Bought a Bantam....

[CRJeepin]

Bought a Bantam T3C yesterday, met the seller over in Jersey on his way down to MD.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/IMG_1054.jpg

As far as I can tell it's complete, the tub has a new floor in it and the bearings were done recently, but was disappointed to find the frame is pretty rotted at the spring hangers. Going to have to cut and weld, hoping I can do it with the tub still on. Taking it by a truck place tomorrow to have them quote it as I just don't have the time or space for more projects right now, have a 79 CJ-5 in the garage going back together taking up my work space.

Probably overpaid a little for it given the frame, he was asking $850 and I gave him $50 for gas to deliver it. I figure it would have cost me about $200 in gas to go get it. He said it had been "gone over" and was "solid", which is what I was looking for...not a project. We'll see how bad it'll be, if more than a couple hundred I'll probably just do it myself. Anyway, water under the bridge at this point. I'd still prefer to do frame work over sheet metal work anyway.

Planning to add a receiver hitch at the back for a bike rack, and convert the front to a receiver hitch but will do it bolt on so I can revert back to the Fulton coupler. Going to try to keep it as original as possible, or at least the mods reversible. Also would like to add a frame for a tent, haven't figured out how I want to do that yet but definitely want to keep it bolt on if possible. Would like to have the tent bottom about 5'-6" off the ground if possible, have sketched it out (can't take credit for the trailer sketchup but the mods are mine!):

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/ScreenHunter_01May101141.jpg

[Mark Harley]

Hello fellow Pa, resident.
That is a sharp little trailer, Not bad on the price either.
Keep us posted on the progress with pictures too!

[leadsled01]

Looks really good! My bantam t3c has alot more cancer than yours.

[CRJeepin]

Sounds like a good price, until you peek underneath. When we made the handoff yesterday it was about dark and raining, I climbed under and noted some rust but didn't look as bad as it is. There's only one bolt holding the hitch on (unless you count bolts with cotter pins and no nuts) and the frame is rotten at the worst spots - spring hangers.

I think I can make the repairs, or maybe have them made, without pulling the tub. An "L" bracket to reinforce the frame rails and crossmembers combined with a flat plate to span underneath the spring hangers and tie into the crossmembers should suffice.

Here's a few pics for fun...
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_IMG_1056.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_1056.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_IMG_1057.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_1057.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_IMG_1058.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_1058.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_IMG_1059.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_1059.jpg)
Caveat Emptor....

[McZippie]

New Military frames are available for Bantam T-3. Very similar to T-3C
.
D&L Bensinger LLC
Narvon, PA
.
https://www.dlbensinger.com/product_info.php?cPath=51_69&products_id=1201&osCsid=47e25fb68eae3db9141f362ae62ec3b6
.
https://www.dlbensinger.com/images/mtframe.jpg

[CRJeepin]

Great info, thanks! They're local to me here in PA, I'll get in touch with them and find out if I can buy just the draw bars I need. They do sell the rear crossmmember separately, which I could cut down and use for the crossmember above the spring hangers.

The rest of the frame is pretty solid, so I'd like to avoid an entire frame swap if possible -- but good to know it's an option!

Thanks!
Chris

[Bonked]

Hi Chris,

I have original bantam A-frame draw bars, as well as the brackets that hold them to the front if the frame. PM me.

Anthony

[Main Line Overland]

Hey Chris,

Great meeting you the other day on your way to pick the trailer up. That looks like a good base for an adventure/camping trailer once the frame is reinforced. Let us know if you need help with any of the fab work.

I bet your son was still talking about the Eezi-Awn Rooftop tents after leaving our shop, he looked like he was having a blast crawling around in them. I think I even heard him say "This is my new house!", hahahaha! Looks like you have a little adventurer in the making.

Best of luck with the trailer and keep us in mind if you need anything.

-Matt

[CRJeepin]

Thanks Matt, was good to meet you guys and I appreciate you setting up the tents for us to check out, definitely helped the wife get an idea what I was up to. The little guy is still pretty excited about the tents and can't wait for us to get one. Here's hoping the Buick sells quick to fund the tent, I dropped it a couple hundred on CL when we got home.

Anthony, sent you a PM about the A-frame rails, thanks.

Cut off the rusted uni-strut u-bolts today and a few buddies helped me flip the tub. The plan is to plate the outside with 4" wide, 1/8" steel from the edge of the frame rail up onto the tub on the two long sides and the back, and then replace the two middle cross-members 2x3, 1/16" box. Maybe add one in the middle too. New plates for the spring hangers to tie it all together. Either replace or chop and fishplate the a-arms.

Good excuse to buy the porta-band that I should have had when I did the CJ frame....it's on it's way, should be here next week. A little more teardown work tomorrow and then I'm pretty much stalled until I get the steel.

