British WWII Lightweight 100 Gallon Water Trailers

[Jerryjeeprichard]

1 hour ago, wally dugan said:

Just out of interest l ran the key card data base and the reason l raised the question on the 1953 date on the tag is because any of the BROCKHOUSE half ton LT WT TRAILERs by   that  time would have the new style numbers most were in the mixed trailer numbers for half ton two wheel that included  those made by ORME EVANS  and TASKER the series of  83 YK 10 TO 95 YK 99 

Hi Wally

I'm not clear on what these means? 

What is the key card data base? 

Looking at the SOUL data plate i would say this is a later retro fitted item. Maybe not necessarily original to the trailer. 

Regards 

Richard 

 

[Richard Farrant]

32 minutes ago, Jerryjeeprichard said:

Looking at the SOUL data plate i would say this is a later retro fitted item. Maybe not necessarily original to the trailer. 

 

 

Hi Richard,

I think you will find that plate with SOUL on it actually reads SOU 1, it would appear to be a rebuild plate showing the work was done at a REME Southern Command Workshop. I have a feeling that SOU 1 could have been Warminster as I recall seeing this code on a rebuilt engine data plate. So it would not be original but it does show part of the trailers service history.

regards, Richard

[wally dugan]

the key cards are the records  of military equipment IE soft skin vehicles trucks jeeps cars and  trailers that cover the period  after ww2 into the early 50s that remained in service Now the RLC MUSEUM HOLD THEM but l have the details from my time at the museum of army transport. THE plate with  S.O.U 1 would be applied  after the trailer under went rebuild the plate with the details of contract wartime number starting with X and chassis number would be fitted when the trailer was made so is a original item but when it was rebuilt it was normal for another plate to be attached with the new style  registration these new came into use in late 1949/50 but as l said it may have been lost  the new number would have been recorded on the key card along as the  wartime number it would be  strange for any one to go to the trouble of bothering to apply these after it was sold bearing mind it appears to have been on a farm but who knows after all this time just appoint  the S.O.U plate l have seen this type of plate before and is a part of its history                         regards WALLY

Edited April 28, 2020 by wally dugan

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Richard, Wally, 

 

The information is greatly appreciated, so i think the feeling is although the S.O.U.1 data plate is not original part of the trailer. it really should be re-attached as it forms later part of its military history. 

Is it likely that its rebuild was at Warminster or is this to difficult to prove? 

[Richard Farrant]

1 hour ago, Jerryjeeprichard said:

Richard, Wally, 

 

The information is greatly appreciated, so i think the feeling is although the S.O.U.1 data plate is not original part of the trailer. it really should be re-attached as it forms later part of its military history. 

Is it likely that its rebuild was at Warminster or is this to difficult to prove? 

Hi Richard,

My mistake I was unsure if it was Warminster or Aldershot. It was in fact the REME Workshops at Aldershot, which at that time would have been 13 Command Workshop (much later the number was changed to 43).

regards, Richard

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Thought I would post a few pictures on progress.

Started with some of the smaller components. 

Items stripped, sandblasted, repaired where necessary, 

Primed, assembled and top coated.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by Jerryjeeprichard

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Thought I would post some trailer progress. 

 

Trailer stripped down to all the component parts, axle, hitch, split the springs. 

Started with sand blasting all the small components, the wheels, axle and chassis, sent to a local blasting company, 

Everything has been blasted, primed, and treated to three coats of top coat. 

Hitch treated to new bushes. 

Axles treated with new oil seals and new wheel bearings. 

Tyres re booted with two new Avon Tourist 600 x 16. 

 

 

 

[Rootes75]

Some really nice work here, I cant say I have seen many before on the show circuit.

Kevin

[Jerryjeeprichard]

22 hours ago, Rootes75 said:

Some really nice work here, I cant say I have seen many before on the show circuit.

Kevin

Hi Kevin, 

 

Many thanks for the comments, not many of these trailers left at all. To my count around 10 that i know of. I have two, debating whether or not to restore both or sell one on and let someone else have the enjoyment. 

Not sure we'll have to much of a show circuit this year, but hopefully next year the world will be in a better place..  

[Rootes75]

Everything we booked the car into this year has been cancelled, understandably.

We are looking forward to next year.

[Jerryjeeprichard]

It been a while. Thought I would post an update on the bowser progress. 
 

