Working on my workshop!
 

Been working on my trailer/workshop. Its a 16x8 tandem Pace trailer. I've had the trailer about 5 years now and until now its only been used as my race trailer for my Mx quads. Well now im gonna keep my quads in the shop and im going to make this trailer into my R/C workshop that i can take with me to the track, It still has to beable to hold two quads, generator,fuel jugs, ice chest, and gear to go to the MX races as well. without unloading any of my R/C stuff.

I started by removing the cabinets and fold down bed that were already inside.
http://l26.sphotos.l3.fbcdn.net/hpho..._8255341_n.jpg


I then stripped the lights and walls down and completely insulated everything by gluing 3/4" R-Max foam board insulation to the aluminum skin.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._4540783_n.jpg

Skip forward a litte bit and i had all the walls and new ceiling up, along with half of the new lights up. along with fresh gloss white paint.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7941519_n.jpg


I then Prepped it for the flooring
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3287836_n.jpg


Finished up the flooring tonight. Its bedliner, biggest PITA, end product is great but its a ton of work...
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._1635312_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...8_888339_n.jpg


I'm picking up all the wood for the cabinets on Monday morning. Tomorrow im putting the tounge tool box on along with mounting the new electrical panel inside, putting a new #10 cord that will roll up inside the tool box.

You can see in the pictures i already have A/C, i also have a nice thermostat controlled eletric heater to keep it toasty in there.

Ill have a 14x2' counter top down one side with a partswasher at the end (perfect for gears, shocks, etc.. and mainly ill use it to keep my MX airfilters) Itll have over head cabinets all the way down that side also. There with also be a 7.5x2.5 counter across the front.

I'm plumbing Air quick connects inside with a couple little coil hoses (one by parts washer and one by the door) my compressor will hook up outside the trailer with a short hose.

I've got alot of stuff I'll be doing here and there as ive only had 5 years to think of things to do to this trailer, if you know what i mean. I'll be spending alot of time in it so I'm gonna do it right.

You gotta figure out a way to get the bed back in there! Oh, and a microwave... :yes: :lol:

Hehe... Looks great so far. I like the idea of using the bed liner as flooring.

Nice work...thumbs up on the excessive lighting. Not enough light in a workshop is a pet peeve of mine:mdr:

If those shop lights have replaceable ballasts you can change out the ballasts for digital T8 ballasts and put T8 bulbs in and get about 40% more light output on the same power use, and no cold weather issues like T12 ballasts have too. If they are T8 already disregard my last sentence :)

I'd just go with LED lighting and forget the ballasts all together... :whistle:

lol, me too if money were no object:mdr:

they are the digital ballasts with 32w phillips 800 series T8 bulbs.

No such thing as too much light, shadows are for the birds!

Looks good Rootar...I raced quads a few years back and my trailer was 7-14..I have since removed the fold down beds ,fridge,sink..I'm not racing anymore so I just use it for storage...BTW I have a $10,0000 TRX 250r if ya wanna make me an offer???

Really......... Don't look directly at them! :lol:

pfft i've got dual 55w 6000k HIDs for my jetta. :party:

Ive got a few R-based bikes, I definetly don't need any more. I havent ridden since labor day when i jacked my shoulder all to hell, orthopedic gave me the green light to ride just this week and the all clear in mid febuary. Here is one of mine
http://www.atvriders.com/qotm/quad-o...ustom-atv.html

except now it has a houser/Fox front end on it like in this crappy pic.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._1411915_n.jpg

Sweet rolling dog house for when the wifey is on the war path !

Nice Job, Very envious !!!!!

I've thought about doing something similar but with a smaller trailer, like 10x6, basically just as a way to free up my apt and keep everything together.

I prefer the term "Hideout" rather than doghouse

this is amazing. I would love to a have an RC trailer eventually! :D awe inspiring to say the least. Great work on it as well!

Coodos on the trailer.
 

I agree. Great work all around. I love the flooring idea, the lighting, the work to insulate the walls, and of course the A/C is a must have for those hot summer days. Very cool idea transforming the mobile into a rolling R/C workshop. I to would find a way to keep the bed in there just in case you end up needing it. Maybe put it up higher out of the way. This is a nice inspiration for others to maybe use a second hand trailer for their workshop. Nice thread. I look forward to seeing the project comepleted.

