Newest (1947) Treasure - Bantam Trailer

[coolpool]

Picked this beast up not 2 hours from me when I wasn't even looking for one! Funny how these things find you, just like trikes! It's a 1947 Bantam 1/4 ton jeep trailer which seems to have weathered 70 years in the elements pretty well right down to the original tires if you can believe it. I'm not too sure what my plans are yet but I should be able to flip it for 3 x what I paid for it to someone in the 'jeep' crowd. It's a great little off road trailer based on the WW2 design which Bantam also supplied to the US and its Allies.

[plastikosmd]

If u camp, I would be tempted to make a custom fold out/pop up camper thing. Maybe one that drops out the tailgate as opposed to a standard pop type or elevates. Lot of cool ones if u google custom jeep trailer camper

[coolpool]

Great idea plastik! I do camp but in a 29' fifth wheel, lol. I rough it on the river during our yearly moose hunt but my camping days are over thanks to 20 years in the Army!

[tripledog]

Pete, it seems you are a magnet for all things cool! I would love to have a trailer like that just for use on my property.

[coolpool]

Pete, it seems you are a magnet for all things cool! I would love to have a trailer like that just for use on my property.

They're out there trip, just got to watch good ole' craigslist. Definitely more abundant in the US than here. Also search for M100 when looking. That's the Military version which is heavier, has a parking brake, 24V lights, no tailgate and may still have the lunette (pintle) type hitch. If you find a military one and you need to remove the lunette to put a civilian 2" hitch on, DO NOT DISCARD IT! It's worth well north of $100 alone!

[plastikosmd]

29' fifth wheel!
That ain't campin that is glampin!

[coolpool]

Been busy on this project; in fact more than I wanted to be. It didn't take me long to tear this down, got it sand blasted and took stock of what I had to work with. I believe I should've left it where it was! The bearings were found in good shape, re-packed and new seals put in. I wondered why there was a weld in the centre of the axle and it turns out that this is a 2nd generation Willys axle under this. During WW2 when foundry casting space was limited, Bantam went from casting axles in one piece to two piece tubes welded together; free history lesson! Turns out both main leafs were broken and all shackle components seized solid. There are 10 springs per side on this thing! I bought NOS shackles and pivot pins, two used main leafs from the front of a 48 cj2A jeep, new centre bolts and axle u-bolts. I will still need to manufacture 8 spring clips which should be fun. There's probably 10 hours of weld repairs to do on the tub to replace soft/rotted spots and fix cracks. I've already painted the rims and fenders with good old Tremclad if you can imagine; turned out pretty good if I don't say! The bed is going to get a spray-in liner I think too. I've got a bit more blasting to do on the springs and suspension parts but hope to have this wrapped up by end November. Of course I'm going to splurge on a new Bantam Dataplate with original serial number! I'll have over 1K in this for purchase, parts and blasting for a $1500 trailer, I love working for free!

[BOB MARLIN]

Cool !
I have am M416 trailer I started restoring. It's a little bigger and a bit newer than the bantam. Your trailer originally most likely had NDT tires with tubes and two piece wheels. You can still get the NDT tires. I had them on my 52 M38A1 and they really made it look athentic.

[coolpool]

Cool !
I have am M416 trailer I started restoring. It's a little bigger and a bit newer than the bantam. Your trailer originally most likely had NDT tires with tubes and two piece wheels. You can still get the NDT tires. I had them on my 52 M38A1 and they really made it look athentic.

That's awesome that you're working on a M416! I also have a 1951 US Army M100 and a 1953 Canadian Army M100CDN. Got any pics of your trailer and jeep? Those are actually the original tires and rims on this. I belong to forum on Bantam T3-C trailers (yes it exists!) and the only thing I can say for sure is that the trailers could have any combination of parts on them as they were built using leftovers from WW2 mixed in with Willys Jeep parts. I've seen early civilian Bantams in Olive Drab paint with NDT tires and combat rims with a 1 7/8" ball hitch and the next serial number trailer is red with regular tires and one piece rims with a ball hitch. Then the next is puke green with NDT tires on it? If I come across a decent set of used 6.00 x 16.00 NDT's I'll probably swap out my other ones. I agree, they would look awesome on there! Although I'm not in the mood to spend any more money on this thing. There's no rhyme or reason on what Bantam put on these things in the way of parts?

[BOB MARLIN]

I didn't know they had so many combinations of the same trailer. I figured that they all came of the same assembly line- all the same. Good to know. I sold my military jeep but kept the trailer. The m416 is too big for the M38a1 anyway. I am restoring the trailer to tow behind my jeep TJ on the trail. It still has the swivel hitch on it and the parking brake so it will be a perfect off road trailer. My tub isn't as nice as yours though. The m416 were water tight- no tailgate, designed to float 4 men across a river if needed. The bad part is nobody would drain them after a good rain so most of them rusted out.

[coolpool]

The US M100 was built by Dunbar-Kapple or Strick and there may be at least one more manufacturer? The Canadian M100 was built by MCI (Motor Coach Industries) in Manitoba who are known for their busses today. The designs are pretty much exact between the US and Canadian ones except for the Data Plates. All M100's shared the same design with a few minor differences with the 416; and they were also watertight. Mine just so happen to have nice tubs so they weren't stored outside.

[BOB MARLIN]

The manufacturer on my trailer came up as a "STEVE". I don't know if that is short for something or not. Do you know ?.

[coolpool]

I've seen them called "Stevens" and "Stephens". "Stephens" seems to be more prevalent.

[coolpool]

Well it's finally done! I was hoping to sell it before Christmas but my repro data plate was hung up in customs from Holland. Folks are usually broke after Christmas so I think I'll be sitting on this for a few months.

[knappyfeet]

Beautiful work coolpool!!

Have you decided whether you are going too keep it or sell it?