Kevin

When I first picked up my M1101, the lighting had definitely seen better days. The lenses were faded, the housings were weathered, and the taillights didn’t even match—one side had been upgraded to LEDs at some point, while the other was still running old-school incandescent bulbs. Simple Upgrade, Big Impact Rather than trying to piece things together, I decided to replace everything with matching LED side markers and taillights from Hecasa. The install was mostly plug-and-play (after drilling out rivets): Hecasa Humvee/M1101/M1102 Replacement LED Taillights The Hecasa LED taillights (Amazon affiliate link) are listed as 12v, which is what I needed for my trailer since I converted it to 12v. However, reviews were mixed how well they work on the native 24v system of the HUMVEE. One Humvee owner mentioned issues afterwards with the lights failing. Hecasa Side Marker Lamps Here’s my installed Hecasa MMWV, 2 1/2 Ton and 5 Ton Military Trucks 12V Turn Signal Parking Lamp with Amber Lens (Amazon affiliate link). As previously mentioned, drilling out rivets were required before I could install. Once they were drilled out, I used the included bolt/nut/washer hardware that was included with the lights. No more rivets! More on that next… One Extra Step: Side Marker Mounting Upgrade One thing worth calling out—the side marker lights aren’t quite as simple as the taillights. From the factory, they’re riveted into plastic buckets, and those buckets are riveted into the trailer body. To remove them, I had to drill out the rivets. Rather than reinstalling them the same way, I wanted something more serviceable for the future. I ended up installing rivet nuts in place of the original rivets, which allowed me to: I’ll go deeper into that setup in my 3D Printed M1101 Side Marker Bucket post. The Hecasa Rear Marker Replacements At the very back of the M1101 trailer are 3 LED marker lights that are mounted to fairly thick angle iron steel. These don’t use plastic housings like the other side marker lights, but they are still riveted in. Once again, I opted to go with M4 rivet nuts for easier removal (if ever needed). Note: I only installed 3 rivet nuts for each of these rear marker lights. The Hecasa lights have a grounding bolt that will attach a grounding wiring with a nut and washer that go on the back side. For the M4 rivet nuts, I did have to drill out a slightly larger hole. M3 Rivet Nuts would have fit, but the M3 hardware looked to small to me. I’ve only found the Hecasa side marker lights available in pairs, so I did end up with a spare for the rear. HECASA 2Pcs Rear LED Side Marker Lights Compatible with HMMWV, 2 1/2 Ton and 5 Ton Military Trucks and M1101/M1102 Military Trailer 12V Turn Signal Parking Lamp Plastic Rear Red Lens (Amazon affiliate link). The Result This upgrade completely changed the look of the trailer. The new LEDs are brighter, cleaner, and give off a much more modern feel. Combined with the fresh paint job, the trailer now leans hard into that restomod aesthetic—it honestly looks like a brand-new build with military roots. If you’re still running old or mismatched lights on your M1101/M1102, this is an upgrade you can do that delivers an immediate visual payoff. As far as the quality of the lights, I will post updates on any issues related to reliability and how well they hold up against the elements.

I decided to take a different approach with my M1101 trailer this time—no spray gun, no compressor, no professional setup. Just rattle cans. And honestly? I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Why I Went the Rattle Can Route This wasn’t about building a show trailer—it was about building something I can actually use and maintain. With spray paint: If it gets beat up on the trail, I’ll just grab another can and touch it up. Done. The Color Combo (Better Than Expected) For this build, I used: The satin gray gives it that clean, modern look, while the gloss black adds contrast and makes the hardware pop. Prep Work I didn’t go overboard here: Not perfect. Not meticulous. Just enough to get paint to stick. And that’s kind of the point—I want to see how well this holds up in the real world, not in a perfect garage scenario. How It Looks So Far Even with just a couple coats so far, it looks clean, uniform, and way better than the worn military finish it had before. I do plan on adding an additional coat later. The Real Test: Durability This is where I’m most curious. Since I didn’t fully sand everything, I’ll be keeping an eye on: The upside is, touch-ups are about as easy as it gets. What I’m Planning Next The outside is done (for now), but the inside of the trailer box is next. I’m deciding between: Either way, I want something that can take abuse hauling what ever I throw at it. Next M1101 Upgrade Here’s a preview of the aftermarket taillights: Final Thoughts If you’ve been putting off repainting your trailer because it feels like too big of a project—don’t. This was: And most importantly, it fits how I actually use the trailer. Sometimes “good enough” is exactly what you need.

