I'm in the club! Canadian 3/4 ton military trailer

[Canoehead]

Just picked this up. It's a 3/4 tonne military trailer, the Canadian version of the US M101A1. Currently, my plan is to modify as little as possible. I want to keep it as a utility trailer, but kit it out with some removable pieces to make it a comfortable sleeper. First step will be a paint job. Apologies for poor photos.

I can't wait to haul this into the woods!


Miserable driving weather as I brought it home


The tarp is not original, it is the US pattern. It is canvas and has a few holes, but I am not sure I will want to replace it.

Kids approve! So cold yet I can't thaw the dirt to clean out the floor. Big Buddy heater does a great job, I'll look into making a propane distribution manifold which will mount the tank on the tongue and let me run several appliances.

So much more to do...

 

[vegasjeepguy]

Nice...these projects become a labor of love and it’s always interesting to see what others do as they modify and personalize their trailers.

 

[Road]

Hey - congrats on your new trailer! You won't regret getting something more capable cargo-wise than the 1/4 ton military trailers out there.

Having a good trailer changes the number of possibilities for camping and longer range journeys, too!

Good luck with it, hope you turn it into just the trailer you want.

 

[Canoehead]

I thought a paint job would be step one, but with temperatures below zero the paint had to wait longer than I could... so the kids and I took it out to see how our setup would work for us.



The kids loved their bunks. Mary's bunk is made with the fabric from an army style cot strung across with ratchet straps. Andrew is on top of a comforter, then 3 pillows, then a thermarest.



The best part of this doesn't show in pictures. We set up in moments, basically just pulled a couple of Rubbermaid Actionpackers out of the trailer, adjusted the sleeping bags, and hooked up the Big Buddy heater. Packing up was the same. For us, high speed - low fuss deployment and redeployment is critical to getting out of the city and into the outdoors.

 

[Canoehead]

Today I will begin the refurbishment. Current plans are to paint the bed with Tremclad, and then a clear bedliner. Later I will paint the exterior with rockerguard, and Rust Check the underside. Here are a few pics of the layout with the tarp off.






I am really looking forward to seeing clean paint instead of rust!