Cbntmn

Guys,

Purchased a 24' pace last week. Looking to finish the inside of the trailer and wanted some input.

Im pretty set on cabinets/tire racks. Im a cabinet guy by trade but im still going to order metal trailer cabinets for the front and a couple small long ones on the side. 8' tire rack going on the side also above the car.

THe trailer is finished with the white smooth paneling on the ceiling, but the standard plywood floor and walls.

My first thought was to checkerboard the floor with a heavy vinyl flooring.

Then I thought about doing a grey garage floor paint/heavy duty stuff. Walls also the same color.

OR i can get the white material and re sheet the walls to match the cieling.

I was thinking about diamond plating the flip down rear door, but i think ill do whatever i do on the interior floor.

I will be adding lighting along the ceiling, a small generator to run the lights, a fan, and my computer for the data AQ.

Any other ideas guys?

Gary2KC5

I would carefully place cabinets/tire racks, etc. to not add too much tongue weight.

don't to the vinyl checkered floor you will not like it after it gets some wear and tear. Also if you diamond plate, get the thin stuff. it's easier to work with and it weighs less. Be prepared to bring your oven mits along to close the door on those hot sunny days. And don't even think about jumping in to tie the car down if the sun has been beating down on it. We put DP in my borthers 24'r. It looks great but has issues.

You may consider DP on the flip and 2' wide strips/tracks for the tires.

you may look to add tie down holders/racks, one in the back and one in the front. If you don't have a drivers escape door you may consider a small winch.

Also, even though it's new and in good shape, consider some safety equipment (reflectors/flairs, speed wrench, spare tire/wheels).

A sway control is a must!

Joseesp

It makes an amazing difference regardless of the towing vehicle.

wtknght1

A wench is always a good thing... and so is some device to pull your car into the trailer if it breaks.

E-track along the floor (and possibly the walls) is good to have.

You can spend all your money on stuff from Pit Pal and Pit Products!!

One thing that I did on all of my trailers is IN-FLOOR STORAGE!!!!! Have your trailer guys build some simple in-floor compartments for things like rotors, brakes, hubs and other spare parts. You simply can't have too much storage space!

Procrastination Racing

1. Before you do too much, check the GVWR on your trailer first. All 24 ft are not the same. Many hobby trailers are a 7000 GVWR on an enclosed trailer. My 24 ft Wells Cargo was 10,000 GVWR.

If you have a 3000 lb trailer and a 3500 lb car, you are at 6500 lbs, which leaves 500 lbs of storage in a 7000 lb GVWR hobby trailer.

Hopefully, you checked this before buying.

2. Weight. All those cabinets are nice, but they increase the load in the trailer, reducing the stuff you can actually haul inside, and increase the power requirements of your tow vehicle. For a long time, I simply used the open wire shelves like for closets and set the boxes of stuff I was taking on them. bungee the box in place and go. This also allowed taking the box off the shelf and out to the car to work as needed, rather than jumping back up in the trailer every few minutes. I did have a plywood shelf/workbench supported on a 1 inch steel frame that held the heavy stuff.

3. Symmetry. Load each side the same, so a 4 ft on each side is better than one 8 ft.

4. Gray on the floor is a good idea. I originally painted the wood floor white so it helped keep it bright and to locate small items dropped on the floor. It was so dirty so fast, that I'd never do that again. White everywhere else is nice, because it really helps with the light inside.

5. Be careful on the generator. Some will destroy a fluorescent light ballast in a few minutes. Also, you will discover that a small generator is great. First, some inside lights. Next some outside lights, in case you camp at the track or do a night race. Then to run a small compressor. Except the small compressor only airs the tires, and not the tools. So you get a bigger compressor.

You have the computer, but soon, you will have the refrigerator. Ice chests are nice, but if you don't leave the track all weekend, where do you get more ice? So you have the small refrigerator running. And a TV. When you aren't running, you may be watching the replay of your in-car video. Or the NASCAR race.

Man, it would be great to have a small welder at the track, for those repairs that take 15 minutes with a welder or ruin the whole weekend if you don't.

So suddenly, your SMALL generator isn't at all practical, and you need a BIG generator, which you should have purchased first.

Suddenly, you see how these guys end up with 48ft trailers and semi tractors to haul them.

Procrastination Racing

That is called "crew". Four or five guys get in back, you inside , and push.

Cbntmn

Ive been through all of this guys a little bit. Raced off road motorcycles for years. Went from an open trailer to a 6x12, then a 7x14, then an 8x18. Each one with more junk in it. Went from a 24' motorhome to a 27, then to a 36' class A.

