Posted: 4/26/2011 8:32:28 AM EDT
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I scored a new (to me) trailer. 8x20, ugly on the outside, decent on the inside. Hooks up great with my Dodge Ram, brakes work good, lights, etc. Just ugly to look at, and the side door's inside panel (cheap wood) is warped, allowing rain water to come in.
What is the best way to use this? Store my preps in it? On the one hand I like this idea. On the other hand, why don't I just hand the keys over to the bad guys and tell them to drive away with all of my stuff. Any ideas would be helpful. Here are some pics. http://i55.tinypic.com/2ahd1yw.jpg http://i54.tinypic.com/1zedrab.jpg http://i52.tinypic.com/2mmz8ef.jpg Any ideas or suggestions on how to best use it. Also, since I have only window shopped for trailers, and this is my first buy, is $2,000 a good deal? He wanted 2,500, I talked him down to 2,220. Left to buy gas (didn't tell him that) and called saying, my wife and I could buy it for 2,000 only. Thanks. |
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You did fine!
First off remove the stencil that says "tool shed", please steal me. 
Now what do you want to do with it? Are you skilled with tools and have some extra cash to convert the trailer to a stealth camper? Would you have any use for a camper? Why did you buy this one? It can be a great tool to store stuff and haul stuff around. Do you have any more pictures? ETA -"Ugly on the outside" can be a great friend to you if things go south... From the wheel wells your trailer looks like a tandem axle, what are the axles rated at. You will likely need to take apart each wheel and hub, inspect the bearings [ try to use Timkin off ebay for replacement, avoid Chinese bearings if you can ] check/rebuild the brakes very well, you don't want to spoil your day and get hit with a liability issue and yes in an accident, there's a good chance your brakes will be gone over with a fine toothed comb. Redo the wiring and maybe replace the lights with LED. |
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That is a really big trailer! If you want some ideas check out this place: http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=42 I have a 6x10 that I still use as a cargo trailer but I am looking to build it into a duel use camper/cargo trailer. My 6x10 fits in my garage which is really nice to keep things secure. |
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Thanks for the suggestions. The purpose of the purchase is that right now, I have a four kids, 1 wife, and a smelly dog. We live in a city, if the shit hits the fan, and we have to leave, how to take all of our stuff. I have over 2 years of food stored, and more than enough ammo. I was of the opinion to bug in, but a friend of mine has urged me for years to be prepared to bug out. Well, here she is.
As for the axels, you are right, they are tandem, and weighted for 7000. My thoughts for the trailer are these, load the front with my guns and ammo, the green bench lifts ups, and I can store a majority of my ammo inside. I thought about setting up my comms inside, with a cot. That way, it could be a mobile comm center, and sick ward if necessary. Not that I would want to mingle the two. I just don't know what the next step is. As for the stealth camper, I would have to look at the link you sent me. |
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I hav enot had the time to work on mine but the project is really straight forward... Step 1: Take my side door apart, add a RV door latch that I can lock and open from either the inside or outside. While doing this, I will add a small window for ventilation and then insulate the rest of the door. I will also add an eyebolt through the trailer that the bar lock can be locked to so nobody can trap us inside the trailer with it. Step 2: Add a roof "escape hatch vent". These can be opened big enough to allow a person to climb out of but they have a screen and work like a normal vent otherwise. Insulate the roof with rigid foam insulation. Step 3: Remove all the Lauan plywood from the walls (mine has very light wood on the walls). Add a couple side vents and then add rigid foam insulation and then replace the wall plywood. Step 4: Run 12v wire system inside the trailer, hopefully with a ladder rack on the roof with a couple good sized solar panels to provide power and recharge batteries. y then I also hope to have a Honda EU2000i generator to go with my baby camper that it would finally be on it's way o becoming. Step 5: Just add e-track to allow me a modular way to add bunks, shelves, or other storage. I will have mounting points near the rough to attach a tarp to work as a canopy and the trailer will be complemented with tents. A lot of what I want to do isn't hard or really that expensive. I just need to find the time but the trailer works as strictly a bug out trailer or hauler of anything we can't get in the expedition already so all of this work is just extra stuff that I would love to do but the trailer works just fine "as-is" as well.  My trailer is WAY smaller then yours! |
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I have two trailers that are enclosed 8.5x 20' at 12k lbs. They are work trailers and are loaded with construction tools 100% of the time. But in two hours (less if I have help) I can empty one clean and have a move out trailer. They are not "bug out" trailers because they take time to unload and reload. They would be used to take more comfort items for a alternate temp home, than woods location camp setup. Also not panted in some sort of rattle can camo.