I’ve had a little luck turning up a few missing bits. Which has allowed me to complete the rear hose assembly.. 

The hose is nicely dated in 44 with the broad arrow. Nice surprise when I unraveled. 

The hose tales and 7/8 BSP nuts I had one original which has given me a patten to manufacture the rest. Little lockdown job. 
 

[64EK26]

Hi

You have been lucky, they look really good, I have been looking for those strainers for a long time but without success.

Is the hinged strainer made from aluninium or galvanised steel ?

However, I did manage to find a later type strainer which is not hinged and is made of steel which will suffice until I find an original.

Cheers

Richard

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Hi Richard. 
 

Very lucky to find them. Just in the right place at the right time. 
 

They are steel construction, riveted together. Top and bottom are formed, galvanised finish. 

Ive  added a few close-ups. 

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Thought I would post an update on the trailer restoration project. 
 

With the nice weather I’ve had a week off work to get some jobs done at home. (Paint the windows) 

Rest of the time spent getting the bowser nearing completion. 
 

Needless to say the windows remain unpainted. 
 

Progress since the last post. Few things have happened ....I’ve  been very lucky... I’ve managed to pick up another original pump along with the holy grail original 43 dated meta filter.😁 

Filter was generally in good order,  sandblast to remove all the crud, old paint etc  Back to the original copper and brass, primed, and top coated. 
 

 

[Jerryjeeprichard]

The clamp brackets were a little twisted and buckled. 
 

Although the brackets straitened out ok I feel the pitting in the metal was a little excessive so I decided to make new brackets 

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by Jerryjeeprichard
Added photo

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Filter then mounted to the bowser. 
 

I used a 303 rifle sling to pad between the filter bracket and filter. The profile of the sling lends its self really nicely to loose the head of the rivet. And grips the filter tightly. The width of the sling matched that of the bracket too. Perfect all round. 
 

results speak for themselves. 
 

 

 

[Rootes75]

The new brackets look just the job! Its coming on nicely.

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Next task was the tank. 
 

Although the galvanise was in good order few small areas that rust had started to get a grip. 
 

Unfortunately the rust had started to catch under the two straps. The only option is to remove cut out the bad metal and replace. 
 

Then the laborious task of cleaning the tank. I found the best solution was a wire knot in the grinder.

Good clean with thinners then onto paint.  
 

 

[cordenj]

Richard,

Quite a few years ago, I found small children to be good at this job...but suppose a wire brush on a grinder would work too!

 

[Jerryjeeprichard]

John, I still used the children I just equipped them with angle grinders. Much quicker. 🤣🤣

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Little more progress last night. Few more hours on building the hoses up. 
 

Really pleased with the final results. 
 

 

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Spent the evening getting the tank bolted onto the chassis. 
 

It’s been on and off three times to get it just right. Then you trash all the nice paint. 
It didn’t make me mad at all. 😤
 

That said it happy days when you get to bolt everything back on. 

[Rootes75]

Looking superb I must say. Makes me think about some sort of trailer to go behind our truck..

[Jerryjeeprichard]

An old friend downsizing allowed me the privilege of rummaging through his many sheds. I managed to amass a lot of (good stuff) some of which will help with immediate restorations. The rest will more than likely sit collect dust in my sheds. 😂 But I definitely need it…

 

Water bowser parts I turned up some nice original ww2 brass 7/8 bsp hose tails with nuts and extension unions.
 

We spent many hours discussing where my haul came from. One of the tails that the brass fittings were just a small handful that didn’t make the scrap heap in the 50, 60 and 70s the family business was to buy sell ex military equipment. Water trucks/ bowsers were a a good sellers.

Buy them cheep at dispersal auctions. Sell them high broken up. 
Water tanks were sold to farms for water feeders , trucks were then converted for general haulage. And sold on for a new purpose,

Water trucks apparently were always good low mileage trucks. 
water filters/ pumps pipe work, sold for scrap. Apparently there were a few filters sold to local farms for filtering the spring water….

 

[Jerryjeeprichard]

Update with today’s progress. 
 

Under belly diff plate brackets were so badly pitted I have decided to make some new ones. 
 

The whole process was a little trial and error.
I initially hoped to fold them, due to the complex shape this turned out impossible. 
I also wanted something that could be repeatable, in the end I fixed on making a little fixture to fold them. 
 

The picture detail the progress.