It will be....

First step, go to DMV website and download an application for a VIN for a home
made trailer.

Fill it out and send it back with the $5 fee.

When the VIN plate comes in the mail, it needs to be affixed to the DRIVER SIDE of the tongue.

Then, when ready (and all the lights are functioning), I have to get a State Trooper to the house to inspect the trailer, and validate the VIN plate.

He will sign the form, then I send that back, completed, with a Title application, and title will be be on the way!

So............

I have some
motivation to get plugging away at the wiring so there are no delays when the VIN plate shows up. 😉

 

Before it is said....
Yes. I know the T100 is a TERRIBLE bed to use for this type of trailer because of the rear overhang of the bed behind the axle.

But..... Unintended consequence of using .25 wall, forged receiver tubing (48” long” and adding a crossbar is:

It’s actually heavier in the nose than I expected.

If I load the bed with dirt I’m sure the balance would shift to the back (which is bad of course), but..... I’ll work on some balance issues later.

The more I think about this, the more I am leaning towards a pintle hitch.

PROs: Super strong.
CONs: Super “rattly”, and zero articulation.

It’s not an overlanding trailer, so I’m OK without articulation.

This is another reason I used receiver TUBING instead of welding an “off the shelf” ball receiver to the tongue.

I can pick and choose the hitch style I want based on how I will use it that day.

 

Sorry I forgot to mention this earlier, but when I stripped the axle housing, I also removed all of the brake shoes, etc., so nothing would bind up. The rear rotors are also POR15’d on the inside, and I left the brake cylinders inside because pulling them out just left big holes in the backing plates that rocks, etc., could get in to.

..just as an aside.

 

The trip was totally worth it!

BRAND NEW NOS back bumper!

SCORE!

 

So to make you all feel better about your bumpers, here is proof that even a NOS bumper that was never mounted has rust. Lol.

So, I’ll blow this apart, give everything the POR15 treatment, and put it back together.

BTW, the torx bolts that hold the skin onto the support are T45’s....

 

Look what I found!

For all the folks that try to blame the corrosion issues on Japanese production, this bumper was punched out and chromed in the good ‘ol US of A.

Lesson learned..... Don’t have these people chrome your stuff. Lol.

*edit* Look what I found online about this company:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.jac...emplate=ampart

 

Bumper and bumper brace coated.
waiting for it to fully cure before slapping them back together.

 

The factory bolts are obviously not non-corrosive, so a quick swap was in order.

Interesting, probably due to US specs, nothing on this bumper is metric. Threaded at 3/8-16 pitch.

 

First thing is to peel the wrap off the factory harness from the fuel pump and sender wires, back to the factory connector.

I’m not going to use them for anything anyway.

 

There are many ways to do harness work, but anyone who has opened a Toyota harness knows that the factory harnesses are nothing special. They’re done cheaply and they work.

So for Toyota trucks, what I like to do to make it appear “stock” but with a major quality upgrade, is wrap it in Scotch 2228. This tape is butyl rubber and is supposed to be STRETCHED when applied. No joke, if you’re not stretching it to half it’s normal width with every wrap, you’re doing it wrong.

Then, when you get to an end, wrap it with Super33 to fasten the ends from unrolling.

bam. Waterproof.

 

I love Deutsch connectors.
They just work really well.

I ordered a 6-pin online, and a SS mounting clip and plugs (for each end when I’m not using it).

Also, if you put the male end on the trailer side, the connector is small enough to fit in the frame hole to help keep the end out of the rain.

Also, the hole on the mounting clip is perfectly sized to just install on the factory bolts under the bumper. This clip holds the female side of the connector.

 

I downloaded the FSM years back and still can’t find a complete wiring diagram, so I just pinned it out with my multimeter to be sure:

6 wires are needed to keep all function.

Ground
Tail
Brake
L Turn
R Turn
Reverse

On the factory harness, those wire colors are as follows:

(DS = Drivers side)
(PS = Passenger side)

 

When you get to the harness up at the tongue, just jack-knife the trailer to basically the collision threshold.

Then measure your wire out to meet the truck.
(obviously this way you’ll never turn a sharp corner and rip your harness out of the trailer. Laugh, but I’ve seen it. TWICE.)

 

In order to be completely legal, it just needs safety chains.

I’ll add those on tomorrow, but basically, it’s done.

 

Thats a bad-a** combo. Very clean work as always.

 

It gave me an idea for a very similar project.

I’m currently addicted to the converted bed trailer concept. Lol.

 

I love em too. Out here all the old timers haul wood with them. For a while me and a friend were floating the idea of cutting his dolphin RV in half and making it into a tow behind camper for my 1980 pickup..still in the concept stages

 

So, I was out on the other side of Pluto for a while.. I finally got back, got my "stuff" together and have now got caught up with your project. WOW! fantastic progress. The trailer idea/build with its upgrades not only makes sense but fits into your T100 work style, so well.
Due to the pandemic I had to sell my '95 T100 OK, not really the pandemic, but that crap gets blamed for all 2020s bad stuff, so WTH I'll lump my truck in as well. I'll always have a soft spot for T100s and now I can watch what you're doing, nod my head wisely an' dream of what I coulda done-Sigh. wah-wah-wah
Regardless, glad you have made such a class restoration/upgrade to your truck----is the Kid really going to get his grubby little paws on it -ever?

Keep on, keepin' on and yer turn signal fluid reservoir full.

 

In short, no, he’ll never get his hands on it.
It’s mine now.
Why?

1. He has absolutely no interest in a T100 anymore.
2. He decided, as a 16yr old, that he doesn’t want to do the “work” in order to enjoy the payoff. So since I’ve had to do all of this alone, I’m not just handing the keys over.
3. In the 2 years since he got his license, he has totaled two of my cars already. Both my Lexus and my old Impala have gone to the graveyard already.

It just goes to show that regardless of best intentions, well laid plans, etc., teenagers do teenager ˟˟˟˟.

So I’m going to keep the T100, do the 1UZFE swap, and stick a Dana under the front and a 14bolt in the rear, and be done with it after that.

 

Well he's still young. Some day maybe he'll understand better, what you were trying to do there. But on the bright side, you get a rompin', stompin', outstanding example of what a great T100 can be .
Rock on brother, the world is yer crawdad --?--walleye?---carp? what ever