rare find

[jack neville]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

I think this guy came from Mansfield ..but not sure . The trailer looks to be custom made

MIKE

I actually built this trailer for Robin Mawson. This was the Mk 2 version. The first model I built was originally a dog trailer style with folding ramps scratch built to have a military look. Unfortunately the ramps were manually operated and a bit too heavy. The trailer was also pretty heavy and the whole outfit a little taxing on the Chev. The axles were made from blitz axles by cutting off the ends and sleeving a heavy tube over them. Blitz springs were used. On the second version robin wanted to reduce the weight plus make loading a one man operation. It has high sides and a beaver tail with fold down loading wedges. The beaver tail is slightly funnel shaped and there are guiding blocks welded on the ramp which centre the tracks as you drive up. Very easy to load. The same springs were used but a 25mm plate was lazer cut to fabricate a rocker suspension set up. The guards I fabricated to try and keep some sort of military look about the trailer. He has fitted a later model Chev engine which has been hotter up. The Chev is actually a Aussie RAEME workshop vehicle with fold out sides. As Scrivo says the outfit can maintain a good 80 kph on flat roads all day. Dies on the hills as would be expected but luckily Australia is pretty flat. Without the trailer attached the Chev flies and he has recently added 1100x20 tyres so even quicker. With the Geelong Miltary Re-enactment Group Robin's carrier and this truck is probably the most travelled carrier in Australia over the past eighteen years and has been seen all over the countryside and 'blown up' dozens of times in re-enactments. We would have sourced and restored an original carrier trailer but as this thread shows they are pretty hard to come by and their width is a problem.