Here we go...

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_bb03debe.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=bb03debe.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_eeaeb25b.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=eeaeb25b.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_ce5c8384.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=ce5c8384.jpg)

[FAW3]

Nice Bantam! Good luck with the work on it. A perfect style match to the jeep - they are made for each other.

The one I bought a bit over a year ago had more rust in the floor "back at home" than I noticed at the sellers house...funny how that works.

Ours has been a lot of fun and done a lot of work for us. Whatever the state of load (within design limits of course) the Bantam tows like it's not there - if we use the right tire pressure to match the load. Our only learning curve has been about backing up...those short A-arms and wheelbase distance make it a challenge for backing it down.

[Mark Harley]

When you are finished haul it up to the Bantam festival.

http://www.bantamjeepfestival.com/

This is a cool site too!

http://bantamt3c.com/

[CRJeepin]

It does tow great behind the jeep. A lot better than the wide & low pop-up, that's for sure. I like the short a-arm design, in my limited towing experience the longer tongue tends to create opportunity for trailer sway.

Here's the latest photos after a BRIEF work session yesterday (being Mothers Day and all). I've decided to go ahead and build a new frame for it, going to order the steel today and it should be here later this week. Wife and kids are out of town on Sunday and my porta-band will be in tomorrow, so weather permitting I should finish it up this weekend. Going with 1.5" x 3", 1/8" box steel for the sides rails and 3 crossmembers. Either going to cut and replace the last 10-12" of the a-arms with box steel, or go for new a-arms if the guy here in PA with the repro tubs gets back to me.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_bf589d74.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=bf589d74.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_50a1805f.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=50a1805f.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_14ae027a.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=14ae027a.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_f917a4bb.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=f917a4bb.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_c219fbd0.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=c219fbd0.jpg)

[CRJeepin]

Had time to work today and got a lot done. Unfortunately the steel supplier called Friday and said my steel wasn't on their truck so I wasn't able to do the frame this weekend as planned, but might have turned out for the best as I took time to clean everything up and it'll be even easier to build the frame when the metal's here.

Removed the frame as cleanly as I could, except for the rear corners it came apart pretty well. The porta-band was a huge help. The tub is solid, but the floor lip was starting to corrode and it wasn't painted under the frame, and that was rusting too. I cleaned up the metal, hit it with POR-15 and it's ready for the frame build. I ran out of POR15 but was able to get the rusty edges and sections under the frame done, and once the POR15 dried I hit the rest with Rustoleum to give it an even surface.

Overall pretty happy with how it's going. Have to figure out how to weld the two sheet metal edges (side & floor) to the frame as the edges of the floor are jagged from rust, thinking maybe drilling 1/4" holes through them both and doing series of plug welds instead of stitching along the bottom as I'd do if the two edges were complete. Together with sealant and bedliner on the inside, I don't think the floor will go anywhere. Could also plate the outside to cover the frame/tub side joint and that'd hold it all plenty tight. Will see how it goes.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/IMG_1129.jpg

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_IMG_1116.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_1116.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_IMG_1117.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_1117.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_IMG_1118.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_1118.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_IMG_1119.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_1119.jpg)http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/th_IMG_1120.jpg (http://s495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_1120.jpg)

[McZippie]

For my T-3 fab'ed-up a bunch of bolt together tabs similar to ones used on a M416 frame, but didn't use them.
Instead welded the frame and tub together.

[CRJeepin]

I'm planning to weld the frame and tub together, the challenge is the lip on the floor is corroded in some areas, so the edges don't line up cleanly for a weld.

Thinking that drilling some holes a little further down the edge and plug welding would help tie them together best, in addition to stitching the side wall to the frame.

[McZippie]

I'm planning to weld the frame and tub together, the challenge is the lip on the floor is corroded in some areas, so the edges don't line up cleanly for a weld.

Thinking that drilling some holes a little further down the edge and plug welding would help tie them together best, in addition to stitching the side wall to the frame.

Bondo is your friend after welding to make the corroded lip and plug welds look like new.
When you get around to mounting fenders, check out my trailer thread for options on using the welded on Bantam fender tabs with larger fenders. I got lot's of other fender set-ups too that I didn't post, to fit just about any tire width.

[CRJeepin]

A few Pics from this weekend, in the home stretch! Have a few hours of welding to wrap up and then paint and will be done.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/85bab67b.jpg

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/e057d66a.jpg

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Jeep%20Pics/ce1d189d.jpg

[Mark Harley]

Nice work!

[CRJeepin]

Thanks! Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty pleased that I nailed the dimensions. When I rebuilt my CJ-5 frame I got it to 1/8" corner to corner, which is factory spec -- the trailer was 1/4" out on the old frame and the new is dead on square. The new porta-band was a super investment, it's amazing what clean cuts can do.

