M101 trailer ?

[Woody65]

I am thinking of purchasing a used M101 military trailer to hook up to my JD 4300. I would be using it for hauling dirt, brush and materials around the property. Was wondering if you guys think it is a good fit????? I like its carrying capacity and ground clearance. The trailer weighs 1340lbs and is 73 inches wide, just outside my rear wheel footprint. Do you see any problems/issues with using this trailer? Thanks for any suggestions.



Pic of the trailer.

 

[Katahdin]

Yep, I use one with my Yanmar LX. I use a pintle hitch bolted to a box blade to hitch up to mine. That trailer is actually a M101A3 with the surge brake controller at the top of the A-frame behind the pintle. You'll want to put a pin through the hole on the side of the surge brake controller to disable the brakes when backing up with it. It should be able to handle a ton easy and a little more if you need to push it.

Here's a pic of mine dumping gravel over at my Mom's house and my 93-year-old grandmother coming out to "supervise."

 

[Woody65]

Katahdin,

Thanks for the response. When I pick it up I might ask you to elaborate on the pin in the surge brakes issue when backing up. Once I get the trailer I might understand what you are referring to more clearly. I was going to hook it up to the drawbar on the rear of the tractor. Does this present any problems?

 

[Katahdin]

I can take a picture of the pin in the brake controller for you later this evening.

I think hitched to the drawbar the trailer will ride a little too low and far forward, it may be fine your purposes, but to get the trailer to ride level I think you'll want to hitch it to something on the three point. Its also easier to hitch up with the three point: just back into the trailer with the hook just below the eye of the hitch, then lift up with the three point--easey peasy! Then you just need to dismount the tractor, secure the pintle and flip up the drop stand, then release the trailer's parking brakes and you're good-to-go.

Edit: I should also add, that M101 appears to have a hand-crank drop stand on the tonque. That's pretty rare and coveted, if you buy it, be sure to ask the owner for the hand crank which tend to go missing, but can be fabricated. My M101A2 has a simple drop stand.

Edit2: I need to correct an earlier statement, I noticed the fenders on the trailer are offset wider than mine, that makes that trailer an M101A3 which was designed to be pulled behind the Hummer HMMWVs (H1s). It has wider and heavier duty axles allowing it to carry 500lbs more cargo than the M101s and M101A2s.

 

[Katahdin]

Here's pics of the pin that disables the surge brakes. This pin is not the original, just one I picked up at a hardware store. Its 3/8" and about 4.5 inches long. You may need to move the trailer forward and slowly stop in order to get the internal parts lined up before the pin will fit all the way through the controller. An abrupt stop (or reverse motion) will move the hydraulic piston forward, putting pressure to the brakes, and block the hole for the pin.



You also might be interested in the maintenance manual for this type of trailer. Steel Soldiers::Military Vehicles Supersite is also a good resource.

Forgot to add, the master cylinder will most likely have Dot5 (Silicon based) brake fluid in it. You will not want to mix that up with Dot3 fluid. Dot5 is more resilient to moisture but its more expensive.

 

[Woody65]

Katahdin,

Sorry for the delay in responding but a buddy needed an emergency bartender at his pub last night.

Thanks for the very detailed response, I was thinking that the draw bar might be too low also. Was thinking about a 3pt drawbar so I could adjust the height as you mentioned. I will ask about the tongue jack. While doing searches I stumbled onto that website, which is very informative.

Going to look at it tomorrow afternoon, so will let ya know how it turns out. Thanks again.