Pawnshop builds a M116 flatbed...

[Pawnshop]

So I have decided to build a teardrop style camper on a M101 trailer I have and had a thought: instead of removing the body tub why not cut off all of the vertical surfaces and make a flat bed, like a M116 genset trailer? A flat bed would give me fenders and a wide flat (sort of flat) surface to work on, and if it does not work I can still just build on the bare frame.


I thought that a 7" grinder with a cutting disc would be just the ticket, but after getting only about 5' of cut from $8 worth of discs I decided to rethink. A sawzall was suggested so I gave it a whirl, BINGO! Now over the years when the question of which cutting tool to use came up, and a sawzall was suggested, I was always skeptical, but after today I am now a firm believer in the tool!

I DID learn a few things:
1-do your best to not bend the blade, they get all wobbly...
2-do NOT try to cut the welds, they are a lot harder than the sheet metal and will burn up the blade, they don't cut after they get too hot...

I still have some grinding to do, and some sandblasting, but so far so good:

pix:
1-trailer before
2-after $8 of cutting discs
3-pile-o-body (cut into recycling bin sized chunks, note burnt up blade)
4-the Hero tool
5-blades
6-after
7-remaining vertical lip
8-more after

 

[AceHigh]

I picked up a new riding mower with my 116 genset trailer. The wheel wells made loading it a real hassle! You did a great job there.

 

[reloader64]

All this after attending the car show this morning? Busy man!

 

[Pawnshop]

Not exactly, the grinder part happened yesterday after freezing my nards off at the parade, fixing my non shifting M1009, and two trips to HF/Lowes to get the right discs for the borrowed grinder...

sawzall part was today after the car show...

 

[Recovry4x4]

You can bend a sawzall blade and flush cut. Bi-metal blades last longer too. I have my regular sawzall and a 28V version of a reciprocating saw that runs off the slave on the trucks. I live by the sawzall.

 

[mkcoen]

After cutting up the aluminum frame from my Tank Pumping Unit with a Sawzall I became a firm believer.

Can't wait to see the construction begin.

 

[M813rc]

Did you keep the parts with the bullet holes?

Cheers

 

[Boreal21]

Subscribed.

Anxious to see what you come up with here...

 

[JRMITTS]

I like that it keeps the dump bed feature. That comes in handy when it's time to get the kids up.

 

[rjbguns00]

Wish I had known you were making chips. I've got a plasma cutter that spends most of it's time holding my beer and collecting dust.

 

[Pawnshop]

Wish I had known you were making chips. I've got a plasma cutter that spends most of it's time holding my beer and collecting dust.

I thought about a blue wrench of some sort, but I did not want to set anything on fire...

 

[Ratch]

When I read the post, I couldn't picture how it would turn out, but seeing the pics, it came out pretty nice. Nice work...

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Subscribed.... The suspense is killing us !

 

[Pawnshop]

My next step is to do a frame swap. This frame is an M116A2E1, which in capacity terms means she is a 1 ton, in practical terms it means she is taller (4" frame vs 3", and more leaves in the springs) and heavier so she is less than level behind a M1009 and harder on the truck to pull. I have a very nice M116A2 chassis under a slightly mangled M101 tub that I am using as an open back trailer so I want to swap the bodies. This Sunday will be used to engineer a process to swap the bodies, and to spend quality time with a tape measure, paper and pencil for some more planning. I can not decide if the camper part will go inside the fenders or on top of them. I can see advantages and disadvantages to both methods, I will have to do some serious thinking.

This is a thread I started a while back about the build:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/trailers/57504-m116a2-camper.html

This is the shape I want:

 

[nk14zp]

Will the tear drop be full width?

 

[Pawnshop]

Will the tear drop be full width?

Unknown, that is what I will need to figure out. Between the fenders would be the easiest to build, and to waterproof, and will give me some horizontal surfaces to use for outside storage and work surfaces, but will be skinny inside. Maybe somewhere in the middle, some fender inside and some outside, sort of like the old body.

 

[Pawnshop]

Buckmaw and I swapped the bodies this week, actually easier than I thought it would be! Once we found and removed all the bolts we stood the bodies up on end and swapped the frames under them, them flopped them back, easy! We almost had a mishap when sliding the full tub back on the E1 frame, the lunette was not hooked to the back of my M1009 and when we put weight on the rear the front flipped up and rolled straight to the back window, YIKES! Luckily it was in the down position so it was saved, we pushed it back and hooked it up and had no more worries. I NEED to fix those parking brakes...

I think I have decided to make the body six inches narrower than the bed, so I can put fuel can holders on the sides without them sticking out, and have maximum width inside.

 

[MWMULES]

Saw this one posted on the net yesterday, he built it on a M100 frame.

 

[Pawnshop]

SWEET! He needs to skin it in riveted aluminum, paint it OD and let it weather like a B17

 

[Pawnshop]

Where did you find that photo, I have looked all over for it