Remodel/Renovation Contractor who just bought a 7×16 trailer to haul all my tools in. Anyone got any good suggesitons on how to set the trailer up as far as shelving, storage, etc. Trailer is dual axle so weight is not that big a deal. Any help would be appreciated.
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I've got a V-nose trailer with what I think is a decent set-up. I built a work bench up in the nose and under the bench is a plywood cabinet to store large items. I keep things like cases of nails, ladder jacks, and subfloor adhesives in there.
On one wall I hung a set of cheapo wall cabinets to keep smaller stuff organized. I beefed up the back of the cabinets with a plywood skin and set them on a 2x4 ledger screwed to the metal 'studs' of the trailer wall to take some of the burden off the fasteners holding the cabinet to the wall.
With the remainder of the cabinet wall I hung a piece of steel shelving "L" channel with holes in it. From the holes I hung "S" hooks and pinched them shut on top so as not to bounce out of the channel. That's where I hang cords and hoses.
On the other wall of the trailer is steel shelving to hold larger items like a SCMS, CMS, tool cases, levels, jobsite radio, etc.
Under the cabinets is my table saw strapped to the wall via tie-down straps and D rings screw to the trailer frame. On the same wall my miter saw stand is also strapped in via D rings.
Here.... a picture speaks a 1000 words. This is from a year or so ago, but not too much has changed.
Very nice! Love to see organization!
Slotted angle, Costco bins, and bungee cords are your friends!
Should have used the heavier gauge corner angles on long shelves, they sag a little now. Srcewed on OSB to help stiffen. Back support screwed to wall. Not awful but not 100%, just me being fussy.
Installed leg up on angles to help keep things on shelves. Lots of places to hook bungees.
PJ
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.
I like the slotted angle approach.
easy to dis/re assemble when you get a better idea...
lots of flexibility etc.
Have you got an inexpensive source?
around here the stuff with 2 rows of holes on the wider side is about 4 bucks a foot @ lumber yards and HW stores...
Mr. T.
"I YAM WHAT I YAM AND THATS ALL THAT I YAM"
-U.S. Sweet Potato Council
I got the painted angle at a material handling outfit, sells pallet shelving and warehouse type stuff. Way cheaper than the stuff in the little bins at lumberyards. IIRC, I spent less than $200 on the whole shebang, including install and assembly hardware. The osb I had already. Had to go back for seconds, though...poor planning on my part. It was one of those things where I had a loose idea of what I wanted and just started in. Evolved into what you see. Sometimes things just work out!
I shot the shelves into the vertical frame members of the trailer with hex head tapping screws and a little cordless impact...put the E-track up the same way.
Be shelved.PJ
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.
Very nice, but no beer fridge.
Very nice, but no beer fridge.
And no room for one, either! I wish it was two feet longer. Well actually, I wish it had 2' more length inside but same outside...that'd be cool.
Come to think of it that sounds like something a a customer might request.PJ
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.
Most of those pics look pretty familiar. I suspect there's a limit to ingenuity when putting shelving in one. Mine isn't much different. A couple of thoughts.
Weight might not be a factor but distribution is. Just make sure as you plan the layout the majority of the weight isnt to one side, or front or back. Skewing it significantly can cause your trailer to sway going down the road.
Anything that isn't strapped will move, and it's kind of scary. I'm guilty. Cabinet doors that aren't latched, anything just sitting there, you just have to think in terms of the bumps it takes going down the road. I had a shaper tip over and I suppose I'm lucky all I lost was the switch. But worse can happen. Bungees, tie downs, ropes, anything you can use to hold things put.
Leave an access path from front to back and make it inviolate. Nothing hacks me off more than when I put too much in and can't trip my way forward to the thing I need.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
Yer so right. Gotta strap ALL of it down. I loaded a big brand new Rol-Air 5.5 hp 20 gallon compressor into my trailer one morning. Literally brand new... first day on the job. Got to the site and opened the doors and there it was on it's side leaking gas all over the trailer floor. Snapped the air filter assembly clean off and crushed the carburetor. If the guys weren't watching, I would've cried.
I also have a strap that goes across the two cabinet doors during travel. I forgot to strap it one night on the drive home. Opened the doors the next morning and it looked like a scud missle hit the trailer. In that cabinet (and now scattered about the trailer) were boxes of 16 and 18 guage pins, boxes of SS screws, spare compressor parts.... all the little stuff you want to keep organized and seperated.
I'm still finding broken clips of finish nails in the trailer and I've got a big old box of SS screws that I swear I'm going to sort out one of these days. Yeah, right.
I've found those little bungy's with the hard plastic ball to be handy in tons of places for keeping stuff where it's supposed to be.