jwt1603

We just bought our first enclosed trailer (20' Haulmark) and I have a few questions on setting it up. I want to do it right the first time. (And I hope the open trailer sells quick).

It has the wood walls in it. I know I have to prime / seal the wood since it's new before I can paint the walls. Is there any special paint to use to try and make it easier to keep clean? Do you use interior or exterior paint? I would think exterior. I looked at buying FRP board for the walls but that's too much for the budget right now.

I'm probably going to put diamond plate runners down for the tires. Again, is there any special paint for the floor after sealing it? And if it is painted properly do I need the diamond plate at all? Is it better to put the floor tiles down than paint or diamond plate? Cost difference?

Are there any other suppliers with decent prices for aluminum ramp extensions, fuel jug holders, etc, besides Pit Pal and Pit Products? I have to get the extensions immediately because the car is lowered and will drag with the current ramp angle.

It's a 94, any special needs or suggestions for tie downs in an enclosed? The open trailer was obviously a lot easier to get to the sides of the car for tie down points. I went over the tires with the open but I don't think I'll be able to do that with the enclosed.

Thanks.

Jason

I wouldn't use diamond plate. Too slick.

c4cruiser

The walls can be painted with a good grade of interior or exterior paint. Apply a good primer/sealer in white and then a couple coats of semi-gloss white or light color like a light gray or light beige depending on your color tastes. If the trailer has a ceiling, do the same, but use a gloss white there for reflecting light. Install lots of interior lighting!!

Summit Racing has a variety of trailer accessories that are aluminum and easy to install.

For tie downs, you will need either recessed D-rings or use E-track. These will have to be attached to the trailer frame or crossmembers. If you go with E-track, then you can use diamond plate strips on either side of the track.

Diamond plate is expensive so you may just want to start with paint first. Patio deck paint (solid color stain) will work as you can easily refinish the floor as necessary You can add some of the anti-slip sand material to the area where the tires will roll. IMHO fancy trailer floors look great, but maintenance can be a PITA compared to simply re-painting the floor every couple of years.

For extended ramps, you can easily make some from 2x10's or even layers of plywood to reduce the angle of the door so the car doesn't scrape.

Being a 94 model, you should budget for brakes, wheel bearings, and tires. Some people say that trailer tires (those with an "ST" rating) should be replaced every 5-6 years regardless of remaining tread. They sit much more than they roll so expect some hardening of the tread and possible cracking.

Check the wheel bearings carefully and it might even be worth replacing the bearing/race assemblies anyway. And always carry a spare set of bearings!!! Same with a spare tire if the trailer didn't come with one.

Check the brake shoes and drums and replace as necessary and adjust the brakes. Is the breakaway battery in good shape? They don't cost a lot so maybe just get a new one.

WNeal

I am in the exact same process with my new Haulmark Trailer

Used Exterior paint for the side and will also do the ceiling.
I am looking at different things for the floor and will most likely use a very good exterior paint as well. Had a thought about getting the floor down with the spray in truck liner stuff but that might be hard to keep clean. Would be very slip resistant though. Could just take a hose to it though if I did that.

The paint so fars seems as though it will clean up good as needed. I put on two coats. I used a semi-gloss.

Will have two 2x10 wood squares on the drivers side door to act as both a wheel stop and to raise the car about 1". My car door just barely hits the jump door frame bottom when opening it. Tapered the ends so as to reduce a trip hazard.


Looking from the rear



Left side



Right Side

jwt1603

I did the wood thing for a while with the short ramps that came with the open trailer. What a pain to move around and a lot of dead weight to drag around. I bought 8 foot long aluminum ramps that worked great with the open. They won't work on the enclosed, wrong kind of lip to attach them with.

jwt1603

Yeah, I figured it needed to be primed and sealed. I'll probably do a gray or white. Probably gray like wneal just so it's a little different. I'll be adding my own lighting.

jwt1603

Sorry I wasn't clear, the car is a 94, the trailer is an 09 model.

I'll have two spares.

jwt1603

Anyone have experience with the rubber diamond plate floor? I agree as stated above the steel diamond plate could get very slick when wet.

Paint is the cheapest / easiest but the rubber would give a good look and be easy to keep clean.

