Enclosed or Flatbed?

MHasterok

New member
I'm at a toss up between an enclosed trailer or an open flatbed trailer. My main problem is I don't have a shop, and I live in a master planned community with HOA, so can't keep any type of trailer at the house.

I found a storage company with 24 hour access for a reasonable monthly rate. For security reasons, I'd rather have an enclosed trailer.

I'm sure flatbeds are easier to work out of, and potential customers can see all the equipment which could look good. Enclosed trailers have alot of advertising space. Lots of benefits for both.

Question for those that have enclosed trailers: With a hot water unit, do you vent out the exaust from the burner, or let it blow onto the trailer roof?
 
Vent it! We use an enclosed van. Venting is a necessity. We also pull the gas cans out at every job, and when we park at the garage!
Did you just add a roof vent, or do you run a duct from the burner to the vent?
 
Model it after my competitions rig.


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I'm at a toss up between an enclosed trailer or an open flatbed trailer. My main problem is I don't have a shop, and I live in a master planned community with HOA, so can't keep any type of trailer at the house.

I found a storage company with 24 hour access for a reasonable monthly rate. For security reasons, I'd rather have an enclosed trailer.

I'm sure flatbeds are easier to work out of, and potential customers can see all the equipment which could look good. Enclosed trailers have alot of advertising space. Lots of benefits for both.

Question for those that have enclosed trailers: With a hot water unit, do you vent out the exaust from the burner, or let it blow onto the trailer roof?

Hey mike, I was in the same situation when I started out. Ideally a trailer is perfect for what we do. I also lived in a gated complex with no room for a trailer. I looked at a few storage places to park but it was expensive and none where 24hrs. I ended up getting a box truck. I do like it but still think an open trailer would work out alot better. I was also afraid of equipment growing legs on an open trailer. I since found a house with rv parking and it has worked out great. I back the truck in and close the gate. Here is a pick when I first moved in.......
 

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I would love the rolling billboard aspect of an enclosed trailer But Ill tell you what Im 6'1" and Ive yet to see a regular cargo trailer with doors taller than 5'9" or so.

Ducking gets old.....not ducking hurts:wacko:


Seriously, Im about to have to buy a new trailer and I think Im going to go with a 16' pipe top utility trailer with 6k axles.
 
Yeah, I wish I had an rv lot. Right now my skid & tank, etc., are in the back of my truck. Great for drive thrus, but busting out of it. Ran out of room the day I started that way a year ago.
 
We fabricated a little duct work on vertical burners. I figured if I got a horizontal, we would likely skip the duct. We also have a powerful fan in the van (those used to dry carpets).
We went with an open trailer with tank until we didn't need the tank. Then we switched to just the truck bed with custom racks. We learned to live with limited space, and easy maneuverability was well worth it! Both options risked equipment evolving legs...
When we finally switched to the van, it was a dream come true. It's a little more difficult to work on, but everything has it's place. The only down side, the truck was crew cab, and the van only has two seats... That hurts when we decide we want a third person or just catching a ride to a beach job.
 
Model it after my competitions rig.


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Let's see spare parts, trip to the bone yard, $20 in beer.......:lol::lol:

What's the problem?:rotflmao1::rotflmao1::duck:
 
I am really glad I went with an enclosed rig. I think it is very professional and is really good for advertising. I spent a really long time measuring and planning before I went with it though.


I have to disagree, I have had many open trailers and just one box truck, and one enclosed trailer. I hear all the time that we were chosen for a project simply because they were able to see our equipment, they understand that we are here to get the job done and we are a serious player in the game. A large pw company here in Florida has enclosed trucks, and we just beat them for a large project because the PM saw the rigs.

Enclosed are very professional, but a million of them running around, may just get lost in the crowd.
 

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I'm at a toss up between an enclosed trailer or an open flatbed trailer. My main problem is I don't have a shop, and I live in a master planned community with HOA, so can't keep any type of trailer at the house.

I found a storage company with 24 hour access for a reasonable monthly rate. For security reasons, I'd rather have an enclosed trailer.

I'm sure flatbeds are easier to work out of, and potential customers can see all the equipment which could look good. Enclosed trailers have alot of advertising space. Lots of benefits for both.

Question for those that have enclosed trailers: With a hot water unit, do you vent out the exaust from the burner, or let it blow onto the trailer roof?
i like the enclosed but make sure you set it up to be user freindly be cause they can be a pain to work out of and your equipment stays nicer longer
 
I have both an enclosed trailer that is 18ft in length with stronger axles put on it and an open trailer 18ft trailer that is rated about 13,000lbs. I like them both and they both serve a different purpose. A parking garage we bring both trailers but the enclosed waits outside due to its height but in that enclosed we carry many valuable tools, machinery such as surface machines etc and they all can be locked up in there so they would be harder to steal. When we do residential work we always use the enclosed trailer because it has just about everything you can think of in it or on it.

So to me its basically what you are setting up your trailer for. There is no perfect system but you must think out exactly what it is your trying to do and what security you need and what can go wrong etc. Tough decision so thats why we have both:)
 
I have to disagree, I have had many open trailers and just one box truck, and one enclosed trailer. I hear all the time that we were chosen for a project simply because they were able to see our equipment, they understand that we are here to get the job done and we are a serious player in the game. A large pw company here in Florida has enclosed trucks, and we just beat them for a large project because the PM saw the rigs.

Enclosed are very professional, but a million of them running around, may just get lost in the crowd.

Yea, yours do look pretty sharp. There are advantages and disadvantages of both. I do like the rolling billboard. If I had a large Hot water unit I would probably get an open but would not get rid of my enclosed. It is just way to good for residential work. One other thing I like about enclosed is the organization. Lots of wall space to hang things and mount everything.
 
I am not sure if what I am doing by not putting signs on the rigs is good or bad, but we can not have them on the trailers when we go someplace's by contract.

But even when not on those properties, we get lots of people coming up to us and looking over the equipment. I would say that we land 20 projects of at least 1k+ per year per trailer this way, I guess I like the fact that we can track where people got a hold of us.:deadhorse:

A trip to Home Depot on a Saturday morning is guaranteed sale. Lots of guys standing around the trailer when I come out.
 
Yea, yours do look pretty sharp. There are advantages and disadvantages of both. I do like the rolling billboard. If I had a large Hot water unit I would probably get an open but would not get rid of my enclosed. It is just way to good for residential work. One other thing I like about enclosed is the organization. Lots of wall space to hang things and mount everything.
Yeah, that wall space is nice to organize!
 
I have to disagree, I have had many open trailers and just one box truck, and one enclosed trailer. I hear all the time that we were chosen for a project simply because they were able to see our equipment, they understand that we are here to get the job done and we are a serious player in the game. A large pw company here in Florida has enclosed trucks, and we just beat them for a large project because the PM saw the rigs.

Enclosed are very professional, but a million of them running around, may just get lost in the crowd.
Love the lights Joe! Are those all tied together ran off a generator?
 
Love the lights Joe! Are those all tied together ran off a generator?


Solar powered, with a back up hamster wheel tied to an alternator.:joyful:

Yes they are off a generator, the lights are in two circuits from one 230v 50amp plug split into two 120v leads, with switches on the side of the trailer. They are 500w halogens very brite they draw 34 amps with 8 on, perfect for night work cause they are spread a distance along the trailer so it helps to cut down on shadows. The first trailer I built with these lights, they were not much over my head, so walking by them in the summer was brutal, give you a flash tan for sure.
 
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