Water hauling trailer

[cp1969]

Is anybody familiar with the 1/4 ton military trailers?

I have one (M416) that came with my M151 jeep. It has served no purpose other than occupy shed space the entire time I've owned it.

I have been hauling water to our semi-newly planted trees for the last 2 1/2 months using tap water hauled in a garden tractor trailer using a mixture of 2 1/2, 5, and 23 gallon containers.

I'm sick of it.

Two miles away is a creek where I can load water. I want to put a poly tank and pump in this otherwise useless trailer and haul water, but is the load limit really a 1/4 ton?? I am hauling almost 50 gallons in that garden cart. To make this worthwhile, I think it needs to haul at least 100 gallons, preferably more. FWIW, 100 gallons is 830 lbs; 200 gallons is 1630 lb.

Vets (I am not one): How much have you carried on one of these little trailers with no ill effects?

Thanks.

 

[TOMDUALLY]

I wouldn't be afraid to haul a 200 gal. tank on it if the trailer is still in good shape. The only concern that I would have is stopping it that M151 is a pretty light vehicle.

 

[cp1969]

The trailer looks to be in very good condition. The weakest point, I would guess, would be the tires. But if you think about it, 200 gallons is only 800 lbs per tire and some will go on the tongue.

 

[bx23barry]

Those trailers are pretty heavy duty. I wouldn't worry about a couple hundred gallons in it. I've seen them plied high with all sorts of stuff towed behind jeeps on some tough trails.

 

[Theowegian]

Howdy.
I built a water wagon a while back. I still use it a lot and it works very well.

Here is a link to my project. Maybe you can find some ideas in this thread...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61467&highlight=water+wagon

 

[cp1969]

That is a nice rig.

My project started out in my head as a three-point implement but the max weight you can carry on a three point isn't that much and the price of PTO driven water pumps is ridiculous. I had sketched out a three point system where you never had to leave the seat of the tractor to load or dispense water. Too much money though. A horizontal poly tank is twice what a pickup tank costs and then the pump cost torpedoes the whole thing.

Your trailer looks to be ideal for the job. Mine is a case of make-do with what's on hand, namely the old jeep trailer which is gathering dust and taking up space. I bought the tank this afternoon and although I may live to regret it, I also bought a Chinese knock-off of the 6.5 hp Honda pump off of eBay for a little over $200 delivered. It pains me to buy Chinese but sometimes you just can't pass up the savings. Just like a stupid fish that jumps at a shiney lure.

 

[Theowegian]

Well, based on your objectives (watering trees) and your equipment on hand, I think you have all you need to do the job.

Let's see, you have a pretty good trailer and a new "economy" pump, soooo I suggest you get a 55 gallon drum or two and strap those babies to your trailer and you should be in business.

Just use your pump to fill your drum, put the bung in place, haul it to your trees, then use your pump (at idle) to dispense the water from the drum!

I got a several used poly drums at the local Coca Cola bottling plant in town. They were $7.50/ea. There are several places that these drums can be found. Check the newspaper want ads and call around. Better yet, find someone that has a plastic drum and ask them where they got it. Even your local gas and oil suppliers have steel drums for around $10-20, if you cant find used poly ones...

OBTW, find a suction and discharge hose for your pump, too.

Personally, Id load that trailer up to the limits of the tires...but Im a little bit of a risk taker in this area....you'll get a feel after hauling a few loads - I mean a sense about what your tractor or trailer can handle.
dwight

 

[George2615]

I think your military trailer can handle what you want it to as long as the tires and springs are in decent shape. If it's a military anything its probably built to handle 4 times the rating.

 

[DickThomas]

If I remember correctly, an Army version 1/4T trailer was rated at 1/4 ton CROSS-COUNTRY = rough terrain, combat conditions, and was consider usable at twice that =1/2T on hard surfaces. That would be 1000#/8.34 = 120 gallons, at official, legal, military loads (minus the weight of the tank).
I'd say thet the weakest link would be the rating of your tires, and if you're just hauling around your property, and not at highway speeds, you shouldn't have any problems.