Doing up a trailer

[Leo Walker]

I just bought myself a lovely, new to me, Discovery and an old Bahill trailer. The car is fine, the trailer has been stood for a while and is in need of some TLC. Its going to the trailer man to be serviced and have the floor checked out properly and replaced if necessary but I'm hoping to do the rest myself.

Its huge! Will take 2 x 17.2hh and is as big as a 510 at least. Its incredibly lightweight at 750kgs ish and I've got the disco to pull it so weight isnt an issue. Is an aluminium floor any better than a wooden one? if it needs to be replaced? I'm leaning towards wood as its cheaper unless there is a good reason not to?

The paint is flaking off, so will have to be sanded back and redone. Is there an easy way to sand an entire trailer? I assume then decent primer then paint? Anyone have any ideas how much it costs to have them professionally sprayed? I'm all for doing it myself but if I've seen some handpainted trailers and it doesnt look good! What paint is best?

What sort of mats are best for the floor? Ordinary stable ones? What havent I thought of? For those people that have done this, what would you do differently?

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

I had to have the chassis re-welded on the old Rice trailer I purchased years ago. I had a wooden floor put back in as my B-in-L is a chippie so we sourced marine ply and it cost a fraction of what it cost me years later to have done professionally. If you don't intend keeping it long term then as long as it is keep clean and dry it should be ok. I got rubber matting from our local carpet warehouse at about £25 each one. Damn heavy things though.

I sanded it myself with a household sander. Primer was just an ordinary one. I then found a car paint bodywork place, I got them to colour match the main body paint to my disco. I did a cream top to help reflect the heat. Careful painting gave a good finish (well I like to think so anyway! )

I went to our local tyre workshop and got them to put a new set of tyres on for me which was £160.

It cost me £400 to buy and I spent that and more doing it up!!!!

 

[Leo Walker]

Mines cost less than that but I'm expecting to spend triple what I paid for it getting it how I want it. But I decided it was better to buy one cheap and do that and know its right, than buy one where someone else has done the work and I dont know the quality. Its light enough that I can pull it on a post 97 licence as well if I ever have to, I'd have to downgrade the car first. But still, thats a huge selling point for me

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Yep, doing the work yourself is far better I have to agree. When mine was completed it was so nice knowing that it was smart and ship shape.

 

[ester]

Re the paint, there have definitely been some interesting discussions on the Horsebox fb groups about it, a lot of mixing 50:50 with oil?? and stuff which seems to work well.

 

[rabatsa]

I went for the aluminium floor as it is rot proof. Having had two wooden floored trailers that have needed new floors in the past and not wanting to risk any legs falling through I decided to try the aluminium and like it so far. I have used rubber mats sold for horsebox floors. We used a compressor with a paint spray thingy for the painting.

 

[Leo Walker]

Re the paint, there have definitely been some interesting discussions on the Horsebox fb groups about it, a lot of mixing 50:50 with oil?? and stuff which seems to work well.

I must have missed them, but then it didnt matter when I didnt have a trailer to paint. Tag me if you see any more please!

 

[Leo Walker]

We used a compressor with a paint spray thingy for the painting.

Thats a really good idea!

 

[teddypops]

I painted my old trailer with outdoor gloss paint. I used a small roller rather than a brush and the end result looked good.

 

[PaddyMonty]

For painting...
First you need to rub down the current paint until all loose paint is removed and and different paint layers are blended in without ridges. Orbital sander is good for this but dont buy the sanding pads from DIY shop. Too expensive.
Next if any of the base material of the trailer is showing it will need to be primed. If ali that would need acid etch primer, other (wood, steel etc) would need appropriate treatment.
Then if you want to do a decent job the whole trailer would be primed with a barrier base coat. This prevents the new paint reacting with the old.
Follow this with top colour coats and if required clear coat lacquer.
Sequence in pics below (lorry I built for wife)
Exposed metal (ali)

All exposed metal sprayed with acid etch. You can see in this pic the whole truck has been sanded down but not removed all the old paint.

Whole truck sprayed with base coat

Base colour coat added

Finally with clear coat to produce the shine

I used 2 pack paints on this as wanted the finish to really last. Still looks the same after 5 years stood out in all weather.

Other options would be polyurethane paint which could be be brushed on or applied with roller etc but will never be as good as a decent spray job.

As you are in Npton I'm happy to pop round, take a look and give you advice and options.

ETA - I don't do this a s a day job so not looking for jobs and certainly wont be taking any on

 

[Leo Walker]

As you are in Npton I'm happy to pop round, take a look and give you advice and options.