For your trailer, I would set it up with some essentials for leaving quick. Maybe not your entire ammo stash but a loaded mag or two. Also a few meals and some water. Tarp, can of gas, a few hand tools, change of close, and a vehicle roadside repair kit. I would think of it as more of an extention of your pickup bed box than keeping everything you own in it ready to leave all the time. A trailer is a handy tool. And a pain in the ass. All your idiot buddies will ask you to borrow the trailer and expect you to help them move their shit. Buy a good spare tire and mount it on the trailer. Also get a star bar that fits the lugs. Torque the lugs. Often. Get a car floor jack that can lift an axel of the trailer with it LOADED. A 7k lbs trailer with 3.5k per side (left and right, both tires) you will need a 2+ ton car jack. Some trailers you have to lift both tires (or nearly, unloading all the weight) off the ground to change one tire. It is the pits having to unload the trailer on the side of the road to fix a flat. Don't buy trailer tires. They are rated to there max. Auto tires are rated under there max temps and loads. If they are 15" rims get D rated. 16" get Es. If they are 14", craigslist them and buy larger. Read the manufactor date code and trash any tire over five years old. I own five trucks and eight trailers at the moment. And have ran many others from new till the day it was scraped. I've spent $20k in fuel since the first of the year. I do alot of towing. Tomorrow is only four hours round trip with at 22k lbs. |
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A lot of people are modifying trailers and just outright building their stuff from scratch. Some searches will let you consider ideas and options. I agree with the mention of going with heavy duty tires and learn about the brakes on your trailer and take it apart and look at them. Some people just want to load a trailer up and let it sit. This is not good for the tires and eventually bearings and brakes may have issues as well. Yeah it rolls when you hook it up but if bearings get a bit rusty or the brakes seize up and don't have full movement you could have issues as you roll down the road. I don't know what sort of suspension it has, I never repaired double axle trailer suspensions on this size stuff so I don't know how they work since I have not messed with them. I do know if you get some ramps you can probably use your vehicle to pull one axle onto the ramps, you can make them out of some 2x12s or something, and wind up getting some height that way. I readily agree with a serious jack as well, but being able to level the trailer is another use for the ramps. I personally would figure out the weights of everything right now. My example will be my vehicle. I have a grand cherokee rated to tow 7400lbs. Depending on how many people and stuff I cram into the vehicle I am messing with how much weight I can put in the trailer. So knowing what I plan to do with the vehicle is step one, and getting it weighed for real world weight is something I still need to do. Take the trailer and see what it adds to the vehicle weight when hooked up and empty and then start messing around with loading it. Depending on how much stuff you want to take you could wind up with a weight problem, or not. I don't know what your dodge ram is or what it is rated to tow. Decide what you want to accomplish and what the weight specs of everything will let you accomplish. I personally don't like loading things to max weight ratings unless I am messing with something built for commercial use. My jeep can tow its rated limit and I might one day do so. For a longer life I plan on towing about 4k to 5k lbs max. Generally it tows under 2k lbs. I am kind of looking for a cheap enclosed trailer. It will be part garage and when I want to use it for camping it could go camping. Security is a big thing for me and I plan to set it up so it would be hard to steal just sitting at home or hooked up to my vehicle. |
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Quoted:
<snip> Some good points brought up here. On my enclosed trailers, we do use a ramp chalk on one axel and a car jack on the other. But these trailers have torsion bar axels and have to be lifted really high to unload them to change a tire. Also pulling the trailer up onto the ramp, to change the back tandem tire, is fine. But pushing the trailer backwards, onto the ramp to change the front tire, requires 4x4 low range. Most trucks don't don't have the power (or hookup) to shove a loaded trailer in revers up onto a ramp chalk. This is why it is a real benefit to having a largely oversized jack to do the job. Vs a chalk ramp and small jack. Checking your vehicles abilities to tow is a big must. Also look at your direction of travel. If it is all flat and a short trip, them not