kelabar
Senior Member
Posts: 399
Likes: 469
|
Post by kelabar on Jun 25, 2020 22:48:45 GMT 10
Anyone use one of those builder's trailers? Covered trailers with a big lift up door on either side that slope inwards towards the top. Are they handy? Is condensation a problem inside? What about dust-sealing? And how reliable are the gas struts that lift the doors? How have you got them fitted out?
Also the under tray tool boxes that replace the mudguards on tray top utes. Condensation and dust-sealing problems? What do you carry in them? The toolboxes under trucks tend to fill up with dust and dirt pretty quickly but are OK for chains and other tough gear.
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Jun 27, 2020 10:25:31 GMT 10
Not trailer but a ute with that type of box with gull wing doors. Totally dust and water proof. Really like it. Might have condensation problem if wet stuff was put in there but I've not experienced it.
|
|
kelabar
Senior Member
Posts: 399
Likes: 469
|
Post by kelabar on Jul 10, 2020 0:03:50 GMT 10
What is the setup inside? The ones I've looked at had shelves at the top for small items but getting access to things in the middle of the floor was a bit difficult. Except for items right by the door everything is too far away. Crates, sliding drawers? A steel hook to drag things over?
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Jul 11, 2020 10:52:27 GMT 10
Well ... I'm 6ft 2 with long arms so nothing is out of reach in my current setup. I have that rubber anti slip mat in the tray so dragging things with a hook just doesn't work for most items. I find it much harder to reach into the middle of well-body trays due to reaching over the high sides and tailgate. I've used some great setups on previous vehicles with 25cm deep roller drawers under a false floor, cool mechanical cradles that make it easy to pull a full sized engel out of the tray, drop it down to waist high so you can see inside it and lift it back up and in with little effort, spots for sliding spare wheel in etc. Like this: www.gitsham.com.au/products/product/custom-built/hilux-service-body-with-false-floor. But my flase floor was 3/4 length leaving a full height section at back to stash tall/bulky things. Both my box trays were by Gitsham.
|
|
kelabar
Senior Member
Posts: 399
Likes: 469
|
Post by kelabar on Jul 12, 2020 22:45:48 GMT 10
Thanks. Some great ideas there. And the link is good too. I don't really like trailers, they reduce agility too much for my liking, but the extra load carrying ability is valuable. The trouble with the couple I've seen is that they were standard trailers, low to the ground. To get to the middle meant ducking under the high shelves as you reached in. One hand had to grab the shelf to stop overbalancing. PITA. Maybe a removable box which went on to a standard trailer. Could still use the trailer as a trailer then. With high trailer sides the box would be higher so easier to access and gear could still be slid into the trailer under the box. Or a set of drawers or a second false floor could bring the 'open' floor up to an easily accessible level. That has possibilities. And, OMG, somewhere to put spare wheels would be excellent. They don't look too big when they are on a vehicle but stowing them somewhere takes up a huge amount of space. Thanks. I'll let all these ideas percolate in the ol' noggin and see what I come up with.
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Jul 13, 2020 17:44:19 GMT 10
One thing I recently learned was to get guttering put on the upper edge of the gull wing doors to deflect rainwater run-off away from running into the tray when the doors are up during light rain. At the moment I have to put an ice cream container on the tray at each side of the door when its open during rain in order to catch the run-off.
|
|
kelabar
Senior Member
Posts: 399
Likes: 469
|
Post by kelabar on Oct 14, 2020 10:57:41 GMT 10
This is something like what I was thinking off. But without the big drawer underneath. Just slide boxes or crates under there instead. Maybe with front access as well and maybe a water tank in the middle. Lift the top off if a trailer is needed. I found this picture at trailersdirectqld.com.au.
|
|
|
Post by spinifex on Oct 14, 2020 17:31:41 GMT 10
Those under-tray drawers are actually pretty useful storing long tools, reo-rod etc. Don't know how durable they are though. They seem like the rollers/rails might fail after a year or two of use.
|
|
frostbite
VIP Member
Posts: 5,410
Likes: 6,936
|
Post by frostbite on Oct 14, 2020 17:35:41 GMT 10
Those lift up lids are not very secure. My son's got forced open and thousands of dollars worth of tools stolen.
|
|
Tim Horton
Senior Member
Posts: 1,748
Likes: 1,943
|
Post by Tim Horton on Oct 15, 2020 5:32:53 GMT 10
In North America it seems most contractors use an enclosed box trailer and build there own shelves and such inside..
I recently saw a promotional video on a rough terrain camp trailer that had storage, kitchen, hot water and shower capability. It had a fold out sleeping tent on the top.. VERY nice, but VERY high end and extremely expensive..
A thought.... The trailer in Kelabar post would make a good base for a homemade version of this..
|
|