Let the questions begin.....

OK. I drank 4 cups of coffee in the garage this morning looking at my new project (Bantam T3-C that I picked up yesterday) and I've come up with a whole bunch of questions. First, since there was quite a bit of snow and ice in the bed, I didn't realize how bad the bed was warped. I threw the heater in it yesterday in the garage to melt the snow (took 8 hours since it was 5 deg all day yesterday) and came out to find the floor looking pretty sad. Lotsa sag between the crossmembers but only a few pinholes. I found the link on here referring to replacing floors and I think I'm going with a piece of 16ga flat metal with downturned flanges that I can weld to the sides. Any objections to this?? Second, I will need to modify the suspension to fit 33"s to match the CJ5. Is a narrow tire better? I'm running 12.5s on the CJ, would 10.5s be better? Will I need some serious backspacing on the rims to get them to fit without rubbing the box (8" rims probably). I will also need to lift the trailer to fit the 33s. Should I do a spring over conversion or buy new 2.5" or 3.0" lift springs (assuming they are the same as CJ-2s or ECJs)? It appears to have the original Fulton style 1 7/8" ball hitch. Is this sturdy enough? Looks flimsy with metal only on 2 sides.....Third (or fourth), the tailgate hinges are hosed. What's my best bet for replacment hinges? I like Boyink's idea of removeable hinges. Any particular ones work best? Ok. Enough for now.....Thanks in advance. I'll post pics in my other post tomorrow...

 

Hinges:

Jeep hood hinges work. If you can find old Willys tailgate hinges and have some fabrication skills, these would work even better as the tailgate hinges allow the tailgate to be removed without removing any pins.

Floor:

You may have some warping issues with a flat floor. Almost all of these trailers have "wavy floors" and if yours isn't too bad you might get away with a diamondplate overlay or even a piece of plywood. You can also purchase a floor panel with the proper bends from Jeep Panels Plus.

Tires and Lift:

I struggled with this on my trailer, and experimented with a spring over in an attempt to use 33" or 35" tires. I decided against a spring over because it raises the trailer too high and looks squirrelly. Also, the radius and width of the stock fenders will not allow anything taller than 31" or wider than 10 1/2 inches without clearance problems unless you jack up the trailer to what I believe is an excessive height. I even tried BFG 33x9.5 AT tires (same as the spare I run on my CJ7), but didn't like the look or the fit. I eventually decided to use military NDCC 7.00x16 tires on stock 16" rims (same as early CJ Kelsy Hayes rims if yours have been replaced and you need to find them). These are 31" tall, fit perfectly and look good on the trailer. As far as springs are concerned, you can replace yours with front springs for the early CJ, M38, MB, etc, or you can buy 2" or 4" lift springs (although in my personal opinion 2" would be better if you go this route.)