Looking to upgrade soon to a larger trailer. For those who have done both enclosed and open trailer what are the pros and cons to each? No need to state the obvious of lower gas mileage with an enclosed. I am considering an enclosed for appearance reasons.
Thanks!
If you are in a cold region without a shop, a space heater in an enclosed trailer is a must. Enclosed gives more space to hang things and build shelves. It also is rough on machines that are air cooled and bleach fumes are horrible on equipment. Open trailer means machines run better. Having said all that, any trailer is far inferior to a work truck with equipment mounted on it
I am just working on getting started but plan to go with an enclosed, it gets pretty cold here during winter so it only makes sense. Also I like the idea of keeping the equipment out of the weather year around. With an enclosed you can lock it up if needed, but I imagine an open trailer would be easier when needing to access certain things and you can throw a hose over any side. I plan on going with a 14’ enclosed next month, then comes the big money for the equipment in it!
I agree. Having just a truck with mounted equipment is the best option, but an enclosed would be the second best option.
Ive had my enclosed for a while now. I don’t have any regrets. The only difficulty I have with it is in some areas of the city where parking is tight, I have a hard time getting close to the house. I end up having to plan and schedule around parking. Just had to do a job on Sunday morning at 7am due to no parking any other time. Dropped the trailer in one spot, parked in another and ran 350’ of hose.
Another thing to consider is one way streets. If you mount your reels going out the door it’s only going to be easy on one side of the street. I have a brackets mounted on the ceiling that redirects the hose out of the rear. It’s a pain. It’s 7x14.
Mind sharing a few photos of these brackets? Been debating on mounting mine to the ceiling of my trailer as well.
It’s a bracket made of wood for storing my surface cleaner. It’s not a bracket for mounting the hose reel. When I have to pull the hose out the rear I just feed it through this wood bracket. It’s nothing fancy. Probably not worth replicating. It’s one of the reasons I want to learn how to weld.
Ahh ok I was thinking you had the reels fastened on the ceiling and had like a lock and pin setup where you could swivel the direction of the reel.
Best thing about enclosed trailer is when you have to use the bathroom!!! Just shut the door do what you have to do…
For anyone who has had open and enclosed set ups, do you find that customers like seeing the equipment on your rig or the nice look of an enclosed trailer? Watched a video recently and the guy mentioned he landed a few jobs because the clients liked his rig (open trailer). Setting up a trailer in the spring and I personally like the looks of enclosed but also having fresh air for the machine to run on makes a lot of sense as well. Thanks
I saw a guys build with large side panels that opened up. Get lots of air movement and ventilation plus access that way. Best of both worlds maybe If only able to use a trailer not a truck. I hated my trailer, too much of a pain dragging everywhere and not even worth dealing with it for small jobs. Trucks don’t work for everybody though.
Customers do not care what your trailer looks like, most will never see it. Having said that, if you have junk equipment, put it in an enclosed trailer so no one else can see it.
99% of customers haven’t got a clue what they are looking at. It’s a sophisticated space shuttle to them.
Thanks for the input
If having a truck mounted equipment, better be sure it never breaks down or get into an accident. Unless you have a backup plan, you’ll be a sitting duck without making any money…just a thought!
How do you make sure reality doesn’t happen?
I’ve got a 2nd mini trailer. I haven’t mounted it all yet but the 9gpm and 5.5 will be on it. Then the “big” enclosed will have the 8, 5.5 and 5gpm if needed. Plus hot h2o, so that’s how I’m going to avoid that potential problemo. Bonus is the minitrailer is so manueverable in tight spaces.
Exactly my point; you can’t. That’s why I stray away from having equipment on a truck.
All of my equipment is mounted on a custom frame with fork tracks. 12 nuts and the entire setup can be removed and installed in any 8’ bed. Of course this wouldn’t be practical for the occasional breakdown but if the trucks engine blew up, got totaled or replaced you could start again in a few hours time.
What’s your idea of a skid?