This trailer is a two year deal. Im sure when my son starts getting going we will have to purchase a larger trailer for 2 cars, and by then a motorhome. Right now I just want to get it organized and get my necessities.

I agree on the gray paint. I had kind of thought of that instead of white. Has anbody used that garage floor epoxy type paint?

We are not planning on doing any camping at the track so air cond and ref are not really an option. A fan, some lights, and a 2000 or 3000 honda generator will do what i want it to do. I had an air conditioner on my bike trailer. I think we used it twice.

I am close to the weight limit of the trailer. I have about 800 pds to use up. The cabinets that are going in there are metal whirlpool gladiator stuff for now, very light stuff. Im really not putting any more stuff in it than i had this last weekend, just getting it better organized.

I did buy an auxilary fuel tank. Holds 14 gallons. I figured i would get close to the track before filling it up so as to not ad the extra 75 pds. The thing was 99 bucks at pep boys. With the price of race gas at 6:50 a gallon i figure the darn thing will pay for itself in 3 or 4 events.

What about commercial grade 12 x 12 squares instead of sheet vinyl? was thinking grey and black instead of white black.

Gary2KC5

What an awesome idea!

XPC5R

I've seen some trailers with the thin gray indoor/outdoor carpet on the floor and up about 3ft on the walls. Very clean look, and reasonably light. Then use atp runners wher the car sits.

Rubber coin flooring looks good too, but is very pricey. The vinyl tiles are heavy, something to consider if you are close to the weight limit.

RB components have some nice simple overhead cabinets that look sturdy and light.

MistressMotorsports

Only a couple things to add:

Make sure that whatever you do to the floor that it is skid resistant. Nothing worse than a wet or leaking car causing you to fall in the trailer and bang your head on your metal tire rack, or jack handle, or....

Also, if you are using the Gladiator or any other cabinets designed not to move, make sure to add lips to the edges of the shelves and something to make sure the doors and drawers stay closed. You will be amazed how much stuff moves around inside and also how much flex there is in the trailer walls causing cabinets to come unlatched, drawers to fall out, etc.

mike

JDIllon

Let the wench steer the car.

RAFTeRACER

I primed and painted my interior walls with a standard gloss white house paint. Nobody can tell they are not white vinyl. Gray paint sucks up all the light, looks like s*#t! I used cheaker tile with light grey outdoor carpet on the door and runners for the tires to avoid hot tire tile damage. Wish I had not used the tile, will carpet the whole thing later. Looks great, low cost, and cleans up easy. Just my two cents.

Gary2KC5

Another thought for those that haven't got the nice white panels up yet. cover the floor and a foot or two up the walls with spray on bed liner. then put up the slick white panels. This will water proof the floor and allow you to hose it out.

Cbntmn

What are ATP runners?

Thanks for the trailer site. They have some great stuff there.

Cbntmn

Can you shoot me a pic if you get a chance? Interested to see how that goes together.

I wasnt going to use a dark grey. A real light grey actually. Just not pure white. I think with the white ceiling it will be ok

Procrastination Racing

Did that once. She hit the trailer.

beerkat

If you put down 12 x 12 floor tiles you run the risk of them coming up. The reason is because of the flex of the trailer floor breaking the bond of the glue.

dmwhite

that's what came in my trailer and i've been very happy with it...
diamond plate runners

my trailer has dark grey paneling from the floor up to about 4 ft, then white paneling to the ceiling...my lower cabinets are dark grey faced and my upper cabinets are white faced...the "work bench" on top of my lower cabinets is stainless...

as mentioned above it has black rubber coin flooring and my ramp is covered in diamond plate...

i got tire racks and a door caddy from pit products...don't forget a/c

i can try to find/post some pics if anyone is interested...

wtknght1

Yep! The local trailer shop around here charged me $350 per in-floor box. They just used a steel plate and welded it between the floor cross beams; sealed the ends and then cut the floor, used it as a door with some hinges on the back side. They caulk and paint the inside to make it water tight and keep it from rusting. I had two of them done and will get a couple more done before the runoffs. You could easily do it yourself if you can weld a little.

My guys used a 1/2 inch metal "lip" for the door to close on to, so it will support the weight of my golf cart, or when a corner of the car rolls onto it, etc.

No matter how much space I have in a trailer, I never fail to fill it up.

Cbntmn

Thats a great idea. Ill have them do that before i put the carpet in and when the put the door on the outside for the generator. Also thinking about having them install the lights for the outside of the trailer for this fall when it gets dark so quick.

It would be great to store the spare tire down there (not under the car of course) but also things like rotors, brake pads, the jack, spare oil and other fluids. Ill see if i can fit 4 or them under there.