The sides, back crossmember and draw bars are 1/8" thick, the crossmembers in the middle are 14 gauge to make it a little lighter, and I added the gussets to tie it together as solid as possible. Also capped the side bars, again thanks porta-band or I wouldn't have bothered cutting the end blanks out with a grinding wheel. Tonight I drilled the holes in the draw bars to mount up the original tongue. Should be able to wrap up the welding tomorrow.

[Main Line Overland]

Keep it up, looking good!

[jkce72]

Your frame looks great.

[McZippie]

Nicely done.... I see the 1/4" flat stock. Keep the pictures coming.

[CRJeepin]

Thanks guys....a little more progress, my wife is painting it today and tonight I'm welding on the spring hangers. Couldn't do that with it on the tub as they need to be clamped in place first!
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1275.jpg
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1274.jpg
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1273.jpg
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1272.jpg

With any luck I'll have it back on it's wheels by Saturday.

Welds didn't come out great in 10mph winds, but did cut a few apart and confirm good penetration so we're going with it.

[Mark Harley]

Looks great! I like the use of the original receiver V.
Don't get paint on the patio!

[CRJeepin]

The wife is in charge of painting -- doing a much better job than I, and she put down a drop cloth. Too fancy for me! I prepped it with Marine Clean and Metal Ready as normal, but she is spray bombing it during the day while I'm at work. It's amazing how much better the paint turns out when you do a coat every hour or two instead of throwing 5 coats on in an hour after dark.

Got the spring hangers welded tonight, and gusseted. Welded tabs up front (actually shackle parts, 4 for $10 at Tractor Supply) for safety chains. I spent a lot of time cleaning the spring hangers and the welds came out great, but couldn't get an arc on the safety tabs. That's only happened once before, I went back and really cleaned them well with a flapper disc and then acetone, but still no go. Turned the heat down a notch and it welded fine, but by that time I had a bunch of boogers and junk on one of them so I've got some grinding to do to clean them up.

Anyway, she's painting the bottom tomorrow and then Friday I'll throw it on the tub and start welding it up. Have the tailgate to weld to the frame, as well as two tabs per side for the fender, and new spring plates on the axles. Should be done Saturday and back on the wheels. The only thing I haven't done with the frame is to put the receiver in the rear crossmember. I want to make sure the tailgate works properly first, and will either do it Saturday or a later date....have to see how the schedule goes.

Have a good idea for the receiver, I think....found a short (6") weld-in receiver I bought for a bumper I never built, and it fits perfectly over the stock receiver V. I have to figure out how to work a second bolt in though, probably use the other two shackle tabs I bought for the safety chains and tie it in somehow. Will be swappable with the Fordham (I think that's it?) hitch for around town or to look more stock, and then throw the receiver on for a six-axis coupling.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1290.jpg
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1288.jpg
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1287.jpg
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1286.jpg

[McZippie]

Excellant! ... It will be good for another 60+ years.

[Mark Harley]

Looks good!
Will you be running matching wheel and tire combo?

[CRJeepin]

No, I'm going to keep the stock trailer wheel and tires. I have an extra trailer rim and will find somewhere to mount a spare. I've got 33.5" tall KM2's on my jeep today and it sits level. It's a little nose-down on my wife's stock grand cherokee. I'll probably match tires to my jeep eventually, but first need to buy the roof top tent and kit out the rest of it!

[CRJeepin]

Frame repair work done!

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/fb0c5282.jpg

Even snuck in the rear hitch. Didn't cut it into the rear crossmember as I couldn't risk messing it up, too tight on time. I set it below the crossmember and welded it up with plates and gussets. It doesn't cost me any more ground clearance than the springs and I'm happy with how it came out.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/e71399f2.jpg

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/cac703e0.jpg

Next up is bedliner, paint and make the lid. Gotta put this project on the back burner a few weeks to do some maintenance and get ready for a trip to Maine, but gonna keep the pressure up on this to keep making progress!

[grizzlybear38]

Any more work on it lately, any new pics?

[GregB_00XJ]

subscribed.

[CRJeepin]

Hey guys, thanks for keeping me honest about the progress! Unfortunately, has been an insane summer and after I got the tub back on the frame, I haven't done much.

I stalled for a while to figure out how to complete the hitch. I have the 3-axis hitch from Kilby, and have the bedliner (U-Pol Raptor). I have a plan for the hitch that requires a little welding, hope to get that fired up next weekend and start moving on it again!

Chris

[CRJeepin]

OK, finally back to the trailer! And not stopping until it's done enough to haul my camping gear in a couple weeks.

