M101 Hard Lid

[dstock]

I've been through a bunch of the M101 3/4 ton threads and haven't noticed any that have a locking hard lid versus a soft tonneau style cover. Has anyone fabricated one or is there some reason people haven't gone there?

TIA

 

[Pccruiser]

I'm planning on fabbing one once I get some free time.

 

[Mark Harley]

I went with a soft cover from mytarps.com

This one made from diamond plate is very nice. There is a build on Expo of this tan trailer.

 

[RagnarD]

My guess is that the lids would be pretty heavy because the spans are longer and would require heavier materials.

I haven't looked, but I am sure you could buy an off the shelf tonneau style cover for a standard long bed truck and make it work

 

[shack]

Seems like it would be really hard to access items on a 5ft span if you had a lid that hinged on one side. I went with a soft top because I needed to be able to remove it easily as I use my trailer for lots of utility work, and since the 101 isn't exactly a lightweight, anywhere I can save lbs is a good thing

 

[dstock]

Thanks guys, I have been checking out all your builds, very nicely done!!! Your builds actually are what got me considering the M101A as an option. Amazing work!

Totally understand the weight savings but like the idea of the lockable secure storage as well. I was thinking of a lid hinged from the front or incorporating a roll top version like a pickup truck bed. I think the XV 2 has?

My hope would be to save some weight by ditching the surge brakes and likely the axle since I would want to match the hubs to my JK.

Mark, Shack, the RTT rack is what I was picturing in my head. I don't want to lose the use of the Annex on my RTT when I move it to a trailer but want it to be lowered when traveling.

I will preface this by saying I would be using this project to also learn to weld but would likely have any critical welds done by a professional.

 

[shogun]

M101 is way too big for a Jeep, off-road.

Hard lid is also too big and heavy, as mentioned above.

 

[Mark Harley]

There are many ways to lighten them. With the government dumping the Hummer 1101, 1102 trailers the price of the M101A2 trailers are below $500.00.

I paid $500.00 for mine and put it on a diet.

 

[dstock]

M101 is way too big for a Jeep, off-road.

Hard lid is also too big and heavy, as mentioned above.

Compared to the Xventure XV 2 the M101 is slightly smaller and roughly 100lbs heavier in stock form. The XV2 seems to tow alright behind JK's, LR3's etc from what I've seen. I'm not doing any rock crawling, mostly fire roads and such. I'm curious how you arrived at your conclusion.

What is your tow rig/ trailer combo?

 

[dstock]

There are many ways to lighten them. With the government dumping the Hummer 1101, 1102 trailers the price of the M101A2 trailers are below $500.00.

I paid $500.00 for mine and put it on a diet.

I wish we had those prices in SoCal, they are in the $800-1000 range out here.

 

[shack]

You can save a few hundred lbs by ditching the stock lunette, surge brake, and axle. as far as locking storage goes, you have to think about what it is you really need to have locked up. A locking tongue box and a few smaller lock boxes bolted into the bed might serve your needs easier.

 

[Texan]

Mark, Which size tarp did you get? I am thinking about going with a tarp and the one you have fits very nicely. I think a hard top would be to heavy to handle easily.

Thanks, Mark

 

[dstock]

Another possibility might be to have a hard top that was split in the middle so that you could open half towards the front or half towards the back which would mitigate the too heavy to handle issues. I'm just spit-balling here of course. The lid would prob need to be made of aluminum to keep the weight down, obviously I don't want to shed a bunch of weight and then add a bunch back on.
As much as I would like to believe in the goodness of others, I would like to have lockable storage for when I am out of site of the trailer. Shack raises a good point though, maybe its more of a lockable area or two versus a whole hard cover.
I love the versatility of the JK, hard top, soft top, rack on, rack off, etc and would want a trailer that would provide the same usefulness.

 

[Mark Harley]

I ordered what they refered to as a machine cover measure the length and width of the tub lip add for the rear pins too.
and how far down the side you want the tarp to fit. " it fits like a shoe box lid " they will put the gromets where you want and have stainless
and brass gromets too. call Travis and tell him the size you need. Mine has been on several years with no problems.

I bought a 50" roll of bungee rope on ebay and two bungee hooks to hold it down. works well for me.

 

[screwball48]

Recently there was one for sale on fleabay. It had a hard cover that was hinged in the middle. The front half of the trailer had access doors so you could reach items under the front half. The rear half of the cover was hinged for access.