Good work there rootar. Don't forget to have at least a couple of ways to keep it locked down:

http://www.rcfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26593

Yeah, trailer thefts suck, especially since they are so easy to steal sometimes. My dad had his Harley trailer stolen a couple years ago. They found it up the street with the doors broken into. Luckily it was empty beforehand but a lot of thieves see trailers as easy pickings unfortunately. :(

Nice work on your trailer though! I think this is something I may be doing sometime in the future, a mobile workshop to head to the track would be great. I love the bed liner floor idea, haven't seen that before. :yes:

Taking the wheels off and putting on stands is the best way to deter theft... If not the most convenient... At least get a good lock for the front, the shackle type that has a plate that covers the ball reciver look to be the best. And maybe chain thru the rims so it cannot roll.

When its at the house I have the round locks that you cant get to with a bolt cutter, tounge has a "guard dog" hitch lock, I've used cable locks through the wheels before i had the hitch lock, i might have to start doing that agian even though i have the hitch lock.

I do have insurance on the trailer with bikes in it but i might have to look at adding/updating it to inculde the value of this renovation along with the big $$$$ amount of r/c stuff inside.

Locked up
 

Besides all of the various trailer locks I used, I always kept mine in our backyard. I built a huge heavy duty double gate on one side of the house and kept the trailer locked inside the gate. Having insurance is the best way to protect your investment, but we have to protect our property from theft as well. Its bad enough on a regular basis, and now with our economy taking a dive theives become more bold. They always look for the easy theft, but some are are just so dammed stupid and desperate that they will try anything to make a few bucks.

I had a Halloween party at my house in Orlando, Fl one year and during the party had my garage door open. As the party began to wind down 3AM two guys walked right into my garage while some of us were still hanging out in teh house, and cleaned out whatever they could load up in their car. I tried to catch them, but by the time I got into my car and drove off after them it was too late. They disapeared into the dark with their lights off. I lost about $3K in tools that night.

Just a note of interest my insurance company would not pay up, because I did not have an active inventory or any receipts to prove exactly what I had lost. Take photos, log serial numbers, and create an updated inventory list for evidence, or you to may get burned by your insurance company. Cataloged photos and pics of serial # are your best proof.

I need to make a decision on my counter top so i can get it ordered. I can either go with Formica (laminate) counter top surface, or go with .030" 2024 T3 aluminum. either would be glued to 3/4" cabinet grade birch.


What would you guys go with? I have brushed aluminum handles, knobs and trim in the trailer. If i go with the laminate then it will be a light slate grey color.

Aluminum
 

Personally I would go with the aluminum. Getting a laminant countertop is cheap and easy but it damages easily to. The aluminum will give your shop a nice clean industrial look that is tough and should hold up much better than the laminant. Just my two cents.

These might be good, no idea of quality but I've seen them around.

http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/...ble-wheel-lock

they are basically the same price, the aluminum might actaully be cheaper honestly i gotta double check. that laminate is close to $3 per sq ft with tax and all. the aluminum ill hace to drive a ways to get and then use an 8foot break to put my back splash and front lip on.

I wouldn't go with aluminum, it's a soft material so it will get dinged up and chewed up while working on it. Stainless would be a much better choice

Agreed
 

I agree with stainless steel, but it all depends on your budget. Your shop is not all that big so maybe teh investment would be worth it to go with something more durable. Plus stainless would be at least double the weight for a trailer.

Ill have to look into stainless steel today. Not concerned a whole lot about weight, It wont be pulled with a half ton truck or any thing. My superduty doesn't even know this baby is behind it.

im still afraid stainless would look like hell after awhile, getting all scratched up.

Just give it a 600 grit wet sanding and the scratches will go away! :yes:

or i can just wipe off the laminate.....


still trying to decide

why not go with a std laminate kitchen counter? or do you need a custom width? 8 foot pre made lam counter is around 80 bucks at lowes iirc.

What about using the spray-on bedliner for the work surfaces and countertop also?

