The U.S. M10 ammunition trailer was used mostly by armored units to transport additional ammunition. It could be towed by many different vehicles, including 2 ½ ton trucks, half tracks, armored cars, self-propelled guns and tanks. It was commonly seen behind 105 mm armed Shermans, M7 Priests and the M8 howitzer motor carriage. The M10 was produced by the Fruehauf Trailer Company, Youngstown Steel Door Company and Schlem Brothers from 1942 to 1945. There were several variants of this utility trailer, with smaller details being different for each variant. However, the basic M10 trailer remained the same throughout its production run. It consisted of a simple, almost square body mounted on a simple frame with a goose-necked hitch. The trailer had two separately operated hand brakes, a simple hinged tailgate, two fold-down rails which supported a simple canvas cover, and various hooks and tie downs on both the inside and outside of the body. The tie downs on the inside of the bed were recessed to provide a flat surface all around the interior of the trailer body. This aided in loading and unloading the trailer. The tires were military, non-directional, and were mounted on a simple axle. The M10 had no form of shock absorbers or suspension springs. Finally, the M10 had a simple jack-stand for holding the trailer up when it was disconnected from the towing vehicle, as well as a simple, 6 volt lighting system. Dimensions were: Overall length: 140 inches Width: 77 inches Height: 58 inches Empty weight: 2090 pounds Max weight: 5090 pounds Tires: 9.00 x 20 12-ply military non-directional REFERENCES: TM 9-333 (U.S. Technical Manual)
PARTS IDENTIFICATION AND ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS A L 1 R 2 3 R 4 L Wash resin parts in warm, soapy water to remove demolding agent residue. 1 2 12 5 3 Use razor saw or dremel circular saw to remove parts from larger casting gates. Smaller parts can be removed by carefully scoring with a sharp blade. C B 1 2 3 L 4 R 1 2 3 4 10 Clean remaining casting gate from part with fine 8 sandpaper or sanding sticks. 4 13 D F G 1 2 2 1 L 1 R 11 solder wire 14 7 fine chain 9.03 in plastic rod E 1 2 3 4 5 bending example 6 2 of Fine Chain 9 of.010 and.015 Solder 1 piece of 1.5 x 5 Lead Foil 1 piece of.015 Plastic Rod Bent or warped parts can be straightened by first dipping them in boiling water for several seconds, then removing them from the water, straightening or flattening the part and allowing the part to cool in its correct shape. Use CA or epoxy type glues to assemble resin pieces.
1 Grind or sand the bottom of part #1 to fit into the recess in part #2. We recommend either a rotary grinding tool or a figure-8 sanding motion. Be sure to glue parts 1 and 2 together with the correct side of part #2 forward (see drawing). Finally, carefully remove part #3 from its casting gate. There is a great deal of tack weld detail underneath this part, but careful use of a sharp knife should reward your efforts. Glue part #3 to part #2 as shown. 3 1 2 2 A-3 Carefully remove part #A3 from its Carefully remove parts C-4L, B- casting gate and glue it into position 3 3 and 2 parts B-2 from their C-4L on part #3 as shown. Be careful to casting gates. Assemble these insure part A3 is as close to the top parts as shown. Parts C-4R and of the inside railing on part 3 as 4L are mislabeled on the runner. possible. Study the pictures below 4L actually goes on the right and test fit before gluing. side of the trailer and 4R on the left. Glue handles forward for applied position Brake shown in released position B-3 B-2 Next, glue the brake handle assy in place as shown. Be sure the front of part $l is behind the bracket on the right inside rail and to the inside of the line on the rear of part 3. Right side view A-3 Top view front Add solder Now, add solder as shown to represent brake cable. Finally, repeat assembly for the left side of trailer.
