# Tool Trailer



## MPI_Mallard (Sep 28, 2010)

I just finished my new tool trailer and i'm thirlled with the results and thought i'd shrare them. Many thanks to those of you who sent me their pics that helped me out so very much,it was a great help!


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## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

*USUCK
*
I'm jealous.


And the trailer looks fabulous


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## FreedomBuilders (Apr 18, 2010)

Excellent !! & I can identify with Aaron said


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## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

How about the frenched tool drawers? Mmmm nice!


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## bhock (Feb 17, 2009)

Very nice!


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## Five Star (Jan 15, 2009)

What size trailer is it.?...Great job look real functional!:thumbsup:


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## ApgarNJ (Apr 16, 2006)

Very nice. As soon as I get my trailer back home from the job it's on, I'm going to put the new route table in, and take some pics. I still need a few more touches to have it 100% done. My free time outside of work is limited right now, so much to do, so little time.


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## TxElectrician (May 21, 2008)

Aaron Berk said:


> How about the frenched tool drawers? Mmmm nice!


 
Don't know anything about frenched drawers, but I did notice a cut out of Texas on a cabinet.Very nice touch:thumbsup::clap:


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## MPI_Mallard (Sep 28, 2010)

*The details*

:drink::drink::drink::drink:First i want to thank you guy's for the kind remarks,they really mean a lot,really appreciate it. It's actually a sad story how this came to be,i retired last year and intended to full-time RV'ing with Frau Blücher but due to the lousy housing market where i'm at the house didn't sell so back to work i went,lets face it boys you can only drink and ***** so much! 

Since i sold my chevy 3500 van i needed a way to carry my tools without committing to another work van with all the other additional B.S. expenses the Canadian knee-jerk liberal,thieving scum-bag polititions in Ottawa seem to think we small independant trades need to be saddled with so when my best builder told me he had a concession trailer for sale i jumped! 

It's a 12x8x6'6" Haulmark dual axle rated a 7100 lbs and in my humble opinion [expecially going from a van where everything i need is always buried in the front]it's the perfect size for what i do,trimming and kitchen installation. The two tool boxes are on wheels so i can wheel them up the ramp and into a garage when needed,one has the mitersaw mounted on top with folding tale arms and the compressor is in the bottom. I wired the rig with a 30 amp panel with electrical outlets inside on the wall and an exterior outlet outside and also added a 12 volt panel for an rv light fixture and to power the backup camera, the *fluorescent f*ixture in the front lights up the whole she-bang perfectly. Since i wanted to be able to use it for other purposes i devised what i think is a rather clever way of making the shelves removable,i used 3" door hindges with half attatched to the shelf unit and the other attatched to the wall by a 1.1/2" strip of plywood screwed through the wall into the frame with construction adhesive as mounting cleats so to remove them i just drift out the pins and hang them both on the wall of my garage where i fixed identicle mounting cleats and bada boom' badda bing' you got an empty trailer. 

I'm adding some before and after pics to illistrate how far my trailer came And of course at this point i have to give credit for the over-all appearance to Frau Blücher for all her hard work painting the interior and exterior,i really love her and she really busted her can to do such a great paint job in the driveway even though she calls it my new clubhouse and jokes that she's waiting for the big-screen and beer-fridge to be installed!

Thanks again, Mallard


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## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

AWESOME RESULTS!

So I'm courious about the concession door, did you make that usable to your craft?

And the movable shelves, good idea.


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## MPI_Mallard (Sep 28, 2010)

:drink::drink:Arron,at first i was going to use the consession door for outside access but in the end i opted for more room in the middle and it's worked out well,the ability to walk in uprightto get something is terrific,in retrospect i think my job would have been far easier had i gone to a trailer years ago and here in Canada it's far more economical,no bi-yearly e-tests or annual plates and the insurance is way cheaper,it's really the way to go.


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## jfranklin (Apr 18, 2009)

very nice. just curious if you know how much it weighs.


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## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

I was thinking a concession door might be useful as a canopy, and you could have tool access if it was set up correctly. I think the logistics for tool storage and pull out devices that would be required for the concession door might get complicated. But it was a thought.

I'm itching for a trailer. Keeping things out of the weather in my long bed truck gets old.


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## tcleve4911 (Mar 26, 2006)

Aaron Berk said:


> I'm itching for a trailer. Keeping things out of the weather in my long bed truck gets old.



You've got another winter coming up and all your tools are going to be subject to rain, sleet & snow.....again.

Bite the bullet, Aaron

You'll never regret it and always wonder how you ever got along without it.

