Boxing a Utility Trailer | How Well Will This Work? | Man About Home

[@WalterWedler]

Great video! You simplified my project.

[@manabouthome]

Awesome! I'm glad it helped! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@PProgress28]

Stopping by to say thanks for this content. I used your method to box in my trailer. It's solid and I'll get a lot more use out of it now. Thanks very much.

[@manabouthome]

You're welcome. I'm happy to hear you found it helpful. Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@guven1001]

Best trailer customization on KZbin and much respect for the talent. Thank you!!🙏

[@manabouthome]

@@guven1001 Thank you very much. There are some good conversations in the comments regarding possible improvements. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@russellborns7575]

Thank you for taking the time to show the detail in the build. Nice work Sir!

[@manabouthome]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@G.I.JeffsWorkbench]

Great job making a straightforward DIY improvement to a basic utility trailer. You might want to stain or paint the plywood to help it resist moisture (you’ve probably already thought of this / done it. Thanks especially for taking your time to explain the steps to completing this project. Very helpful and useful video!

[@manabouthome]

You're welcome. The trailer spends the Winter in the barn, so I haven't been too concerned with treating the wood. But it's a good idea. Thanks for watching!

[@quintonstone7324]

The channel where your tail light wiring runs through the sides of the trailer,. I took my boards and notched out for that metal tube so that my wall sides fit flush to the rails.

[@manabouthome]

That's a good idea. If I ever remove my sides for some reason, I might do the same. Thanks!

[@ericturner2477]

Nicely done. I've been mulling over in my mind the idea of building a box that can sit in my utility trailer bed, and that has a tilt/dump capability.

[@manabouthome]

Thank you for watching! Good luck with your trailer box.

[@DarrellMcKay-o4f]

I like your idea and i'm gonna use it ...thank you !!!

[@manabouthome]

Cool! Good luck with it!

[@saintbyron5150]

Great design, thanks for sharing

[@aerongn]

Thank you so much for the detail instruction. I like your setup and would like to know the height of the sides?

[@manabouthome]

The bed is 5 feet wide X 8 feet long. So I cut two 4X8 plywood lengthways into two pieces. Each 4X8 was cut 2-1/2 feet wide by 8 feet, leaving 18 inches x 8 feet for each side. 18 inch sides are more than enough to overload my trailer with manure... that's too heavy. But I fill dry mulch or compost to the top, and that seems like a heavy but reasonable load. Thanks for watching!

[@herbmowery6320]

Thank you for a wonderful and informative video. I have the exact same trailer and been looking at doing something similar for a while now. Thanks again and have fun with the trailer projects.

[@manabouthome]

You're welcome and good luck with your project! Thanks for watching!

[@richardhineline5018]

Love this! I think I will do something similar. Maybe use wing nuts for quicker removal. But great video!!

[@manabouthome]

Thank you for watching, and good luck!

[@smathe3]

Looks great, Sir.

[@manabouthome]

Thank you. Thanks for watching!

[@benjaminf1004]

Thank you. Good video. Can you still open the back ramp on the trailer with the wood in there?

[@manabouthome]

Thank you. You ask a good question. Yes, you can open the back ramp with the wood in there. However, the way I'm using it, the bottom of the wooden back panel is held from being pushed out by the load, with a 2x4 I simply lay down in there... between the bottom of the wooden back and the ramp. The top of the wood panel is firmly held in place by the brackets. So I have to remove the pressure on the wood by unloading the back part of the trailer before dropping the gate and removing the back panel. Now I'm thinking of improving this design by making the back wooden panel the full 60" wide. That way it can sit up against the back edges of the side panels. ...and be held in place with wooden blocks between the panel and the gate. Then if I want to open the gate, the load will push the wooden panel out and I can remove it, and unload materials down the ramp. Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@elmiewho29]

Sure does have alot of drag through that open Mesh lol 🤣

[@manabouthome]

It makes a big difference for sure. Thanks for watching.

[@mickstermouseter7059]

I have this exact same trailer except mine is 10 ft long. It's a nice trailer, except they really goofed with the electric conduit placement and the side post cup placement. The top rail doesn't allow a sideboard upright to go past. There is absolutely, NO clearance. They must have designed that on a Monday or a Friday. I am going to do my box very similar to yours, except I am making it 3ft tall and the front will be removable so when pulling it empty, I don't lose that 5 to 7 MPG the front board or the tailgate steals, when it's in the full upright position. My tailgate will lay completely flat when folded forwards. That's how it always rides, unless it has to be higher due to the load I am hauling, mine came with the wooden floor already installed, Then I tie the tailgate down as far forward as possible. I was very surprised to see how bad my fuel mileage was when I pulled it empty with the ramp in the fully upright position. You did a great job on your box and made it at a great price. Happy New Year!

