helped on all of those items. Also wanted to lighten it, the stock axle weighed a ton.

I went the self made trailer registration too. Very quick and easy.

Great work on the transformation.
I like your coupler set up. Pull the pin and it is theft proof.
Rear receiver is a plus for racks and tandem towing.
Wire it with a trailer plug when you do the lights.
What bolt pattern are you running now?
Did the axle come with lower shock mounts?
What are the other plans for the trailer?

Did you sell off the extra parts to recoup cost? wheels, axle, surge pintle.

Post more pictures as you go.

PS: I mounted several 1 1/4" and 2" receivers under my tub for tables and holders.

My build. http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...d-a-Military-trailer-to-build-a-family-hauler

Yes, your trailer build was an inspiration for this trailer build. That red trailer is great.

I just removed the wheels/axles/surge pintle yesterday and the pintle has sold but the wheels and axle are still available.

I have parts and plans for:
- building the interior with tie down points. I used the build that the guy with the motorcycle build of an m101, using the recessed d-rings
- new propane furnace (Suburban NT16SE) that vents to the outside with thermostat. Hope to mount that today.
- flush mount stove (SMEV 8000)
- 4 rear LED turn signals
- 4 side marker 3/4" lights
- one long flush LED white light where a flip down exterior table will later mount
- front mount propane tank/battery(s)/toolbox/sparetiremount
- quick smart charge plug in for battery
- interior 8 gang 12v fuse and lighted switch electrical panel
- 33x25 roof vent/escape hatch
- gun rack

I'll post more pics as it happens. I have a few desert and Baja trips coming up that I'd like to have this somewhat ready for or at least functional for holding an ATV and sleeping in but getting the propane and electrical working is also a big priority. We'll see how fast it comes together, but yesterday was a very productive day.

Thanks, Love to see others ideas and builds.
I look forward to the work.
Are you also on Expo?

Keep us posted.

I used E-track in one of my 101s. It will be going in all of them. I get 10ft sticks and cut them in half. The load bars are great for dual height loads.

fastring said:

Forgot to mention how registration went. So, this was purchased from a place in LA, CA that does movie props. No paperwork other than a bill of sale. I went to the California DMV and had the trailer inspected. They put a VIN tag on it and gave me paperwork to fill out. I went inside and the first lady gave me papers to fill out, which I did and went back for a # to get going. The second lady said I needed a certificate of origin or title. I said it was a military trailer and I had none. She said I was out of luck unless I put it together myself. She gave me a look and then asked if I had put any of it together. I started talking about how I put new lights on it and she instantly gave me the forms for self built trailer. So, I filled out the papers for a self built trailer and for $30 something bucks, got a permanent license plate and the title is in the mail. I tried searching for how to register one of these ahead of time and came up short, so hopefully that helps someone else out. I'm guessing have the SF whatever is the better way to go but if there is no VIN, its easier to go the self made route.

Click to expand...

How hard was this to do. Im going to register mine in a couple of weeks and I didn't go the sf97 route. What Info did you put in the boxes for where you got the parts. All I have is my gl invoice and then I will have my ebay invoices for the other parts.

patrickg said:

How hard was this to do. Im going to register mine in a couple of weeks and I didn't go the sf97 route. What Info did you put in the boxes for where you got the parts. All I have is my gl invoice and then I will have my ebay invoices for the other parts.

Click to expand...

I didnt put more than 5 minutes into the form, they handed it to me and I filled it out really vague as it didnt make sense for my situation. They wont look at receipts though the form asks you to state which you have receipts for but the DMV wont look at them.

Thats cool. When parked I would put a ball in the front receiver just to see the look of folks faces.

Rotten! Really rotten!

Some updates:
- installed (not yet wired) LED side markers lights. They are 3/4 inch, red in back and orange in front, mounted near the big lift hooks. They have 3 LEDs per light.
- installed (not wired) rear turn lights recessed into the rear bumper
- installed 2" rear receiver, its 24" long which is a good length for welding through rear bumper and through next back cross member, the pin hole is reached behind the bumper.
- installed, sort of, the campershell. Going to remove it now that its home and build some spacer concept to raise is 8" or so. Will fab up a basic roof rack for an ARBawning, solar panel and lantern hooks.
- painted rims black
- installed 4 flush mount tie down points for the atv with plates underneath.
- received the flush mount stove for inside
- received (seen on roof) the big clear roof hatch/vent, its around 24" by 35".

Looks great!
What model truck is the Gemtop from?
Does it fit well?

Tell me about the stove..............

Man, you move fast. Looks real nice. Can you post a few pics of how you attached your new axle to the leaf spring?

If you do not have the SF97, home built is the way to go in CA.I went the same route on my M101a2 I bought from Hundy.He gave me a Bill of Sale. Some things in this state are still simple,but are fewer by the day.