I Have a Trailer; It's Not a Bantam (10/16/2013)

Well, I now have a M416 military trailer to tow behind BG, but it is not a  Bantam. It is a Dunbar-Kapple. It was delivered to Fort Lewis, WA in December, 1965. So it is a Vietnam-era trailer. The shape and size of it seems to be exactly like the T3(C), and M100 Bantam trailers of WWII, civilian, and Korea. Somewhere along the line other manufacturers must have received contracts to build them. Dunbar-Kapple is one; Stevens is another. Thomas Brown (Chief, Prop. Mkting Br.) of the military sold it (at auction?) to Cliff Tebeau of Tacoma, WA on August 23,1990. Then it ended up in Klamath Falls, OR sometime later where I bought it after finding it on Craig's List. It was shipped from Klamath Falls and delivered here last Saturday, October 12. The following pictures show it from all sides.
  

As you can see it is camouflage painted and believe you me that paint is TOUGH. I have been trying to carefully scrape it off of the aluminum ID tag on the right-rear of the tub.



It has all of the tarpaulin tie-down hooks, four on each side, and one each on the front and rear of the tub. The taillights are modern and 12 volt. So I am going to have to decide whether to convert the Jeep to a 12-volt system or replace the lights with 6-volt ones. The tires have "Which way am I going" tread. The two hand-holds in front are missing; the one on the left-rear is bent.
  

You can see in this view that the landing leg, or foot as I call it, is bent. One of the first things I am going to do is straighten it. Should be easy. One of the fenders is bent a little and requires straightening.

The only rust spot that has to be dealt with is on the upper right corner of the front wall in this view. It is right where the wall folds over the cylindrical top stiffener.

The floor of the tub is in great shape and has very little waviness. The drain holes, left-front and right-rear, both operate properly. The tub can be removed from the frame quite easily.

The lunette is located in the top socket which is used for towing behind larger military vehicles. For BG I will have to install it in the lower socket. I have already succeeded in removing it. The safety chains and hooks appear to be original and are in good shape.

This view shows the brake handle. The brake cable is broken and I have already ordered a new cable, equalizer, and J-bolt. What I don't have is the brake handle movement to the cable swivel; I will have to have one fabricated.