ETA - I don't do this a s a day job so not looking for jobs and certainly wont be taking any on

I might well take you up on that! I'm happy to do the hard work, but I've never done anything like this before, well I refurbed a carriage not so long ago, but this is a bigger project.

Are the electric paint sprayers any good? They seem very cheap! I'm keeping an eye out for a compressor, if I can buy one second hand then I can sell it on when I'm done. I'm reasonably adept with a can of spray paint, so should be able to do a reasonable job.

 

[PaddyMonty]

Electric sprayers are useless. Good for painting a fence but that's it.
Compressor needs to have a good volume of air both in term of Storage (tank size) and output CFM (Cubic feet per minute). You will also need a pressure regulator and a filter/moisture trap. Can get all in one regulator/filter/trap.
Depending on when you need it you may be able to borrow my compressor and spray gun. I just need to replace the pressure switch first. I rarely use them these days. Also have an orbital sander that runs off the compressor.

 

[Beausmate]

I went for the aluminium floor as it is rot proof. Having had two wooden floored trailers that have needed new floors in the past and not wanting to risk any legs falling through I decided to try the aluminium and like it so far. I have used rubber mats sold for horsebox floors. We used a compressor with a paint spray thingy for the painting.

Not true. It doesn't rot like wood does, obviously, but aluminium corrodes and needs to be checked too. Look for white, powdery patches and have a good look round anywhere it is in contact with steel, as the two metals react with each other.

 

[Leo Walker]

Electric sprayers are useless. Good for painting a fence but that's it.
Compressor needs to have a good volume of air both in term of Storage (tank size) and output CFM (Cubic feet per minute). You will also need a pressure regulator and a filter/moisture trap. Can get all in one regulator/filter/trap.
Depending on when you need it you may be able to borrow my compressor and spray gun. I just need to replace the pressure switch first. I rarely use them these days. Also have an orbital sander that runs off the compressor.

I'm so glad I asked. I've just saved myself from buying something useless!

 

[ester]

I def think you should go for the red + silver in the thread I tagged .

 

[spacefaer]

We had a Rice trailer professionally re-painted - he stripped the old paint back to the aluminium. He used two pack car paint and it looks like a new trailer. Beautifully glossy.

In terms of putting an ally floor on a steel chassis, it helps if you put a layer of silicone between the two. Stops the catalysation (sp?) process, rotting the ally.

 

[OWLIE185]

The issue with aluminium floors is that you will need a membrane between the chassis and aluminium floor otherwise there will be a galvanic action which will damage the aluminium floor.
Ensure that you get your post code painted on the roof of your trailer in large lettering so that if stolen it can be easily identified.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

I did up my ancient Rice trailer. The chassis, brakes and floor were dealt with by a professional. The original floor was replaced with thick wooden planks with a small (2mm or so) gap between each one. This meant that I could see all the floor and check it myself. My sons horse pees as soon as he gets in a trailer so the small gaps meant it all drained through immediately and the floor stayed dry! I didn't use mats but simply put in some fresh straw or shavings each time and swept it all out at the end. I used a pressure washer a couple of times a year only for a deep clean then aired and dried it all thoroughly.
I sanded the outside to get rid of loose paint and give a smooth surface but did not take it right back to bare metal. I used Hammerite paint applied with a good quality brush which gave a decent finish - smooth with no drips or runs. I shopped round a bit locally and found some on discount at a local shop so the total cost was not ridiculous.

 

[turnbuckle]

The issue with aluminium floors is that you will need a membrane between the chassis and aluminium floor otherwise there will be a galvanic action which will damage the aluminium floor.
Ensure that you get your post code painted on the roof of your trailer in large lettering so that if stolen it can be easily identified.

Best membrane is thin neoprene tape.

But really a decent buffalo board (phenolic ply) will do fine as a floor.

 

[Goldenstar]

Not true. It doesn't rot like wood does, obviously, but aluminium corrodes and needs to be checked too. Look for white, powdery patches and have a good look round anywhere it is in contact with steel, as the two metals react with each other.

It makes me so mad when people say aluminium is rot proof, it corrodes and can be just as lethal as wood when it's neglected .
However there's no way I would put a wooden floor back in a trailer .

 

[ROG]

PM member trailer guy who should be able to advise well

 

[Leo Walker]

Thanks ROG. I'm picking it up tomorrow once we collect the towing car. I can get the rubber mats up and it all emptied and washed out so I can have a proper look and see where we are at. I've just bought a compressor off ebay to paint it, and I'm thinking about using it to sandblast the old paint off while I've got it. It will be interesting to see what its like under the peeling paint and spiders webs!