DIY Enclosed Trailer
From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Story By: Staff of UTV Sports Magazine
Photos By: Brad Borja
There’s no doubt one of greatest joys in life is getting the word to go ride. When? Where? Who? So many questions! Proper planning can be anything from opening the garage door and go, or weeks of preparation of trucks, trailers, supplies, tools, and of course loading the kitchen sink. A challenge that can come of this is what do we really need…? We have had this same question countless times for our own adventures. Finding ourselves scratching our heads during moments of frustration of bringing far too much or not near enough.
One would think there must be a happy medium between the single vehicle open air solutions and the massive Garage-mahauler. We knew a realistic enclosed cargo trailer was in our near future. Not only does this allow us to get the UTV out of the weather as we scoot down the road but we also tend to have a surplus of media-centric goodies with us that need a home too. The enclosed solution gives us the secure feeling of filling it to the brim without something going missing overnight or during longer stays.
While we all have dreams of building a custom trailer from the ground up, initial investigation found us having to spend a premium to do so and still would need to add the industry touch for the creature comforts and customization we desire for our specific needs. Not our style. Now having a budget friendly project in mind, we set a max spend of $5,000 to purchase a used 20 foot trailer and then properly equip it for our needs. This was a tall order as the cost of a good trailer isn’t cheap, even those with obvious signs of use. After weeks of searching, we decided that we wouldn’t find exactly what we want within our budget, so on to Plan C! Let’s find something in need of some TLC and use the remaining budget to build it out to suit our needs… So the search continued.
A few phone calls later we found that our good friend, Mr. Larry Gipson, had a trailer for sale, and Larry is known to be a road warrior with everything but the kitchen sick in tow behind him. From Seattle to Southern California, this trailer probably saw every highway mile in between. The Haulmark race trailer had a solid structure and would be a great base to mold in the way we wanted it, but he fully disclosed it wasn’t exactly in the best shape. With half of our budget being spent on the trailer, we would have to stretch the rest of the budget to make sure all the wearable parts were replaced, the structural parts were in tact, and the necessities we originally needed would be achievable. To challenge ourselves further, we also wanted to leave a few items undone for future upgrades. Is any good project ever really done?
Upon delivery of our new to us box on wheels, the skin appeared good with just a few minor cosmetic issues. As we inspected deeper we quickly realized it was living up to that “used” title and the workload would be much greater than we anticipated. The plywood floors were waterlogged and soft in spots, both entry points were holding on for dear life, even the electrical was screaming for help. A step back, a deep breath, and a call to our friends at Urban Garage in Prescott Valley, Arizona resolved our anxiety. Stephen is not just a great fabricator and builder, but immediately shared the same vision to bring all our ideas to life. Without hesitation, we drafted a full game plan for the trailer which essentially tore it down to a bare shell. With a blank canvas, and surges of creativity, we knew this was going to be a fun project.
We have plenty of goodies on deck for this for this build, is going to be plenty of goodies to fit our needs and ensure it’s not the same box rolling down the road when we’re finished. Urban Garage AZ went to work ripping out the floors to see how bad the damage really was. A little plywood, a little more metalwork and even more elbow grease will be needed to get this squared away and back to what we considered normal, or even a touch better. With only 20 feet to work with, we definitely need to do our homework and lay out exactly what we need and where it goes. As they say; Proper Planning Minimizes Road Trip Frustrations, or something like that!
Being in the media game we have generally very little time to get a lot of things done, so we’re taking every step needed to build efficiencies into the trailer for quick loading up or strapping down, and even for working out of or sleeping in when needed.
This trailer project will be no small undertaking and with a lot of small custom touches, nothing extravagant, we’re just looking for an end result that will be a tool we can utilize for years to come. Once planning is complete, and we’re ready to dive into the details, we will reveal the build and the reasoning behind each component in an upcoming Hitched, so keep an eye out… We may need help! Back to Urban Garage we go to get our hands dirty. We encourage you to build something too, and if you do, be sure share your story with us!