much to worry about. If you are pulling Donner pass, horse power, engine and transmission temps, good brakes, all become major factors in what you need to prepare for. Stopping is important. So is not blowing up your transmission on a grade pull. If you are planning to cover a thousand miles, then adequate tires, barring maintenance, and extended fuel provisions need to be planned. Will a tank of gas and three 5 gallon cans get you back to a working fuel station (at your TOWING mpg)? Like others have said, checking the barrings is important. Seals, grease, and fit. The trailer has to be put on a maintenance schedule just like a car. Barrings, brakes, lights, and tires are biggies here. Also is the trailer water tight? Resealing leaks is easy to do to keep the inside (and its cargo) dry. Lift the trailer and spin the tire. Look to see if the trailer has been curbed fast enough to bend a rim. Also watch and track tire wear to see if an axel is bent due to over weighting, curbing, or road abuse. Also get on a creeper and look all the frame over for cracks in steel or welds. I just fixed a crack in a frame on one of mine from road abuse and millage (140k miles on this trailer). Also had a axel bent due to intentional curb "ditching" due to fucktard drivers. Some axels can be restraightend. Some have to be replaced. This incident cost $350 to fix an expensive axel. Keeping the trailer from growing legs and walking off is hard to do. Tongue locks are not going to keep it from being stolen, but are needed to help deter thieves to steal your neighbors crap instead. I would use a good G70 (or largest high grade chain you can use) chain threaded through the spokes of the wheels and a good lock. This is about the best way to tie it down. Keeping it out of direct sight and behind any sort of locked gate too. There is allot of aftermarket stuff for sale to deter trailer theft. Most of it is gimmicky and inadequate. I have a good handle on this. I'll be working in (and have worked in) Stockton, Ca for the next few months. The auto and grand theft capital of the US. Trailer hookup is also very important. My company policy is driver always does the complete hookup. If one person backs it up and another hooks it up, driver rechecks all hookup and still is responsible for the safety check walk around. It's a bummer when shit goes wrong with your trailer hookup at freeway speeds. Ask me how I know. Did I mention buy heave grade auto tires and torque your lugs? |
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Click,
Thanks for the heads up. I have really started leaning towards your suggestion. I want to attach a table to the wall so that it can come down and can be used for convenience. I want to set up my communications and utilize it as a mobile comm center (the obvious opsec issues come up once you have antennas strung from the roof, so still working with that). There were some great links regarding some mods to make it into a stealth RV, I like the idea, but purchasing this for 2k, I think that when we finally move to montana, I might want to turn around and sell it, and tricking it out too much may be counter productive. As for your suggestions with the spare tire, jack, etc., thanks. I had not even considered the possibility. However, the idea about placing a shower into the corner of the trailer had crossed my mind. :-) Tim |
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Quoted:
Click, Thanks for the heads up. I have really started leaning towards your suggestion. I want to attach a table to the wall so that it can come down and can be used for convenience. I want to set up my communications and utilize it as a mobile comm center (the obvious opsec issues come up once you have antennas strung from the roof, so still working with that). There were some great links regarding some mods to make it into a stealth RV, I like the idea, but purchasing this for 2k, I think that when we finally move to montana, I might want to turn around and sell it, and tricking it out too much may be counter productive. As for your suggestions with the spare tire, jack, etc., thanks. I had not even considered the possibility. However, the idea about placing a shower into the corner of the trailer had crossed my mind. :-) Tim A 10 or 15 ton hydraulic jack will come in handy for many things if you use your trailer a lot. Also, the smallest aluminium jack stands are handy. Both from H-F. |
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Quoted:
That is a really big trailer! If you want some ideas check out this place: http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=42 I have a 6x10 that I still use as a cargo trailer but I am looking to build it into a duel use camper/cargo trailer. My 6x10 fits in my garage which is really nice to keep things secure. Ditto, build a stealth camper. |