My new M416

[ISSY]

Hey guys,
My first post here.
Just picked this up last Friday. Found it on Ebay and it was only about an hour away from me. Took 1/2 a day from work and took the trip down to CT.
It's in really great shape. A bit of a dent on the front panel that I'll try to get as straight as I can. I've been all over the place since picking it up, not sure where the build is going to go. First is trying to find some original lights, if anyone here has some I'm interested
Thinking of putting the springs on top of the axle and some 35's to match the Jeep. Would love to paint the frame black and the tub the same color as my Jeep but with the paint in such great condition that will have to wait. Want to build a lid over the winter and already found lots of great ideas from this forum!

 

[Hill Bill E.]

That's in great shape!!

I have a full set of lights (left/right and black out brake) I may be persuaded into parting with.

The brackets are on my trailer still, but if you needed those also, I could fab up new mounts for my LED lights.

HB

 

[Mark Harley]

Sweet trailer, Super clean too!
I vote matching wheels, paint and spring over. "Just look so cool going down the road"
Get a vinyl / canvas cover from Mytarps.com for now and enjoy some camping.
Keep us posted on the build.

 

[Kflash]

I'll be making the flip and 35s when I buy new rubber for the Jeep next year!

 

[tripc]

Mathcing 35's and tried to get close with the paint

 

[ISSY]

I have some 235/75R/15 BFG All Terrains I have and was thinking of putting those on untill I decide what to do. Will I have any issues mounting those up. What size can I put with the stock wheels?

 

[Robert Bills]

Nice looking trailer!

If you prefer the look of military lights, Gamma Goat lights are a good choice, are readily available (Midwest Military sells them, among others), and put out more light than the units that originally were fitted to M416s. All you need to do is fit with 12v bulbs.

I'm not a big fan of spring overs on military 1/4 ton trailers. It jacks them up so high that it is difficult to get stuff in and out of the tub if you're of average height, and raises the center of gravity significantly (particularly if you mount a 100#+ rooftop tent). The only real advantage of spring overs on a trailer is to allow very large tires to match a lifted tow rig (largely cosmetic) and to allow a single spare for both tow rig and trailer (largely unnecessary if you run tubless tires and have a plug kit for repairs). You really don't need anything taller than 31", and 33" will probably fit a M416 without objectionable rubbing (31s are really the largest you can fit without a springover on WWII MBTs and Korean War M100s with round fenders rather than the angular fenders of an M416).

As for using your 235/75R-15 BFG All Terrains, that won't work because your M416 wheels are 16" in diameter. The tires you have should work fine if mounted on Jeep CJ-5 or CJ-7 wheels (5 on 5 1/2"). I used that combination of wheel/tire on my Bantam T3-C for about a year before I restored it and went back to 7.00-16 military NDCC tires on original 16" wheels. The backspacing of CJ wheels will be a bit off, but due to the size of the bearings on your M416 in comparison to the payload, that should not be an issue for you. If you want to stick with the stock 16" M416 wheels, the comparable civilian tire size is 215/85R-16.

What size tires are on your trailer now? They look like they are a perfect fit.

BTW, here's a shot the the wheel/tire combination on mine. I run 35" tires on my CJ-7 (see spare in background), and keep a tire repair kit on board the trailer (tubes, patches, tire irons, etc.) for the 7.00-16 military NDCC tires, and have never felt the need to "match" tires between rig and trailer (although I do admit to having matching 31s "back in the day" when 31s were considered huge (the mid 60s).

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Nice find.

I too am personally not a fan of spring overs, I think that you might find they get top heavy and "tippy" with all that weight that high up on that narrow of a wheelbase? No personal experience however... they do look kool though don't they? My M101 CDN has stock suspension on 31" Tires and they fit great. Mind you I have a set of matching offset wheels for the whole "one spare to rule them all" thing. The 31's fit great, and match the 31's on the Cherokee in looks and of course size. I wish I opted for more backspacing, as they do stick out more than I would like...but I can always change that. The payload vs. the size of the wheel bearings leaves me confident that I will not have any issues.

A couple of thoughts...

1. Lids rock, love mine...never going to go without again.
2. RTT's are pretty amazing. Setup in like 5 minutes, tear down in only a bit more.
3. 31's or less on a trailer are probably well suited to most every situation and keep the center of gravity lower. Depends on what you plan to do with it I guess?
4. Grote makes some awesome Mil Spec LED lighting that is a perfect match for the CDN M101 lights, and can be found online cheap!

http://www.grote.com/product.php?product_number=82212



oh...and color matching your trailer will look amazing. I love they way yours looks now, and you can always go back if you want!

Have fun!!