Enclosed trailer upgrades and modifications

[smackey05]

I'm a big fan of lighting around the trailer with flood LEDs. I use them on my snowmobile trailer constantly when loading at night.

When I get a car trailer I'll end up doing the same.

 

[cweidert03]

You all have some sharp looking trailers. I have been toying around with buying a 24’ enclosed for Atv/SxS trips. Also could be used to haul my fox body to the track if I ever decided to take it. I have a 22’ aluminum open trailer at the moment and it’s perfect for my needs but the idea of being able to store my SxS when not going on trips is appealing. It would also not get borrowed if it was always full..


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[mike in tucson]

Two tips:
1. We carry two spares...since we can hit debris and take out two tires on the same side.
2. Buy a stencil so you can paint your state and license number on the roof...makes trailer easier to find from the air. We used 15" high letters/numbers. Dont use cheap **** paint, sun will fade it out.

 

[KEH]

I don't have an enclosed trailer, but after reading the comments and applying experience with other trailers I will suggest the following: Have a good lug wrench. I suggest a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar with socket(s) and an extension of appropriate length. A hydraulic jack big enough to lift side of loader trailer should be included. Of course, a spare with air.
The towing vehicle, usually a truck, should have room to carry the equipment. If the trip includes overnight stays it should be possible to quickly put this equipment in the motel room. Ask for a ground floor room. A tool box with possible tools should be part of the towing vehicle's anyway. Note that we are talking about fairly light trailers which would be using light tires.

At present there are many small powerful flashlights and lamps so those should be part of the towing vehicle's equipment. I did have one experience with changing a tire at night and since then have been carried a light.

Safe trucking!

KEH

 

[NUTTSGT]

My enclosed trailer thread.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=338443

Bought it bare and finished the interior myself.

 

[unslow1]

NUTTSGT-I just started looking through your build thread. When I get time I'll look through the rest of it. You are more ambitious than I am. I also opted for the RV door latch. Mine also has the regular bar latch and lock that goes over the top of it.

 

[ndfastang]

I have a 22 foot 2020 Legend with rivetless walls. It's been great so far. I put 1 piece coin rubber on the floor and E tracked it all the way down. I bolted a 20x20x36 aluminum box to the front and put an ATV winch in it bolted to the floor (supported of course). I have a 12 volt deep cycle in there as well and is charged by the truck. I've debated putting cabinets in it or not because I pull with a 2018 F150 3.5 Ecoboost. My hot rods range from 2800-3600lbs and on a half ton, I'm skeptical. It's done well but I don't want to push it.

I do like how you guys have the white walls. Mine is currently still presswood and the lighter walls would surely help with brightness. What did you guys use ? Some of that bathroom plastic tub surround stuff at the box stores? I bet it cleans up easily. How is it installed??

Thanks!

 

[yatg]

At present there are many small powerful flashlights and lamps so those should be part of the towing vehicle's equipment. I did have one experience with changing a tire at night and since then have been carried a light.

A headlamp is even better. They put the light on the work and free up your hands.

 

[Chris705]

Many of you have amazing setups. I assume some have installed alarms? I have a 20' cargo trailer and an upcoming project where I'd like to have some additional security. I'll be making two cross-county trips with a load of tools, staying in hotels. I'll add physical barriers, but an alarm would be nice too.

I'd like to buy a quality car alarm and install pin switches on both trailer doors, maybe a couple of strobes, possibly a horn. I'll provide a dedicated battery. I'd really like some remote notification, either a "pager" with good range, or potentially via cell. I'm mostly trying to protect the contents in hotel parking lots. This is a one-time project, to be used this spring/summer, then I'll probably sell the trailer.

Can I get a good but basic alarm with reliable remote notification for <$200? Obviously remote start, etc., is of no added value. Recommendations please?

Thanks!

Check out this alarm. Our construction teams used them in our job trailers... lots of functionality. https://www.dewaltmobilelock.com/

 

[PapasDaLife]

What are you guys using for interior lighting? Just bought a used 22' v-nose with cheezy RV lights mounted in the middle of the ceiling. I'd like to add some led lights on the walls.

I'm going to tear out the thin paneling & insulate, not sure what I'll put in place of the paneling. I really like the looks of the carpeted walls some of you guys have. Was thinking maybe a 2' sheet metal type along the floor then carpet the rest of the way up?


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[unslow1]

I have several of these on the ceiling and low on the side. Then one strip light on the bottom of my top cabin to light up the bench. I'm sure if you look you can find them cheaper. Mine are set up on a couple of switches so you don't have to turn all of them on every time.
Then I also have another set in 110V for when it's plugged in. You can see them in post #6 of this thread.

https://www.stealthtrailer.com/product/deluxe-led-interior-dome-light/

 

[tfalk]

I do like how you guys have the white walls. Mine is currently still presswood and the lighter walls would surely help with brightness. What did you guys use ?

Mine came with plywood walls. I just did 2 coats of oil base white primer lol. My new trailer is considerably lighter than my older trailer so I'm trying to not add weight where I don't have to. This seemed like a reasonable compromise, quite a bit brighter but not a lot of weight and under $100 for a 5 gallon bucket which I only used half of.

I got most of the e-track bolted down, then snapped off 2 bolt heads. Probably not a good idea using 'regular' bolts from Lowes. Ordered a bunch of grade 8's to replace them all with, probably overkill but I definately do NOT want the tracks coming loose with a car attached. The trailer dealer gave me lag screws to bolt them down with but I am not confident in the lag screws going into aluminum tube. They've held up on my steel trailer but I don't have the same confidence with the aluminum. At this point, what's another $50 lol

 

[ddawg16]

You guys really know how to make a guy feel bad.............