[@manabouthome]

Thank you. Sounds like a good plan. You might consider cutting a groove in the side boards to accept the electrical conduit. That's the only thing I would do differently. Happy New Year to you too!

[@heiser_bill]

Thanks for sharing this. I’ve been mulling over a solution for this and yours looks like the best one for my needs. Did you notch out the sides to accommodate the wiring conduit?

[@manabouthome]

No, I didn't notch it. I just had a look at my trailer... There's conduit along the inside of the sides about a half inch or so above the wooden floor boards, so it does protrude approximately 1/2" into the trailer bed area. My wooden box sides are simply placed against the conduit. So the side boards are forced to have a slight bend at the front and rear to get around them. This works fine for my uses. I'm moving loose materials, and the slight bend in my sidewalls doesn't cause any problems. But I can see how maybe someday, if I remove the side boards for some reason, I could plow a 1/2" deep router groove, at the right height, along that part of the side board to allow for a flatter fit against the angle iron side rails. It might be smart to mark the channel location with the side boards in place, before removing them. But it's been working just fine for my purposes as is. So I'm not prioritizing this esthetic improvement. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@heiser_bill]

@@manabouthome Thanks for the detailed reply!

[@manabouthome]

@@heiser_bill You're welcome. Let me know how it turns out!

[@dolfinwriter5389]

@@manabouthome It looks like they fit pretty flat as it is. I assumed you had notched the side boards around the conduit. I have an old trailer that had really crappy wiring when I bought it. I'm going to completely rewire mine, but I'm thinking of using PVC conduit and run it down low instead. It has no sides at all and previously had brackets for 2X4 stakes, but some of those are broken off. I think I'll take off all of the brackets and then make an angle iron frame like these factory trailers, and then box it like yours. Thanks for the idea!

[@manabouthome]

@@dolfinwriter5389 I don't know why they didn't run the wiring underneath the deck to begin with. It's a good idea to run it below. Good luck with your trailer improvements. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@susandudley171]

Nice work 👏. Do you tarp mulch?

[@manabouthome]

Yes. I use a tarp to keep it from blowing out of the trailer as I'm going down the road. It works good.

[@henryshort6927]

What about when it rains ? The plywood turns to crap.

[@manabouthome]

What do you mean by crap? It's pressure treated, so it's very decay resistant. And I'm loading it with manure and compost. So, literally crap. I don't care how it looks. I guess it depends what you're using it for. If you're not using it for loose materials, you probably don't need it. If you need it to be pretty... well, what do people do with nice wood? Seal it/finish it/protect it. I leave it outside all Summer. It spends Winter inside my barn. It's two years old now and looks ok. It'll last a good long time. Thanks for watching.

[@joudomsouk]

How thick is the plywood? Looks hardy. 3/4"?

[@manabouthome]

Yes 3/4". I prefer 3/4" for the floor. But I guess 1/2" or 5/8" would be ok for the sides... I used all 3/4". Thanks for watching!

[@Jim-xl4pd]

Great job

[@manabouthome]

@@Jim-xl4pd Thank you! And thanks for watching.

[@noahriding5780]

Are these utility trailer kits sturdy enough to like enclose and turn into campers? Can they take the weight?

[@manabouthome]

This trailer isn't a kit. It comes fully assembled from Tractor Supply, Home Depot, etc. I've been scheming to build a teardrop style camper that can easily be loaded onto the trailer, and unloaded when not in use. They have a maximum gross vehicle weight of 2000 pounds, 400 of which is the trailer itself. So they can carry 1600 pounds. The bed is 5' x 8'. So a good teardrop size. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@marcodevries4481]

Wind drag on open mesh?! The front of the trailer will add far more

[@manabouthome]

@marcodevries4481 The front of the trailer isn't exposed. It's in the slip stream close to the back of the tow vehicle. It's similar to how NASCAR drivers draft behind each other. When one car is close to the back of the other they both go faster because there's less wind resistance. When the ramp gate is straight up, it literally puts an up force on the front of the trailer causing it to rattle and clunk as it tries to pull up off the ball hitch. (Empty trailer.) There's a lot of drag created by that ramp gate. You don't imagine that tight open mesh is aerodynamic do you? It isn't! Thank you for watching and commenting. You might be surprised. When I remove the roof rack cross bars on the Subaru, my MPG increases by more than 1 MPG. Every little bit of drag causes efficiency loses. I can feel a significant difference if I'm pulling the trailer with the ramp gate up vs. down as I said in the video. It's probably not as noticeable with a 8 cylinder truck vs. a 4 banger car.