Here Is What WE Say About Them

The Canadian Military M101 trailer is basically the same as the US Military M416 trailer with some differences. The main difference is the bed of the M101 is welded to the frame and the M416 is bolted on. Advantage or not, you decide but in any case both of these trailers are a great addition to your off-road equipment list.

The M101 Canadian trailers were built here in the US for the Canadian Defense Forces in 1992. There were less than 2000 of these trailers made. Many of them that we have seen are very clean and have little or no rust other than surface rust unlike many of the US military M416s which have been around since the 1940s in various forms. The M101s have a lot of "armor" additions on the front, sides and back welded on to protect it from damage. The stock military wheels and tires are 25 years old and are easily replaced with newer all terrain tires or just change out the brake drums for ones that have the wheel pattern your Jeep has on it: 5x4.5, 5x5.5, 6x5, etc. Then you can carry two spares that will fit both your Jeep and the trailer.

The M101 is rated to carry 2500 lbs on the highway with its 3500 lb axles and rated to float on water with 500 lbs of cargo. We have not seen one float yet but we will take their word for it.

Our group bought two truckloads of these from a wholesaler in Quebec Canada. Both of the transactions were not without problems and the second truckload had plenty of headaches, some of which we are still dealing with months later due to the seller not providing us with the proper paperwork. So, when you buy one of these, make SURE the person you are dealing with in Canada is reputable but in most cases they won't just sell one and they always want payment in full up front, so keep that in mind.

The M101 is a good addition to your off-road collection of goodies. It can carry all the gear you need for a long trip, wheels excellent off-road in every situation we have encountered and because of its size is easy to tow. I do not notice mine with my V-8 and I have been told by TJ owners with 6 cyl's that they don't even know it is behind them, even at freeway speeds here in AZ of 75mph.

The trailer is a good candidate for for a mild lift or even an SOA to accommodate larger tires such as 33s and 35s. Rancho shocks work well on them and people have had lift shackles made for them too.

Customizing possibilities are endless and only subject to your imagination and budget. Removable tops, hinged tops, tailgate conversions (using a CJ tailgate), roof top tents, roof racks and more. Below are some pictures of what some of our members have done to theirs and other pictures we found on the web doing research. There are several good sources for information on these in Yahoo Groups in the M416 group and one of our members has some excellent information on his modifications (and lots of TJ stuff too) on his web site:
http://www.savagesun4x4.com/m101_military_jeep_trailer.html

So if you are looking for a compact heavy duty trailer, the M101 is a good choice and can be bought for prices ranging from $900 to $1500 depending on how good you look around. I have heard of rare bargains of $50, $300, $500 too lately!


Here they are all stacked up in Canada ready to be shipped here



This is how they are stacked inside the truck box. They ship them enclosed and you need a fork lift to get them out. 18 trailers is ALL you can get in a truck, not one more!



Here is Don's trailer with a custom made hinged lid of 16ga steel.....fenders are off for painting



Here is Don's trailer again before paint with a roof top tent installed and set up......they say these can be set up in 3 min!



Here is the same trailer with new paint, fenders and now a folding roof top tent mounted on the lid. This rig is ready for and Expedition!



For example, this is a nicely customized trailer with roof rack, lighting, storage for jerry cans and more. Notice the Jeep Rubicon wheels and tires to match the owners rig.



Not taken on one of our trips, but a nice example of a camp set up with a roof top tent mounted to an M101 trailer.