Took the day off yesterday to get into it while places were open. Got the tub prepped for bedliner, dropped the 3 rims and 2 fenders off to get sandblasted, and took the hubs to a machine shop to have the wheel studs and bearing cones pressed out. The right side of the trailer had LH threads, left side had normal RH, and the threads were worn and beat up all around. The right side wheel is pretty hosed, too many years of backwards threads and guys like me with breaker bars flattened the holes out some. Gonna use it for a spare, the other two are fine.

Found this place was close to me -- 30 minutes up the road. When the wheels are done, they're getting semi-gloss black paint and a pair of these:

https://www.universaltire.com/600-16-sta-military-ndt-6-ply.html
https://www.universaltire.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/194x326/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/F/i/Firestone-NDT_8.jpg

Sprayed the trailer bed with black u-pol raptor bedliner today. Have used it before on my jeep and love it. Goes on easy, looks great and holds up excellent. And ya can't go wrong at $110 delivered for the kit including gun. Low pressure air (40-50psi) too, my 35-gallon compressor keeps up just fine.

I'm really happy with how it turned out. Pics below.

Punch list remaining:
--Paint wheels, install tires
--Paint exterior of trailer
--Wire lights
--Weld 2 tabs on the receiver for the 6-way hitch so I can use that
--Pack some new bearings in the hubs and hit the road!

Oh, I also found a rack to use for the front, decided it'll work better for me than a triangular box. Going to mount a battery box, water tank and pump, and propane tank on it. Using a tarp on top for now, when I have this stuff done I'll get it out to the metal shop and get the rest of the stuff I need to make the lid.

Bedliner pics:

Prepping:
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/485D3276-BA6F-4AA9-94EC-F5C082F16D24-7373-0000067DDA78CFCC.jpg

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/3E2A9B49-77BA-403C-8BB9-C5B1A7A0C244-7373-0000067DD2AB7FFB.jpg

Back afterwards. My wife's idea to outline where the tailgate lands, and I really like it. Going to sand and paint the red exterior still (thinking maybe forest green)
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/E695E9A0-717C-4C68-8DB7-2C56894D56C5-7373-0000067DB54E1A52.jpg

front inside. Sealed all the joints with seam sealer, have used 3M Fast n Firm in the past but as I only had a little to do on this, I used pure Silicone. We'll see how the bedliner holds up over it, think it'll do ok.
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/ED8B2FDF-F605-46AF-84AC-BE57D8038C3B-7373-0000067D3D5DBDCB.jpg

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/8D54A5D6-9180-402C-B51A-47C10B27797F-7373-0000067D577CDEE8.jpg

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/F0A8895A-4C6A-42CA-BAB4-6F5569F04F28-7373-0000067D27C7093A.jpg

[CRJeepin]

121711Bbreak in run for my bantam last weekend, tows great and used it to go from York PA down to Gore VA. Still haven't built a top, but the tarp with hoops cut from a plastic fertilizer barrel worked great even at highway speed and in the rain parked!

[McZippie]

Answered your questions on my trailer thread.
Looking good... post some more pictures!

[CRJeepin]

Here she is behind the jeep

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/Untitled_zps74a5c4bf.jpg

And a few more in the final push to get it together:

After sandblasting, prepping for paint:
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1845_zps593a8826.jpg

Detail of the hoop setup. It does work excellent with the tarp and rope to keep the rain from puddling up!
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1840_zps61d744e5.jpg

Close up of the tub:
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1839_zps46ec9f80.jpg

One more...before she got her hubs back:
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/Bantam%20Trailer%20Project/IMG_1838_zps008c55ec.jpg

[CRJeepin]

I am not sure how to do the lid. I know what I want it to look like, but I'm not sure the sides at the back of the trailer are strong enough to support the weight. I'm thinking I may go with a front-end hinge, and have two legs on the lid that land on the floor of the tub right over the frame, just long enough to let the lid seal up with some foam but keep the weight off the sides at the back. That or I need to reinforce the back by welding a support up from the frame, but haven't looked at how to tie it in cleanly. I guess that's my preferred approach, as it will allow a side hinge and no supports into the bed that would interfere with storage.

Are the front hinges better in any way (for gear access etc)? I know you can't open the side with your tent open if you have that setup....

[jscusmcvet]

Looks awesome. Congrats on the rebuild, I like leaving the real rims and tires. I have a real beat up version of this trailer that I use around the farm and for trail workdays... but you are having me rethink this a bit... my wife may kill you!

[McZippie]

Nice! Like a lot!

[CRJeepin]

Thanks guys. One more pic of the side. Will replace the fenders sooner or later, they were in rougher shape than I realized.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr318/CRJeepin/69D7A24F-0AAB-4988-BF15-C29C19BAFB40-1439-000000FDE9C6CE45_zpsc5fe2c0c.jpg

[CRJeepin]

Oh, and still have the real lights to install!