I like the fact that MPI went with the 12'. 
Taking the time to build storage compartments and really think it through makes it so you can store sooooo much in it and it's still maneuverable.:thumbsup:


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## mcabbage (Oct 23, 2008)

Very nice looks great!


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## JWilliams (Nov 11, 2008)

wow i wish i could get my step dads trailer to look like that. his idea of being organized is have everything thrown into 5 gallon buckets.. oh man if his trailer looked like that..


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## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

Looks good now... And it will only look like that right now, once it's in use it's amazing how trashed they get...


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## FRAME2FINISH (Aug 31, 2010)

very nice setup, however after i am done working i am so beat i literally throw the crap in my van and haul ass, has something to do with working by yourself lol

atleast if you do that you will be able to tell where the stuff should of went lol


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## tcleve4911 (Mar 26, 2006)

FRAME2FINISH said:


> very nice setup, however after i am done working i am so beat i literally throw the crap in my van and haul ass, has something to do with working by yourself lol
> 
> atleast if you do that you will be able to tell where the stuff should of went lol



Sorry for the long post...you know I'm passionate about trailers.....
This brings up a very important part of setting up these trailers.
They have to be set up with THAT exact thought in mind.'*throw the crap in and haul ass'*

A trailer needs to be designed so that when you throw your crap in there, there's a customized place for everything to land without you having to remember where it goes.

I've revamped my trailer four times now.
At first it started out like everyone's....picture perfect...as long as I wasn't working it....after a week...it was trashed...clean it over the weekend ....trashed again at the end of the week

Each time I revamped it, I would address the things that trashed the organization and customize an area for that particular trouble spot.

Hardware- where do all the nails & fasteners live?
Where are all my little handtools & clamps
Ladders & staging brackets
Rolls of this and that
Extension cords and job lights...and on & on

A trailer needs to be designed so that when you throw your crap in there, there's a customized place for everything to land without you having to remember where it goes.


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## MPI_Mallard (Sep 28, 2010)

*The thought behind it all,,*

When i decided to do this i literally sat inside the trailer and thought it all through,spent hours reserching on the internet[yes fellers the net is good for more than just music and ****,lol]and in my mind going over different scenerios on the different jobs i do,for instance i primarially do interior trim but recently i've been hanging cabinets wich is why i built the mitersaw/compressor tool box. I go to a job and either haul it down the ramp and into the garage or because i made the companion tool box the same hight as the cut table i can simply lift the right table arm into position and cut right in the trailer with the right door open. As far as "*throw the crap in and haul ass" firstly i'm too old and too much of a prima' donna' to haul ass for anyone or anything and i've got tools that i bought my first year i apprenticed that still look new,my journyman who apprenticed me took great pains to see that i learned to respect my tools for what they are,my livlyhood!*

*As far as the concession door Aaron[by the way i saw the pic of your boy on the job,good for you,i'll doubt he'll wind up sitting in the basement at 30 playing video games!] i was going to use the concession door like a tool box by building a box on the inside but after thinking it through i decided that giving up the center isle room wasn't worth it also all my power tools fit into the drawers of the main tool box and i figured it would be easier to lift and carry the large tools from inside and down the ramp however thats what works for my situation,you obviously have your own gopher,lol.*

*As far as weight is concerned the overall loaded weight is just under 4600lbs with a tongue weight of 375 lbs give or take and i haul it with a 2010 GMC Acadia with absolutly no problem however next april that will turn into a ram 3500 dually diesel.*

*The main thing i've figured out so far is the ability to customise the layout is the dog's kahhoonas for what we do.I had the big van with the high step into the box,the annual safety insections,the OPP commercial vehicle blitz pull-overs,the excessive insurance costs and so on,this believe me is the way to go,when i'm on the job it all follows me,when i'm off it sits in the driveway locked up and secure!!*

*P.S. as far as the locked up issue type in Steal Shield,i've got one and i love it!*

*:drink::drink::drink::drink::drink: The Duck.*


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## English Roofer (Dec 22, 2008)

'she calls it my new clubhouse and jokes that she's waiting for the big-screen and beer-fridge to be installed'!

Now thats not a bad idea!
Cheers
Dave


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## dnconstruction (Apr 5, 2007)

looks great man. Nice clean and simple, thats the best way!!! You might want to put a cotter pin or something on the other side of the drift pins you have. The movement and driving might pop of few of the drift pins loose!


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## FRAME2FINISH (Aug 31, 2010)

nice setup, i was thinking the concession door with a cabinet built in kinda like my van would be cool to have,better yet a miterbox station that fold out hahaha lights protection. i need a trailer to deck out .


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