partition the inside of M416?

[Need For Speed]

I am thinking of partitioning off the inside of my M416- propane tank,eu1000, water cans, chuck box, etc.

or should I partition it or leave it wide open and throw the crap in there?

anybody have a pictures?

 

[Hill Bill E.]

Great topic! So far, I've used plastic bins, water jugs, and a plywood box for my 'partitions', as well as one of those 'bed bars' for pick up truck boxes, to keep stuff from sliding around.

I think partitions would be a good idea, I just haven't gotten around to figuring any out yet for my trailer.:snorkel:

 

[Need For Speed]

just playing with some ideas...

 

[rezdiver]

depends if it is a dedicated trailer or will it have other uses. nothing worst than going through all the work of partitions and something comes up where you need the full space and you have to rip it all out.

i just throw everything in and use cargo straps on the inside to act as partitions.
you take it camping and it gets dirty and you want to hose it out, now you have all these walls to deal with getting the mud and dirt out.
my vote is leave it open inside.

 

[tclaremont]

If you notch your boards, you can move them around at any of the notch points or remove them altogether at will.

I am probably not explaining it well, but take your saw and cut a slot the same thickness as your plywood. Put a similar notch facing downward on your cross pieces. Put as many notches as you think you will need and move the boards whenever you feel like it.

 

[TacoDell]

seems like a bunch of extra dead weight added if using wood.

A'write if ya run short on firewood ?

Why not just use a couple of those adjustable load bars that separate and keep the load from shifting ?

They'd weigh less then wood. Can be put specifically into the area that you need to keep things from shifting...

Question is... are they short enough to fit inside the width span of these trailers...

that I don't know...

 

[Trailpsycho]

As well, a couple of tabs welded to the body could be used to secure stuff with cam or ratchet straps or cargo-style nets.

The plywood idea is pretty cool and very temporary, I like it.

 

[greentruck]

Since our trailer is a M101 CDN, it has some hand tie-downs that flip out when you need to use them that are really handy. It wouldn't be quite the same thing, but you could do something similar with the retractable tie-down eyes that are available at most big box home stores.

Load bars that adjust are handy. Most of them start at 40" and that's a little too wide to fit in the bottom part of the bed of a 1/4 ton trailer. They will fit the upper, wider part. I found one load bar that uses tubing, so I could cut it down a couple of inches to fit.

Eventually, I am thinking about some improvements to the trailer, but they tend to be of a more fixed nature: a water tank up front in the bed, with two 10 pound gas bottles on the tongue; a slide out kitchen of some sort; and a locking top. But the rear part of the trailer I intend to leave open to stack stuff in as needed. I also have 6 NATO gas cans that I plan to use to extend range on long trips. That's what I plan to use the load bar with.

 

[roadkill]

I went to O'Reilly's and bought the Mr Gasket tie down kit for short bed pickups, cost around $120 if I remember correctly. Mac's tie downs have a similar product but much more expensive. the 6' rail fits perfect on my M416, I have it mounted at the bottom of where the bed first flares out. you can buy extra tie down points ($20 for two), which I did. the best thing about this system is you can move the tie down anchors where you need them and when you don't need them you have a virtually uncluttered bed (that is if you even consider the minimal space these rails occupy and where I mounted them it is rarely if ever occupied) if your cargo is not as tall just mount the rails lower, my location was based on tying down jerry cans and works well. if you have some smaller cargo you can buy 1' long rails and mount accordingly. while partitions are nice they do not securely hold your cargo down, any bumps or off camber or God forbid a roll over and your cargo is not going to stay in place. works for me, is not neccasarily cheap but it also adds a negligable amount of weight.

I don't have any close pics of just the rails but these should give you an idea

 

[Robert Bills]

I thought about partitions for my Bantam T3C, but decided against it.

I have an Action Packer hinged box, ARB fridge, 15 ga. poly water tank and chuck box that stay in the trailer. When I calculated that even the thinnist of plywood, multiplied by only two partitions, it ended up consuming just enough space to prevent me from fitting in nested milk crates for consumables behind the chuck box. [photos at the link in my signature.]

I used a plywood floor for my trailer (covers the waves and imperfections in the original floor of my '46 trailer), then marked the location for the large items and bolted (not screwed) ordinary footman loops through the plywood floor. The box, fridge, water tank and chuck box are held in place with nylon straps.

Another negative for partitions vs. large items and containers strapped in place is that you will create many dark cavities and corners for stuff to collect, while adding needless weight and something else to rattle and squeek.

My two cents.

 

[JKJenn]

Subscribed. Would love to see what folks come up with. Maybe Jeff Scherb can come up with a great fiberglass design.