The Jeep trailer was a small, payload rated, cargo trailer, designed in World War II, tailored to be towed by 1/4-ton jeeps. Versions of the quarter-ton jeep trailer remained in military use, by the U.S. or other countries, at least through to the 1990s.
When the jeep was developed, it needed a cargo trailer that would track behind the vehicle. The first trailer was called the "Trailer, 1/4-ton, 2-Wheel, Cargo, Amphibian". More than 150,000 jeep trailers were built by over ten different companies, during World War II alone.[1] American Bantam built some 75,000 of their T-3, and kept building jeep trailers after the war.[2] Willys-Overland also built more than 60,000 of their MBT units (Willys MB Trailers). Other manufacturers contributed only hundreds, or just a few thousand units. A special trailer was the Converto (Airborne) Dump Trailer, of which several thousand were built.[1]
Later versions of the trailer were the M100 trailer[3] for the Willys M38 jeep and the M416 trailer [4] for the M151 jeep.
After World War II, several companies went on to produce these trailers for the civilian market. The military trailers often were rated for 1/4 ton usage for the sake of amphibious operations, many trailer designs were in actuality built to handle 1/2 ton loads with ease. In the post-war civilian world, many trailers were marketed as able to handle 1/2 to 3/4 ton weight loads.
Notable companies were Bantam with the T3-C, Henry Spen with the Model S, as well as Converto, Knox, and David Bradley. While the trailers maintained utility and ruggedness, other features required by the military fell to the wayside for utility, cost, and simplicity such as tailgates, parking brakes and blackout lights. Bright colors were often favored on civilian trailers in respect to peace time markets.
Today these civilian Jeep trailers are highly sought after for camping, light duty utility, agriculture, and collections, as are the military ones. Jeep trailers also found favor with road departments, construction crews, fire departments, park departments, and many other civil services and local government in North America. Restoration data is often scant to non-existent on the civilian trailers, but military trailers often have full specifications that have been preserved and shared.