Update on my trailer

**kpagel** · 03-18-2007, 06:48 PM

I posted a thread a couple weeks back asking for advice on how to cover the bare wood inside my trailer to give it a finished look. I considered a few options- paint, FRP, vinyl, diamond plate, etc. I finally went to a metal supply shop and purchased sheets of white aluminum. My dad and I just got finished hanging it all up and I`m pretty happy with the finished result.

It cost me about $260 in metal and a couple hours of time with my dad. For comparison sakes, the trailer company wanted $1200 to finish the interior walls with vinyl.

This week my dad and I will be building a shelf that will go over the tank (like a table) and hold some more equipment. Then I will have to figure out where I`ll be placing some of the other things (extractor and such). My Honda eu3000is generator will be sitting on the tongue of the trailer. I`m having a custom tool box built to accomodate the generator with a side that drops down so that I can have access to the sides and such (when it is finished on Tuesday I`ll have pictures and it`ll make more sense).

I`ll hopefully have more updates throughout the week, but its also my finals week so probably nothing until next weekend.

Enough yapping, here is the before...

and after...

**imported_Sludge** · 03-18-2007, 07:08 PM

You and your Dad did a very professional job of finishing the trailer. Looks great!:goodjob

**Pats300zx** · 03-18-2007, 07:11 PM

WOW..that came out really sharp....

**kpagel** · 03-18-2007, 07:15 PM

Thanks for the compliments, guys.

What does everyone think about the floor? Its just painted wood right now and I bought some garage tiles, but after they arrived, I noticed they probably won`t work too well for my application. They have `prongs` that set the tiles about 1/2" above the surface (they don`t sit flat, if that makes sense). The problem is, any water and moisture will sit under there and probably lead to the wood rotting out. I`m now thinking of just having the floor lined with a spray-on truck bed liner, and have them go about 6" up the side of the wall. This will give me a completely water proof and indestructible floor. I`m just not sure it would be the best option for looks.

**COLDZ71** · 03-18-2007, 07:23 PM

That is an awesome start to your trailer. FWIW a friend of mine had a white pickup with white Rhino lining. Looked good, didnt have a utility look to it. It was more of a show truck anyways.

**Joshua312** · 03-18-2007, 07:37 PM

I would stick with the wood floor or some type of non-slip surface tiles. If you are getting in in out of the trailer with wet shoes (after washing a car) you don`t want to have to worry about slipping and falling. Just my .02

Anyways, the trailer looks amazing, great job and I hope you enjoy using it this summer!

**imported_Grouse** · 03-18-2007, 10:16 PM

Where did you get your tank, what pump will you be installing on it. are you planning on running it to a pressure washer or a normal hose nozzle.

**kpagel** · 03-18-2007, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by Grouse

Where did you get your tank, what pump will you be installing on it. are you planning on running it to a pressure washer or a normal hose nozzle.

Got the tank from my local detailing shop. Its a 90 gallon tank and I paid considerably less than what I see them sell for online.

I bought a pump from Harbor Freight. It was normally something like $36-40, but I got it on sale for $28. If it turns out to be complete junk it was only $30.

I`ll be using a pressure washer.

**clnfrk** · 03-19-2007, 01:27 AM

I just got finished installing a tiled floor yesterday in my trailer. I got everything done except the front corners. I need to order the curved tiles for that area. I purchased the tiles from RaceDeckÃ‚® - Portable Garage Floors, Commercial Modular Garage Flooring, Auto Car Floor Mat & Pads, Interlocking Floor Tiles, Covering & Coating and highly recommend their products. I got the diamond patterned tuffshield in black and alloy to create a checkerboard pattern. I`ll post pics later on today so you can see how it turned out.

That job you and your dad did on the walls looks great! After seeing those pics, I definitely want to get my trailer walls outfitted exactly like that. Would you mind sharing your process of install and where you purchased those walls from? What did you use to cut the metal with? As of right now, my walls look exactly like yours did in the before pics.

Also, I`m curious as to your placement of the generator at the front of the trailer, especially since you don`t have a side door. I would imagine it would be a pain to have to squeeze through everything to get to it once you have everything installed. I have the same exact generator as you and mine sits right inside the rear doors along with the pressure washer and compressor. With this setup, the exhaust fumes from all 3 pieces of equipment is vented out the back door. Something to consider unless you plan on fabricating some custom exhaust for your generator to prevent fumes from building up inside your trailer.

Keep us updated on the build.

**kpagel** · 03-19-2007, 01:43 AM

clnfrk, the floor tiles I have are actually similar to the RaceDeck. They`re by Daytona with the coin pattern. After doing a little research on the internet, this is a slightly lower cost alternative to the RaceDeck for many people. If it were a garage I`d go with the highest quality I could get, but I decided to save a few bucks and get these. I`m still not sure I want to install them, though. I will probably end up doing it.

I got the metal at a place where I live in Riverside, Ca called Industrial Metal Supply. Basically, my dad and I did a lot of measuring and figured out the best way to set it up and I walked into the metal shop with measurements and told them what metal I wanted and in what sizes. They did all the cutting for me. It actually turned out to be $280-ish after the shearing costs. I don`t know if its too obvious from the pictures, but each panel (except the doors) required two seperate pieces because the metal only comes in 4x8 sheets and smaller. The side walls are 60x94" (the wood wasn`t quite 8` long) so in order to cover one wall, the sheets I needed were 48"x94" and 12"x94". Hope that makes sense...

Installation was easy. We marked all of the points where we were going to drill, applied a caulking that is used for metal/wood applications on the back just to get it to stick, then held it in place with screws. Not hard at all, you just need to take your time to make sure everything is even.

The generator will actually be sitting outside of the trailer, on the tongue. It will be covered up by the custom box I described so it will be protected from the elements. I will run some cords into the trailer so that I`ll have outlets inside the trailer.

I look forward to seeing pictures of your new flooring!

**BlueZero** · 03-19-2007, 11:41 AM

Looks darn good. Very professional.

**Roger V** · 03-19-2007, 12:42 PM

Looks good man. The generator cover you were talking about on Saturday sounds awesome, but I am still having trouble picturing it.

**kleraudio** · 03-19-2007, 06:25 PM

Trailer looks awesome, where did you get it at??

Thanks

Jim

**kpagel** · 03-19-2007, 06:28 PM

Its a Hiway Cargo made by Carson Trailer.

Carson Trailer - Home of the Fun Runner RV Sport Trailer

**clnfrk** · 03-20-2007, 01:21 PM

Here are some pics of my floor and setup so far. I really need to get the walls done soon so I can install some shelving. As of right now, I am forced to place all my supplies on the floor, which sucks because every time I get to a location, everything is scattered about the trailer. I just had my extractor punch another hole in the left side wall. About a week ago my pressure washer/water tank slid into the right wall knocking a hole in that one as well. I have since bolted down that down though after installing the tiles. You can see the hole in the wall in the first pic. I am also going to be installing a full wrap on the trailer also.