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Camping in the bronco

gnsteam

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Jan 29, 2010
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Lincoln NE
Just got back from Michigan's UP. Here's a few pics of my homegrown military camper trailer. Used a double model cot tent for the sleeping quarters. Weighs just under 1000 pounds loaded up with camping gear, 10 gallons of water, and 4 gallons of spare fuel. Bronco pulls it nicely.

That a slick set up. After finishing up my Bronco upgrades. I will be looking for a M416. Been wanting one for years.
 

kylakekevin

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That is a great set up knack! I really like the cot up on the platform.
 

knack

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Feb 2, 2007
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Thanks! And good luck with the trailer search. I was lucky enough to find one that didn't have some of the pieces that were important to the military collectors - data plate, correct hitch, etc. Made a big difference on the price.
I see one now and then on municipal surplus auction sites. A lot of them went to small town fire departments or county garages.
 

Rustytruck

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Feb 24, 2002
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Old military trailers are fun. I have a 1943 Bantam that was repatriated from the Swiss after the war. US gave them to several countries when the war was over. I met a guy who shipped in 2 sea containers from Switzerland in the early 80"s and I got one that was modified so not a true collectors item any more. it came with Swiss documentation which was kinda neat. the swiss did a full service on them before shipping them out.

we cut up a 10' x 10' cabin tent and used a plywood deck on top when we set up camp. kind of crude but it worked and didn't modify the trailer any.
 

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papy

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Jun 13, 2012
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796
last week camping trip

first time the old girl has been in her natural setting since the early 90's! what a blast...
 

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knack

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832
Old military trailers are fun. I have a 1943 Bantam that was repatriated from the Swiss after the war. US gave them to several countries when the war was over. I met a guy who shipped in 2 sea containers from Switzerland in the early 80"s and I got one that was modified so not a true collectors item any more. it came with Swiss documentation which was kinda neat. the swiss did a full service on them before shipping them out.

we cut up a 10' x 10' cabin tent and used a plywood deck on top when we set up camp. kind of crude but it worked and didn't modify the trailer any.

Great looking tent and trailer! I like the tailgate. More useful with a Bronco than a floating trailer.
 

Rustytruck

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Feb 24, 2002
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Great looking tent and trailer! I like the tailgate. More useful with a Bronco than a floating trailer.

left for the war as a floater came back with a tailgate. who knows when it was done it came back from the Swiss that way which is why I was able to buy it. if it was still a floater it would have sunk me being too expensive. nobody wanted it because it was cut. for 200 hundred bucks the rear panel can be replaced. its being reproduced in the Philippines as are the other body parts. I like these trailers except they are so hard to back up. cant see them until they are all crossed up. couldn't imagine using them in a battle zone. so easy to tow going forward.

the Canadians were letting go a whole bunch of really nice M101 military trailers a few years ago that were like new and were a bargain. probably allot of mark up now with the over-lander boom.
 

Rustytruck

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Feb 24, 2002
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Papy what a great trip. you need a trailer too. its so nice to have a camping trailer and drive with an empty Bronco.
 

papy

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Jun 13, 2012
Messages
796
Papy what a great trip. you need a trailer too. its so nice to have a camping trailer and drive with an empty Bronco.

maybe one of them Canadian trailers you are talking about. any idea which part of Canada they were in?
 

Howard2x4x4

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Apr 19, 2014
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So. Finding photos was a fail. Had a great trip down memory lane, more like a rabbit hole, going through hundreds of Bronco-related travel photos though.

If anyone is interested though, here's a link to photos from a trip I organized about 2 years ago through central Nevada. We crossed some interesting terrain. Two Broncos on that trip, with a photo of two of stuff in my rig. One of many long trips I've taken out west. I'll happily take my Bronco anywhere.

https://www.abarinnowhere.com/Lipstick-On-A-Pig/n-z3FB9z/

Very cool, great pics! Thanks for passing them along!
 

Pa PITT

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Jul 15, 2005
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Loc.
Stephenville TEXAS
Hunting Buddy & I at the New Mexico Ranch

... OK I went back to some old pictures I've got loaded hopefully they load.
GOT 4 Pictures .
............
....Well nothing loaded .
 

crashmc2

Newbie
Joined
Mar 19, 2019
Messages
27
Some guys use these "removable bed eye bolts". The outer sleeve is screwed in place with a nut from below, & the inner eye bolt can be removed when it's not needed. It seems like it would be good to have some button heads on hand to fill the hole when not in use.



Pic & idea borrowed from Ioalus

in-hand-(b).jpg




https://www.amazon.com/ProGrip-822920-Removable-Trailer-Shank/dp/B000HAB7G4



At work we have a trailer with "E track" with the clip in ratchet straps. It's low profile & pretty handy. I've wondered about mounting some of that to floor of the bed.



qty-10-2-x-12-ft-interior-van-ratchet-e-track-straps-w-spring-fittings-ratchetstrap-com_196_9d9acd11-35c8-46a2-bb46-c54a68117227_grande.jpg
I'm in the process of doing L-track with removable tie downs. I can actually make the back seat removable as well, but there will be some serious consideration before I do that. For safety reasons. The track will hold the seat in a crash and the passengers are still secured via the normal manner with grade 8 bolts to the body for the seat belts, but still. They're small bolts, even though it's spread over 38 of them.

It's the same track that's used with airline seats and I've seen it on military aircraft for hooking up cargo, but requires a lot of holes to be drilled. Looks really good with rubber mat instead of carpet too. I'm doing it in conjunction with a gas tank swap, so anyone looking at this has to keep that in mind when doing this. Only the rear 3 bolts of the center one are blocked by the tank. There's 3 each of the other 2 center tracks that are easier with the tank out, but the longer side tracks can be put in easily. They're on the outside of the frame.

I'm gonna get 1/4 thick rubber strips to protect the top of the tank from the bottom of the only two bolts over it, in the event of an accident. They're short, perfectly distanced to barely poke past the nut so shouldn't be a hazard anyways. It's better than the bolt that was there before though. I'm going to redo the washers with metal stringers before I get too far. But it's the M1A1 tank from Wild Horses, so it's sturdy.

This whole set up is for cargo and not passengers, so if anyone is willing to work around a fold up seat, this would be perfect. I don't have one and to upgrade later may not be an option because of how many tracks I've got in there.

A note before the questions are asked: I'm doing a transmission swap here soon and the front mat will need to be cut properly for the auto. That's why the insulation is poking up. The carpet is still in the front, so I'm waiting for the swap before installing all of that. I want the gas tank in now, so I need to get the rear mat in to get the rails and bolts in. It won't impede proper install of the front though.
7a61f11af38be122f4f1885017c1be9f.jpg


Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
 

Yeller

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Mar 27, 2012
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Rogers County Oklahoma
The track looks great! as for the seat in a crash, that track is copied from the airline industry, they mount their seat to it, so it probably isn't much of an issue, just my thoughts.
 
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