Where would you buy the stuff? I checked a couple of flooring stores and Lowe's / Home Depot. They didn't even know what I was talking about.

Falcon

I've been bored so I remodeled my trailer. Added a couple of shelves, put in 30 amp shorepower service, put in some shoring beams to hold tires and also to anchor one end of my hammock.

I haven't cleaned the trailer up, yet.

Gary2KC5

Another thought would be to paint the floor with truck bedliner coating.

It would seal the floor and enable you to hose it out when needed. You would need to paint up on the wall a little to make a good seal.

also, you can get some thin white plastic sheets to cover the walls instead of painting them.

Jason

I was thinking about that. I wonder how much it would weigh?

AU N EGL

My trailer had wood interior as well. I primed the walls and ceiling with Kilz, or any OIL based primer will do. the wood is so dry it will absobe the paint.

Then two coats or White semi gloss paint. Semi gloss so there is some light reflection and easy to clean. Not that I clean it.

The floor I just put down Restoliem garage floor epoxy. Good enough. On top of the trailer wheel well boxes I put some of those black stair gripper treads. So not to slide when squeezing by the car.

Extra 5 foot aluminum raps by pitproducts dot com. Some hooks on the walls to put the tie downs out of the way.







ramps fold up and put a strap to hold them agains the door and not bang the back of the car

Feffman

My neighbor did this on his new trailer and it's fantastic. It not only protects the floor, but it's not slippery. As soon as the weather warms, we will do our trailer floor with the truck bedliner.

Feff
www.MVPTrackTime.com

Jason

Tom, did you add any supports for the tire-rack on the wall?

AU N EGL

Jason

I used 3" self tapping steel screws for commercial steel wall studs. Put two screws on each of the upper and lower cross beams into the wall studs. Good thing the studs were even distance between each other. You can see a few of the screw heads .



holds great.

also I put some foam pipe wrap on the lower tire section and on each corner, for padding in case of head bumps

5 foot rack. Holds four wheels and one trailer spare wheel.

The Spark

I made some ramps out of wood. I cut two 2"x6"x6' boards diagonally and put 2x4 blocks every foot between the 2x6s. I cut the 2x4 blocks so they are flush with the top and bottom edges of the 2x6 (side) boards. Then I put 3/4" plywood on top of the ramps and screwed it into the sides and the 2x4 blocks.

On the front of the ramps (that goes under the trailer ramp), I attached two 2x6 boards (stacked). The rubber bumper on the trailer ramp sits on these boards and 1) raises the trailer ramp to be flush with the top of my wood ramps and 2) the weight of the car on the trailer ramp keeps the wood ramps from moving when driving the car up.

I cut the boards so that all I have to do is align the edges with the outside edge of the trailer ramp. This puts the wood ramps at the right spot for my car.

I just added a winch to my trailer and now use it to load and unload my car. It is slick. So far I've been able to load the car by myself by lining it up on the wood ramps. It has gone right into the trailer. A 2nd person would be helpful to make small steering corrections while loading. I did get a little close to one side but still fit in ok. Now I don't have to climb in and out of the window of the car. (I don't have a driver escape door on my trailer)

bb69

Can you guys that have mounted cabinets and other hangars on your trailer walls tell me what kind of hardware you used? I have one of the wall cabinets that holds oils and has a fold down shelf with paper towel holders. It's somewhat heavy by itself, and when I fill it with fluid bottles it will really be pretty heavy. I have seen some of them mounted with bolts all the way through the trailer door using the same type of fastener as used for the door hinges. I can't find these types of fasteners though. Any ideas?

Thanks
Ken

AU N EGL

use those 3" self tapping screws I mention above. Think I got the box from Lowe's

redtopz

I bought a rubber matt with a diamond plate mold at Costco. It was cheap and I just cut it to fit the bottom of my trailer and used double sided tape on the bottom. I've had it over a year and its great. Easy to clean up oil and spills and its grippy. You can just cut holes in it where your tie-downs are.

trackboss

Personally I would not rely on self tapping screws. I have several cabinets and a tire rack setup in my trailer. I installed all my walls and cabinets with 1/4" steel threaded inserts sunk into the studs. Everything is load bearing and super strong. For the cabinets I used fender washers under the screws to distribute the load. Very time consuming to do it right, but the end result is as good as it gets.