Suggestions for building out an enclosed trailer

[Quid Pro Q]

I'm making the leap from my flat bed utility trailer to an enclosed trailer and would love to hear everyone's suggestions and must haves. We compete about 6-7 times a year and have an RV to sleep in, so this will mostly be a place to prep and store equipment.

I'm looking at a 12' v-nose right now. I know more space is better, but a 12' seems to be what's in the budget, given the new smoker costs.

I'm thinking I'd build in a sink station and racks at the V. I'm also thinking that I should build a wall and door at the rear in order to keep in the inside cool and still have access to the smokers.

If anyone has photos of their set ups, I'd really appreciate if you could post them.

 

[enasnidx]

#1. Get a 8.5' wide trailer. Just do it. You'll regret it if you don't.

 

[eap0510]

12' seems on the small size to me. How many people are on your team? I primarily have just my father helping me but I can accommodate up to 4 people.

I did exactly as you are wanting to do. My trailer is 30' long, 8.5 wide and 7 tall. I primarily have just my father helping me but I can accommodate up to 4 people.

In the V of the trailer is where I built a bathroom. I only have a shower and a vanity sink in there since there was not enough room for a toilet as well. Plus I do not have any tanks mounted under the trailer instead I use a portable 50 gallon tote.

On one wall I built 2 sets of Murphy bunk beds that easily fold up when they are not in use. On the other wall I installed some Kraftmaid base cabinets along with a 15 foot stainless steel counter top. I went with stainless so that the mess is easy to clean up and I can place pans right from the cooker onto it without any worries. At the end of the counter top I made my own pantry.

I installed a tankless water heater along with a wash basin. The basin is held down by winged bolts so that I can move it outside. On the outside I installed a single electrical out in the middle of the trailer and up near my door I installed an outside faucet setup. This allows me to wash my dishes outside and avoid having to clean up split water inside the trailer. I really do not wash many dishes while at a contest but instead I have tote that I use to place the majority of the dirty dishes in and just run them through the dishwasher when I get home. The only dishes I really wash onsite are my knifes and over sized objects such as my full size sheet pan.

I am at work now but if you would like some pictures of my setup just let me know.

-Eric

 

[shares]

#1. Get a 8.5' wide trailer. Just do it. You'll regret it if you don't.

Just a thought: A friend of mine did built our a trailer. For the work and expense involved he wish he'd bought a RV instead.

 

[Quid Pro Q]

Just a thought: A friend of mine did built our a trailer. For the work and expense involved he wish he'd bought a RV instead.

Thanks. For the amount we compete, we just rent an RV for the weekend. It gets delivered to the site and we dont even have to drive it. Way less expensive than owning one.

The trailer may just be best for storage, but having some room to move around inside would be a good thing.

 

[rorkin]

I am also working on trailer layout..

7 x 14 flat nose motorcycle trailer 7' high..
This seems to me to be quite tight but workable for my use
My goal is to have an inside prep area for heavy rain or wind.
So all i am going with is some etrack to hold things to the walls and a few more D-rings on floor.. I am working on a back door flap if I want to cook on the lowered rear door.
A bakers rack with some plastic drawers holds most things required..and is portable.
In nice weather , I like to work under a tent anyway. Have seen some nice tankless water heater set ups strapped to a barrel buggy which also makes it portable.
My cooker is heavy so I installed a winch inside to pull in if required.
My limitation is tow vehicle so The better option of toy hauler was a problem
As for overnight, I cook Hot and fast so motel works and just get up early to start

 

[gpcvg]

Started with a 22' car hauler and built on that platform. There are 3 of us that cook so we needed a little more room. Installed the bunk beds because we cook all night. Then we bought some stainless tables from webstaurantstore.com and installed them. For our sink, we bought a portable hot water heater and a laundry sink from Home Depot and mounted it on wheels. The hose on the hot water heater is long enough to take a shower. We bought a fridge from a thrift store for $50 and its been working for 2 years that we put in the front of the trailer. We roll smokers in and out and work under tents but do everything else inside. If you have questions, I'd be happy to help.

 

[masque13]

@ quid pro q........i know exactly what you experiencing. several years back when I first got into this, I went with a 6 x 12 enclosed cargo trailer and tents. mostly just used the trailer for storage and to haul. occasionally, when it was pretty cold, it worked well to sleep in with it mostly empty.

with that said, I quickly saw in a hurry that it was honestly too small for our needs, and that was mostly just storage needs......and then when I looked at maybe doing some stuff inside, like the fold down tables etc. it was just obvious that it wasn't large enough.

like alot of us, I would love a full fledged BBQ porch, but I cannot justify the cost based on the amount of usage. Therefore, I went with plan B, which was to sell my 6 x 12 and I just literally a few weeks ago bought a brand new 7 x 16. we have not set it up yet or done any traveling with it, but I can already tell you that from a storage standpoint, it will be a great deal better. that little addition of square footage just makes packing and organizing more comfortable.

and like you, I am looking to install some more permanent kind of things, such as cabinets, maybe a sink, fold down stainless tables etc, to allow us to work out of it with the smoker outside. The size is so much better than I expect to be able to do these things reasonably well where as with the 6 x 12, I honestly dont think I could have done it.

it's a lesson that I have learned with other hobbies years ago, but ignored my own advice with BBQ......so I bought my first trailer new for like $3200 and sold it for $2000. bought my new trailer for $5000.....so instead of just having the 5k investment, I also have the $1200 loss from the first trailer, making my total trailer investment $6200. I should have bitten the bullet and got the larger size the first time.

now, it's your thing, and I have no idea what kind of financial situation you are in, therefore, you may not be in a position to really upgrade to larger size.....and I get that, so do what you must to follow your desires. BUT, if you choosing to go smaller mostly because you just dont want to spend the extra, but could, then I highly advise you to go bigger now.

Just my opinion.....that and $1.00 might get you a cup of coffee.....lol

 

[Quid Pro Q]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I found what appears to be a good deal on a 2012 7x16 Freedom v-nose. I believe the seller is firm at $2,800, which seems like a fair price.

 

[rorkin]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I found what appears to be a good deal on a 2012 7x16 Freedom v-nose. I believe the seller is firm at $2,800, which seems like a fair price.

New ALUMINUM 7 x 16 x 7' motorcycle..$7,500

Seems like you have a good deal.. Just be sure you are comfortable with interior height

 

[Quid Pro Q]

Pulled the trigger on a 7x16 Freedom. 2 years old and kept in a storage unit. $3k. Seems like a fair price.

 

[SOB]

Pulled the trigger on a 7x16 Freedom. 2 years old and kept in a storage unit. $3k. Seems like a fair price.

That's great. Have fun and good luck

 

[masque13]

good for you....congrats!