Or use the laminate and get some thick rubber mat cut to size and lay over it. That would definitely help parts to stay put, and protect the counter (and the parts). And you could replace it fairly easily if needed.

For some reason, a lot of bare metal around lipos doesn't sound like a good idea to me. I like the laminate idea. Or worst case, get some smooth plywood and paint it. Our old hobby shop had tables like that and they took a beating.

Good points.
 

Some good points made. What I did was put two 3/4" plywood base boards down to give me 1 1/2" on our shop workbench and then applied a rubber floor treatment over it. It looks great and it is very durable and easy to keep clean. You can get a good variety of rubber applications to make it look just about any way that you want.

Just to clarify what I used is something I acquired from our housing maintenance department. It looks like lenolium because it comes in rolls, but is is the same stuff used on electrical workbenches to reduce static charges and resist conductivity. Seemed like a good idea because of the Lipo batteries, and also because it was free. I just glued it over the plywood countertop with contact cement. If it acquires too much damage you just peal it off and apply a new layer. Very good stuff.

What about epoxy floor coating over plywood? That stuff is invincible...

I'm still leaning toward the laminate, i prefer a nice hard counter top the anti-static mat wouldn't be good for me.

anyone wanna see some sketches of the cabinets that i did? or would yall rather me just finish the damn things and quit talking about them? lol

How about all of the above?

Or, get granite!

Haha, in all seriousness, I think it would be nice to have a two-tone thing going on, the sides being (if it's in a U shape) nice, an shiny (aluminum, or whatever you wish), and then the center as a blackish color, rubber, etc. You could use the center (top of the U) as the "charging" area, and where all of your soldering takes place...

Just my $0.02.

Charging station
 

Designing and building in a Lipo charging station would be a nice add on as well. Something that would be a nice fireproof box with an exhaust fan to keep air temps at a minimum and also minimize smoke issues should you have a pack let go on you. The issue I have with simple laminant countertops is that they scratch, crack, and break much too easily and then they just look like dog crap. They were a good idea in the 70's, but now a days they are just a cheap way to go for people on an extremely tight budget. Don't short change your project and end up regretting it later on. Do it right the first time around and you will be pleased that you did. There are literally dozens of options at your disposal so make your choice considering the usage of the shop for both R/C repair work, and for your quad repair work as well. You want something extremely durable that cleans up nicely, and will last a long time.

here is my original sketch, the actaul plans aren't here but not much changed.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5110800_n.jpg

on the left you see the parts washer, it has a shop towel dispenser and spray can rack above it (it will also have compressed air with a short coil hose there)

below the parts washer is a big cabinet (prolly keep my tire wash bucket and cleaning stuff in there along with w/e else)

next to that cabinet is a set of shelves that are angled down towards the back, those are for all my bodies.

the 3 sections of overhead cabinets are 54 inches longs each and all have a 4 foot florescent light under each.

the center section of cabinets will have two smaller top drawers and two larger lower drawers. the tops will be for tools, hardware, and oils. the lowers are for parts.

under neath the front left corner is where ill keep my trunk that i take when i dont take the trailer (such as to rock crawling events)

The front left corner up there will be home to all my chargers and a stationary 12v power supply will be mounted directly under the counter (prolly atleast a 12v 45 amp setup)

coming around the front youll see another set of drawers the top will be for my lipos (yes theyll be in lipo sacks) and my different balance boards. the two lower drawers are very large the top for buggy and sc tires, the bottom for truggy and crawler tires. (it might not hold all my tires but i can always toss some tires in the trunk)

then there is another section with a wide drawer on top and cabinet underneath, ill keep a setup station and my setup sheets and manuals in the drawer. Im sure the cabinet will end up with a bunch of junk in it.

the car rack for all the car will be on the opposite wall

I think i'm going to be very happy with how much countertop space i'll have so i can spread out and stay organized better.

So now that you have the plan.. I can't wait to see what really ends up happening..

We all PLAN for countertop space....but..

if i fill up all that counter top then all hell has broke loose in that trailer.

That looks like it is going to be an awesome setup! How many cars do you usually race at an event? I struggle with one. :lol:
For the lipo setup have you seen this?