outfitting a trailer
 

I'm the proud owner of a nifty Haulmark 6x10 enclosed trailer that I'm going
to use for some wide range of things, most of which I don't know about yet.
I can come up with a lot of good ideas, but they're pretty worthless if I
can get advice from someone who's been through it already.

Question is, how do I outfit it to give me versatility in tying stuff (some
of it maybe heavy) down securely and not get in the way of bulk moving?

As delivered, it has a standard steel frame, channels 24" o.c. in the floor
with a PT 3/4" plywood floor. It has a heavy D-ring, bolted through to a
steel plate, in each corner.

I'm tending toward the idea of bolting down a pair of long runners (2x4?
4x4?) on the floor, maybe 4 feet apart and one cross piece at the nose. Then
I could just load in 4x8 sheets of anything without worrying about them
shifting. The runners maybe would be useful for skidding, rolling heavy
pallets around without wrecking the floor.

How about wall anchors? Upscale strips that show up by Googling 'trailer
tiedowns'?

It has a ramp door. Does anyone have advice on a weight limit for loading
through it?

TIA,
Fred Klingener

outfitting a trailer
 

On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 13:54:11 -0400, "Fred Klingener"
wrote:

I'm the proud owner of a nifty Haulmark 6x10 enclosed trailer that I'm going
to use for some wide range of things, most of which I don't know about yet.
I can come up with a lot of good ideas, but they're pretty worthless if I
can get advice from someone who's been through it already.

Question is, how do I outfit it to give me versatility in tying stuff (some
of it maybe heavy) down securely and not get in the way of bulk moving?

As delivered, it has a standard steel frame, channels 24" o.c. in the floor
with a PT 3/4" plywood floor. It has a heavy D-ring, bolted through to a
steel plate, in each corner.

I'm tending toward the idea of bolting down a pair of long runners (2x4?
4x4?) on the floor, maybe 4 feet apart and one cross piece at the nose. Then
I could just load in 4x8 sheets of anything without worrying about them
shifting. The runners maybe would be useful for skidding, rolling heavy
pallets around without wrecking the floor.

If you want to protect the floor, there's always your friendly
neighborhood Rhino Linings dealer.

How about wall anchors? Upscale strips that show up by Googling 'trailer
tiedowns'?

Aeroquip rails are the kind commercial trucks and moving vans use to
anchor the loads - available in both 'horizontal' and 'vertical' slot
styles.

On the floor might not be good, unless you build up the floor around
them with another glued down layer of plywood so the steel rails are
recessed.

The big advantage for the rails is going horizontal across the walls
at three or four levels, and riveting them down to each vertical wall
rib on the side - strengthens the trailer side walls a lot. And a
slot every two inches means you can always find one where you need it.

It has a ramp door. Does anyone have advice on a weight limit for loading
through it?

Not really, you'll have to call Haulmark and ask them - but if it
isn't hitched to a vehicle it WILL try to tip on it's ass while being
loaded with heavy things like motorcycles or lawn tractors.

Get a set of jack-stands for under the rear sill, or you can
permanently mount a pair of swing-up landing jacks just forward of the
tail lights.

-- Bruce --

outfitting a trailer
 

"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote:

On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 13:54:11 -0400, "Fred Klingener"
wrote:

I'm the proud owner of a nifty Haulmark 6x10 enclosed trailer that I'm going
to use for some wide range of things, most of which I don't know about yet.
I can come up with a lot of good ideas, but they're pretty worthless if I
can get advice from someone who's been through it already.

Question is, how do I outfit it to give me versatility in tying stuff (some
of it maybe heavy) down securely and not get in the way of bulk moving?

As delivered, it has a standard steel frame, channels 24" o.c. in the floor
with a PT 3/4" plywood floor. It has a heavy D-ring, bolted through to a
steel plate, in each corner.

I'm tending toward the idea of bolting down a pair of long runners (2x4?
4x4?) on the floor, maybe 4 feet apart and one cross piece at the nose. Then
I could just load in 4x8 sheets of anything without worrying about them
shifting. The runners maybe would be useful for skidding, rolling heavy
pallets around without wrecking the floor.

If you want to protect the floor, there's always your friendly
neighborhood Rhino Linings dealer.

How about wall anchors? Upscale strips that show up by Googling 'trailer
tiedowns'?

Aeroquip rails are the kind commercial trucks and moving vans use to
anchor the loads - available in both 'horizontal' and 'vertical' slot
styles.

On the floor might not be good, unless you build up the floor around
them with another glued down layer of plywood so the steel rails are
recessed.

The big advantage for the rails is going horizontal across the walls
at three or four levels, and riveting them down to each vertical wall
rib on the side - strengthens the trailer side walls a lot. And a
slot every two inches means you can always find one where you need it.

It has a ramp door. Does anyone have advice on a weight limit for loading
through it?

Not really, you'll have to call Haulmark and ask them - but if it
isn't hitched to a vehicle it WILL try to tip on it's ass while being
loaded with heavy things like motorcycles or lawn tractors.

Get a set of jack-stands for under the rear sill, or you can
permanently mount a pair of swing-up landing jacks just forward of the
tail lights.

-- Bruce --

A small winch is a big help getting heavy stuff up the ramp door safely.
I put a WarnWorks 3700 in my 8x24 trailer along with an onboard battery
for it.

outfitting a trailer
 

On Apr 7, 11:54*am, "Fred Klingener" wrote:
I'm the proud owner of a nifty Haulmark 6x10 enclosed trailer that I'm going
to use for some wide range of things, most of which I don't know about yet..
I can come up with a lot of good ideas, but they're pretty worthless if I
can get advice from someone who's been through it already.

Question is, how do I outfit it to give me versatility in tying stuff (some
of it maybe heavy) down securely and not get in the way of bulk moving?

As delivered, it has a standard steel frame, channels 24" o.c. in the floor
with a PT 3/4" plywood floor. It has a heavy D-ring, bolted through to a
steel plate, in each corner.

I'm tending toward the idea of bolting down a pair of long runners (2x4?
4x4?) on the floor, maybe 4 feet apart and one cross piece at the nose. Then
I could just load in 4x8 sheets of anything without worrying about them
shifting. The runners maybe would be useful for skidding, rolling heavy
pallets around without wrecking the floor.

How about wall anchors? Upscale strips that show up by Googling 'trailer
tiedowns'?

It has a ramp door. Does anyone have advice on a weight limit for loading
through it?

TIA,
Fred Klingener

To add a question to your discussion...does anyone have some good
discussion sites that talk about trailer outfitting?

I am planning on buying an enclosed trailer this year also.

TMT

outfitting a trailer
 

--Well there's rec.outdoors.rv-travel but not sure if that would
work. It's got a *lot* of traffic tho..

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Don't order chardonnay
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : at a pizza parlor...
www.nmpproducts.com
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---