Much prettier. The before picture was ugly.
There were a number of not very complimentary articles about rv manufacturing quality going waaaay downhill during the pandemic.
Yep, we bought the toy hauler last year and we’ve had so many issues already.
Another bit of dumpster fire wiring found behind the walls. No surprise that marker light flickers the entire time im driving.
Haven’t been able to get to my trailer much lately, but finally wrapped up some wiring. Much neater, far fewer connections, no more wire nuts or pierce connections. Everything zipped tied in place so its not flopping around while driving. Next up, is replace all the thin panels with 7/16" OSB sheet.
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Quiet weekend, so back at the trailer refurb.
Put the boy to work vacuuming up random junk and helping pull all the screws and taking down the remaining 1/8" wood paneling.
Found a bit more garbage wiring, the manufacturer managed to pinch some wires between the exterior sheet and the metal studs.
FINALLY got the first new sheet up and installed, glued with construction adhesive and screwed in place.
Only 8 more sheets to go.
I did have a helper, but he decided it was more fun to build a fort with the off cuts.
Hard to see, but put all my hidden wires in split loom and zip tied them up so they dont rattle around in the walls.
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It seems that the construction quality is pretty lousy. You keep finding bad stuff! Pandemic or is it always thus?
Well, to be fair, i basically called around and bought the cheapest 7x14 i could find when i started looking, so it could be a case of you get what you pay for. But yes, its been frustrating to the point i am tempted to talk to my boss about building me a custom race trailer to my specs, but we dont really do anything this small.
Called it a day after getting the Vee section and one wall nearly complete. Only a 16" section to finish that wall, but didnt feel like wrestling a sheet on my table saw alone. Even just having this much done, the stiffness of the trailer is night and day. Before you could feel the walls moving independently, now with this much done, if you push on the boards, the whole trailer moves like a solid unit.
Great project, keep us posted.
Well, i finally got the walls finished. Sadly this will be the end of things until the spring. Since the season is over, and i live in snowy Canada, the trailer gets used as a storage unit all winter for outdoor furniture. I’ll spend some time in the winter on my computer, working on the layout, and come spring, paint the walls, install lighting and setup all the storage items as planned.
For opposite reasons to mine, would it not make sense to insulate the walls? I image up in the Great White North it gets a little cold. Down here in Texas, it gets blazingly hot. My plan after finding a suitable trailer was to re-hab it and insulate the walls and ceiling. That way I can run HVAC and not waste the energy through thermal losses. Another plan was when stored at the house, I can run shore-power from the house to keep the space conditioned. That way I can store my equipment in the closed trailer without fear of freezing or roasting anything. Humidity control would be useful too.
Any thoughts on this idea? Is there anyone else using their trailers for off season or between race storage?
Yes definitely, insulation and plywood instead of OSB. But it also comes at a price (hefty) so it all depends on how much you want to spend on it and if it makes sense for the particular build. I have some pics of mine if you want ideas.
One thing for sure I suggest to @Jim_Johnstone : before closing the walls, make sure you install a GPS tracking device, hidden behind the panels. They are cheap and you’ll always be able to recover it if it gets stolen
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I dont store anything in it that I’m worried about freezing. The kart stays in the garage for off season rebuilds. I contemplated insulation, but decided it wasnt really worth it in this situation. If i go ahead and look into a larger trailer in the future, id definitely want insulation and at least have the option of AC for the summer.
@Andy_DiGiusto hidden GPS tracker is on the list.
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Great thread!
I’m in the process of buying a trailer. We have 3 adult karts and one kidkart.
I started thinking that a 16’ enclosed trailer would be enough, but then I realized that a 20’ would be better, and then convinced myself that a 24’ would almost be enough.
Soon after I went the “toy hauler route” and suddenly shifted to a diesel motorhome to tow the 24 footer. So I went from a few thousand dollars to… well, the sky is the limit! But guess what? If I have a motorhome it would be a pain in the neck to move around town!
I’m back to not being able to decide what we really need. What if our new little team grows? Should I get a 30 footer? Am I going to need a different tow vehicle since mine is rated for 10,000 lbs?
24ft in my opinion is a sweet spot if you run multiple karts or a small team. You can expand with it quite a bit and has good resell value as it’s not too small, not too big. My suggestion is stick with it, don’t put too much money into it, then in a year or so you can move up or down from there after you narrow down your priorities
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I think my next trailer after this one, will be a 20 to 24 footer. I’m considering talking to my boss about building a custom trailer to my specs, but it’s not exactly the type of trailer we build.
The nice thing when going from a 14 or 16 to a 20 or 24, is the 14 and 16 are typically 7’ wide, the 20 and 24 are 8.5’ wide, so some extra room to work with.
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Have you considered a used road tractor? About the cost of a new pickup.
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I’ve noticed that and it’s tempting because how cool would that be!? I have a 28’ and it gets pushed around by cars and trucks a bit. Sway control, hvac, repaint floor to come. It is nice for two queen air mattresses plus hangout room.