I wish I had a toy hauler to put my jeep in.....I wish I had the space to store it.

 

[AldeanFan]

I used exterior latex paint on the interior walls of my trailer.
Cheap and it makes it clean and bright Inside.


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[moab11]

I used exterior latex paint on the interior walls of my trailer.
Cheap and it makes it clean and bright Inside.


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Same here, just exterior semi-gloss pure white paint. Washes off easily with the hose or pressure washer, and since it is base pure white, easy to touch up if needed.

 

[bigdave_185]

What have you guys seen that was awesome for battery storage boxes? I need to store 4 on my enclosed and I don’t like the tongue boxes much


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[unslow1]

What have you guys seen that was awesome for battery storage boxes? I need to store 4 on my enclosed and I don’t like the tongue boxes much


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I would be really tempted to make a box in the floor for that. The same style you see for spare tires or an in floor winch. You could add a generator spot and use that.

This would work but you could probably figure out a cheaper way than two of these.

https://www.mirageinc.com/trailer-parts/battery-box-recessed-for-12v-marine-batteries/

 

[moab11]

What have you guys seen that was awesome for battery storage boxes? I need to store 4 on my enclosed and I don’t like the tongue boxes much


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For 4 batteries, especially if you are talking about large deep cycle batteries. I would be looking at mounting them under the trailer on some sort of a rack, or in the bottom of some storage cabinets if the need to be inside the trailer. That is quite a bit of weight, so trying to get them back towards the axle would be beneficial to keep the trailer balanced.

 

[bigdave_185]

I like the idea of a trap door in the floor over the axle. Just some simple angle iron and thin gauge steel to wrap the inside to mount from the bottom, take a router around the top. Assuming the axles aren’t split by a beam across the middle. I’ll do a look see this afternoon if it ever lets up from rain.


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[Kenstone1]

INSIDE WALLS

I used good old Rustoleum gloss white for the walls, because I had it.
After a view days, it kind of bugged me though as to how bright it was.

I had some beige paint that was (I think) flat/latex/wall paint so I used that to break up the white walls.
I put some of that paint into a "plastic" paper plate, crumpled up a plastic grocery bag, dipped it into the paint, and dabbed it randomly on the wall.
I was surprised by how good it looked after, doing something I would never take risk doing in my house or garage.
Sorry no pics as that trailer is long gone.

.
Edit: I found a pic but the dabbed paint is hard to see except where the sun is shining on the inside wall (right side wall)

 

[tfalk]

I like the idea of a trap door in the floor over the axle.

Not a great idea for an enclosed car trailer. If you need to get the tire out, you'd have to unload the car and then reload.

 

[bigdave_185]

Not a great idea for an enclosed car trailer. If you need to get the tire out, you'd have to unload the car and then reload.

I was referring to the battery storage location. Also my trailer will never see a car again, king size bed frame blocks the door


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[Falcon67]

Not a great idea for an enclosed car trailer. If you need to get the tire out, you'd have to unload the car and then reload.

Why our trailer has the spare wall mounted at the rear.

As for lights - I replaced some of our bitty overheads with some larger dual "RV" type LED lights. So far results are mixed. I need to get some others as they didn't hold up real well. The inside 4' fixtures were about $120/each to update to LED at order time. We just let them put in the standard fixtures and I replaced the 48" bulbs with LED drop ins. That was easier than the re-wire, mostly because most cheap 4' flo fixtures use tombstones that are single wire and you have to go hunt replacements.

 

[John in OH]

I'm planning to do some minor upgrades to a 7x14 enclosed trailer to make it more "livable" as an occasional overnight accommodation. This includes the addition of numerous low wattage 12v LED interior and exterior lights. The trailer doesn't have a battery except for the small electric brake emergency battery and I don't want to power the lights from this. I would like to use a 125v AC to 12v DC power supply for the lights ... probably 50-100 watts would be more than adequate.

There are numerous power supplies on Amazon that would probably work, but I was wondering if anyone has done this before and can offer a recommendation?

 

[NUTTSGT]

My walls came with the white panelling.

It also came with 12V LED lights and 120V fluorescent T8 fixtures. I put in LED bulbs and added another fixture above the tool box.

Having a 28' trailer and Foxbody Mustang, I can get the spare out of the well. However, if you are going to spec out a new trailer, the in floor can be used for other storage...it was a cheap option.

 

[dcg9381]

There are ton of relatively inexpensive anti-slip additives you can use. They're essentially "grit" that you blend into the epoxy. They work great...

 

[39CAMC]

Looking for suggestions on 110V LED lights for the inside of my trailer. I currently have some 4' linkable LED's and they have not aged well. The little plastic connectors between them failed fairly quickly and now the bulbs are starting to fail. They are about 4 years old.

THey are mounted on the angle trim between the wall and ceiling and there is about 30' on each side I would like to light. I want it bright

We use the trailer for a store, so it needs to be reliable 10-12 hours a day (not every day, but weekends)

Would LED strip lights work? How much do the power supplies heat up on these?

Thanks,

DaveW

 

[Doug]

My 20' Interstate trailer I use for hauling my vintage modified. The flooring has since been repaced with the coin type.

 

[Ray916MN]

Not a fancy trailer setup, but the only motorcycle hauling trailer I've ever seen set up to allow both Condor roll in chocks and Pit Bull TRS to be mounted in a variety of positions to allow a wide variety of motorcycles to be hauled safely and efficiently.