What hitch for a M105A1?

Hello,

New to the forum but been stalking for a while now.
I have a guy local to me selling his M105A1 trailer in pretty good shape and I was thinking about buying it, I always wanted one to convert into a tent camper so I figured it could work.

My main problem is getting it home,

I plan on towing it with my 99' Suburban but I don't know what pintle hitch to get?

I know that the ring on the trailer is 36' high, My current tow hitch sits flush at 14' high.

So can someone link me to a good hitch and possibly a raiser?

Also any suggestions?

Thanks

It's neither safe nor legal , but the hitch and riser at tractor supply will work.

The issue you're going to have is that the trailer is 2750lbs empty and has airbrakes. You'll be towing it with a non airbrake vehicle. ABS makes it worse, not better.(this is all NA if it has been converted to electric brakes)

IMO it’s too heavy for what you want. Look for a m101 or a smaller m416. I don’t think you would be happy with the 105.

You’ll never get it level, unless ur suburban is jacked up. If ur looking for a trailer for it, I’d go with a m101a2 or 3. They will look and fit better then the to large m105. Even a m1101 will look to big. I love my m101’s and wish I had an a3

Minimal lift, 34" tires, and a custom fabricated rear bumper that gets the pintle up without putting torque on the frame rails.

There's a couple of thousand lbs of steel in the bed in this picture, or it'd be closer to dead level.



On your suburban, a 4" lift with 37''s and a smallish riser will get it reasonably close to level. You're still going to have issues with an unbraked trailer.

For a recreational trailer used exclusively behind a civvy truck, I'd start with an M1101. But they're five times the cost of an M105.

A word on risers - it's real easy to custom make a riser that gets it dead level. You can make the riser indestructible without much trouble. You'd think that this would be the solution. It isn't. The problem is that your truck frame rails are not indestructible. That indestructible riser transmits the force of the trailer with torque applied to it since it is not in line with the frame rails. The riser won't break but your truck frame will.

The reason that the M105s are so cheap is that there really isn't a slick way to tow them with a civvy truck without putting a bunch of $ into modifications to truck and trailer. For the $ you could get an M1101...

Note also that PA DOT is just berserk when it comes to utility trailers. We had a member get stopped while pulling an M103 with his pickup truck. They wrote him a pile of tickets and wanted him to have a commercial class A.... the M103 is the same chassis as the 105.

Everything on a 105 is heavy. Everything. Even the bed is beefy.

You could pull the bed off and make your own frame with electric brakes on the axles if the $ makes sense, but you will still have a heavy trailer, just not as heavy.

I have some NOS 105 beds, they are heavy. had a 105 trailer, it was heavy, and quite useless to me so I sold it, even though I have 3 trucks to pull it with. I have some 101a2’s, Four to be exact and they are almost perfect. I also have two 1101’s which I think are perfect! (To me at least, your mileage may vary. They are fetching a premium I hear. I wouldn’t know. I don’t sell my babies).

I echo the above. But I’d Look for an 1101 or 1102. That is my favorite trailer. Slightly heavier than a 101, but will be great behind your burbun. Aluminum bed, tough as anything. You can make a great camping trailer out of it. Wide enough to comfortably sleep two fat men and their hunting gear.

Id steer clear of the 105’s unless you have a deuce or 939 to pull it with.

The days of plenty are gone. All four corners and the front of my 1101 were bent and it had junk tires....but what do you expect for $300.

You could bring a 105 down by putting 16.5 bolster wheels on it.

tobyS said:

The days of plenty are gone. All four corners and the front of my 1101 were bent and it had junk tires....but what do you expect for $300.

You could bring a 105 down by putting 16.5 bolster wheels on it.

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Yes if you can find them

The M101A2 is...., IMHO, the best trailer the military ever fielded.
Of course there are pros and cons of both the M101A2/3-M1101/2.
Both very practical and extremely useful.

The M105’s were almost given away.
Not practical at all and not very useful, unless you have a 2-1/2 or 5 ton to pull it with.

Sell it and get the M101A2/3 or the M1101/2.
You will save money in the long run and be a LOT happier.

I think we sufficiently scared him away from a 105.

Buffalobwana said:

I think we sufficiently scared him away from a 105.

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I think we just scared him away.

Was thinking the same but didn’t want to say it!

well just cause i have a semi relevant pic, a empty buffalo ain't as portly as a 105 but my squareburb didn't mind dragging it across town then home after work, if needed i'd drag my 105 with it but not with any sort of real load

The jeep is lifted and on 35's. Not a recommended practice.....

You can use a good reese insert. With a 7inch drop. Rated for 13,000lbs. Take a 1/2" piece of steel plate that is 24 inches long x 7inch flatbar. Drill the 8 bolt holes out in the steel for the receiver plate and add L9 bolts. Then add your pintle, One off an M880 works well to the top of the hitch about 1.5 inch from the top Drill your 4 holes for the pintle. Install L9 bolts. It'll hold alot but the raising of the hitch using the plate makes it so it will ride almost level at 33 inches off the ground even with the tongue weight.

I used to haul water in my Water Buffalo. That’s another 3500 lbs. behind a 3/4 diesel. You knew you were pulling a lot of weight. I didn’t use a riser though, because it didn’t matter to me. The angle doesn’t really matter, mostly aesthetics, but as 98G pointed out, a riser will torque your mounts on the truck. The higher the riser, the more the force. Think “breaker bar”

I have hauled a 105 behind my 3/4 on the road that cuts around Austin where the speed limit is 80 (or 85? I forget) and it just sits back there like a kid quietly sleeping in its car seat. Until a deer steps out ...

Not a stunt I recommend. It’s not the speed that you have issue with, it’s the deceleration that’s a bitch.

I made a hitch that uses the pintle from my 929 and attaches to the Reece receiver. It doesn't have as much leverage as the one Wes posted but it has made the receiver loose and now it clangs and bangs with any hitch in it. I'd keep the leverage down a bit if I had the choice.