For just about everyone who picks up a military trailer, if it was purchased at a military auction you’ll find it was wired for 24 volts, the native voltage system of the HUMVEE. The first thing you’re likely looking to do is make it compatible with your civilian tow vehicle (unless you have a military HUMVEE to pair it with). One positive is you don’t have to rewire the entire trailer. When I picked mine up from auction, I brought several zip ties knowing my magnets on my magnetic tow lights wouldn’t help much on the aluminum box of the M1101. There actually seemed to be decent mounting places on the steel frame, but I still used zip ties to ensure the temporary tow lights didn’t fall. Adapters Now, there are some adapters out there, however, the general consensus is they are rather over-priced for what they are. If they’re in your budget and you want to the fastest solution, these adapters might be your best choice. Most use the 4-pin flat. I’ve also seen some 7 blade harnesses on eBay that a seller has made themselves, crimping on some packard connectors (also called shell connectors) that will plug right in to the existing quick disconnects. Then, you just have to bolt down the ground wire for the new harness. I went with the Conntek 10110-124BX 7-Way Cord & Wired Junction Box, 10.3′. For most vehicles, I wouldn’t recommend going any shorter assuming you plan to connect at the quick disconnects of the trailer. Splicing in a Harness I opted to splice a new harness myself and also went with a junction box. I considered using packard connectors, but they don’t seem readily available and more I searched for them it sounded like they weren’t used that often anymore, replaced by a new, more modern harness option. Not far from the front of the trailer box, you’ll find the packard connectors. These are quick disconnects and you’ll be able to completely remove the original 12-pin harness. From here, you have a few different options. M1101/2 Junction Box Wiring 7-pin (7-blade) junction box setup—this will also give me future expansion for possible camping lights, rock lights, or even a small battery setup. Original M1101 Wiring Harness The factory setup includes: It’s durable—but not practical. You can adapt it… but after digging into it, I realized: Rewire vs. Adapter You’ve got two paths: Option 1 — Rewire at the Packard Connections (What I Did) ✔ Clean✔ Reliable✔ Upgradable Option 2 — Adapter ✔ Quick plug and play – no splicing✔ Retains originally 12-pin harness✖ More expensive The Setup I Went With (Simple + Future-Proof) Here’s what I installed: This gives me: The Wiring Diagram (What Connects Where) This is the standard 7-pin layout I used: White → Ground – I ran a ground wire from the junction block to the existing ground near the disconnectsBrown → 22 460 Running lights Red → 22 461 Left turn / brake Green → 21 A Right turn / brake Inside the junction box, each of these wires gets its own terminal—making everything clean and serviceable. Grounding If your lights flicker, dim, or act weird… it’s almost always a bad ground. Again, I simply ran a ground wire from the grounding terminal in the junction box to the same ground location that was near the quick disconnects. Tips to use: This alone eliminates 90% of trailer wiring issues. Bonus: Wire It for Future You Even if you don’t need it yet, a 7-blade junction box is ready for: Trust me—you’ll want these later. Prep Work I ordered my harness several months ago and finally started getting around to installing it. I noticed since then some junction boxes have color coding on them. I decided to buy some oil-based paint markers so I could color code mine. It’s a lot easier than trying to read the raised plastic text. Here’s after I color coded the ends of the terminals with the paint markers. Later, I also added a stripe to the plastic just in case the terminal paint fades or peels off. M1101 12v Conversion For my installation, I ended up cutting the 3 necessary wires and crimped on non-insulated ring terminals. I cut a slit in one of the grommets of the junction box and pulled the wires through. Noticed I also added color-coded zip ties to the original M1101 wiring to match what terminal the wire needed to go to. I figured this was also easier than reading a number code on the metal tags and having to cross-reference it if I ever had to remove them for some reason. Next, it was time to make the connections. Mounting the Junction Box I ended up marking the holes for where I would bolt the junction box. I drilled the holes and then installed rivet nuts (also called riv nuts for short). Some might try self tapping screws, but I’ve found more and more projects where I’m using these rivet nuts. The junction box I purchased had 2 mounting tabs, one on each end. Here’s the first riv nut installed. Mounted and Installed 24V Lights vs 12V You technically can run the stock 24V tail lights. They certainly won’t be as bright since they were designed for twice the voltage. Since mine were mismatched when I bought the trailer, I decided to go with a new pair, but these are the taillights that came on my trailer. Especially in daylight, the passenger side incadescent wasn’t nearly as bright as the LED light that had apparently been swapped in at some point by the military. Running a “trailer light test” from the truck (hence the lights flashing). And here’s the passenger side light which I assume was original to the trailer: I swapped mine to LED HUMVEE replacement lights that were listed as 12V lights, they were made by Hecasa. Time will tell how these perform, but so far so good. When I bought my trailer