4 Use the heavy wire provided in your kit to bend the jack-stand locking lever as shown. The bending template has been provided to aid in bending this piece. You also have an example template that shows how the finished locking lever should look. The example template will also be used to make some parts later in the assembly of your trailer. bending template R heavy wire L Bend up 90 deg. example template Use the example template as a guide in making your jack-stand locking lever. 5 D-1 Top front D-1 When you have finished step 5, your model should look like the picture below. Parts A-4L, A- 4R and both parts D-1 should still be lose on the wire locking lever. L R A-4L Jack-stand locking lever A-4R Carefully remove parts A-4L and A-4R and 2 parts D-1 from their casting gates. Slide the bent end of 1 part D-1 over each end of the locking lever made in step 4. Do not glue parts D-1 at this time. Next, slide A-4L over the left side of the locking lever, and A-4R over the right end. Do not glue either part A-4L or A-4R to the locking lever. Leave the parts free on the lever at this time. Now, glue parts A-4L and A-4R to trailer frame part #3 as shown. Parts A-4L and A-4R should rest in front of the marks on part #3. Top front
6 8 Carefully remove parts C-1, C-2, C-3, 2 parts D-2, E-3, E-4 and E-5 from their casting gate with a sharp knife. Assemble these parts as shown. Do not glue parts D-2 to E-4 at this time, just clean the pins on E-4 and fit parts D-2 in place. Do not glue E-5 to E-3: just slide E-5 through the end of E-3 and then cut E-5 to fit into the holes in E-4. Glue E-5 into these holes in E-4, leaving E-3 free to move. The caster wheels assembly can be assembled in any position desired, the actual assembly swiveled. Use the.03 plastic rod to make the axle in this assembly. Carefully remove and assemble parts A-2, G-1R and G-1L and F-1 as shown. F-1 A-2 G-1R C-2 Assembly should look like this. The caster wheel has been omitted for clarity. G-1L hitch shown in low position. A-2 can be rotated 180 for high position.03 plastic rod 7 C-1 C-3 Insert the assembly from step 6 into the holes in part #3 as shown. Using the.03 plastic rod provided, make a rod that passes through the bent end of the the jack-stand lock part E-3. Next, slide parts D-2 over each end of this rod, followed by parts D-1. Now, decide if you want your jack-stand in the raised or lowered position and finish the assembly for your choice. The hinge will fold in place if you wish to show the stand in the raised position. If you show the jack-stand extended, position the locking mechanism (E-3) as shown. Finally, be sure to glue all hinge points in final position. D-2 E-3 E-4 E-5 D-2 D-2 D-1 forward.03 plastic rod Folded position (from top right).03 plastic rod D-2 D-1 Extended position (model inverted)
9 B-1 7 4 6 5 The triangle shape on the bottom of part #4 fits into the point in the frame, part #3 as shown. The rectangular bar rests on the frame as shown. front 11 The inside of part #7 indicates which side should point to the front of the trailer. 10 Remove part #4 from its casting gate and glue it to the trailer frame, part #3, as shown. Be sure the triangular shape on the bottom of part #4 fits into the union of the trailer frame, #3. Carefully clean the casting gates from parts # 8 and B-1. Glue part B-1 to part # 8 as shown. Next, glue the part #8/B-1 assembly to the axle, part # 6. Finally, fit a small piece of solder to make the brake cable. 8 8 Solder brake cable Part B-1 should be glued in a slightly forward position so as to line up with the brake cable during the final assembly in this step. Carefully remove part # s 5, 6 and 7 from their casting gates. Glue protective plate #5 to the bottom of the trailer frame, part #3. You may want to trim the outside edges of part #5 after it has been glued to part #3. Next, glue axle, part # 6 as shown. Use the locating blocks on the bottom of part #2 to aid in aligning part #6. Finally, glue the protective shield, part # 7 in place. There is an indicator cast into the inside of part # 7 to indicate which side of part # 7 should face toward the front of the trailer. Be sure to insure this side of part # 7 faces toward the front.
12 Carefully remove 2 each of part # s E-1 and 9 from their casting gates. First, glue part # s E-1 to the side of part # 2 as shown. Be careful to insure the long side of parts E-1 are toward the front of the trailer. The glued ends of arts E-1 should also be fixed in front of the plate with the 2 bolts on the mounting bracket of part # 2. See figure. Then glue the tires to the axle hubs on part # 8. 9 E-1 long side toward front. Carefully clean parts A-1R, A-1L, E-2, F-2, 10, 11 and 12 from their casting gates. Glue the rear bumper, part # 11 first. Then glue assembly # s A-1R and A-1L next. The tail gate, part # 12 can be posed in any position you chose. Glue end of tail gate chain here 13 See note in step 14 for tail gate chains. hook on end of tail gate chain goes here. A-1L 10 E-2 A-1R 11 A-1L See additional figure at right for assembly details. 11 Use solder to make electrical cables. 12 F-2 Glue the tail light housing, part # 10 to the mounting brackets, part E-2 as shown. The oval lens on the light should be top center in the final assembly (see drawing to the left). Next, fix 2 small pieces of solder to the inside part E-2. Then glue the light assembly to A-1L, and the whole assembly to the trailer, as shown. Finally, fix the lose ends off the solder in the hole, as shown.
14 15 CAUTION: clean the flashing from part # s 13 before removing them from their casting gates. Then, glue part # s B-4 to the inside of the tabs on the top edge of part # 1 as shown. Finally, glue the rail parts # 13 as shown. The rails should be fixed at a slightly inward angle as shown in the additional illustration. On the outside of the trailer body, there are several points for tie-down hooks. There are 5 such points on each side of the trailer body and 2 on the tail gate. You can either use the hooks provided, part # s 14 to make these tie-down hooks (as show). Or, you can use wire and the templates provided to make your own hooks. Either way, you need to glue 17 of these hooks to the top of the points along the side of your trailer body, part # 1. 13 rails, part # s 13 should be glued on a slightly inward angle as shown. B-4 Tail Gate Chains We have included a short piece of chain in your kit. You can use this chain to make 2, 1 in. tail-gate retaining chains. You may also use the example template to make hooks for this retaining chain. See your template for these hooks. 16 Make from stretched sprue or plastic rod. OPTIONAL 14 or bent wire Finished tie-down cleat. The real M10 trailer had many small tie-down cleats along the inside of the trailer bed. Your kit has many sets of little discs in the trailer bed. If you chose, you may represent these tie down cleats by gluing stretched plastic sprue or pieces of plastic rod to these discs to represent these cleats. HAVE FUN! Plastic discs on inside of trailer bed