2000 WorldWide Race Trailer

Our next order of business was providing some conveniences in the trailer itself. You never have enough light, never enough hooks to hang stuff and you also need to haul fuel, oil, spray cans of stuff and so on.

TuffPaw is our vendor of choice for the extra add-ons we put in place. We added their fold down tray/storage rack to the side entrance door. Then we put another multiple level shelf on the wall next to the work area and added a single shelf for oil above that. Next we put in one of their 3 can fuel storage racks on the floor up front, a water cooler rack on the wall above that and to finish it off, a double helmet/safety jacket rack next to the side door opposite the toolbox. All of these pieces were very easy to install with self-tapping screws directly into the metal uprights of the trailer. Nice work on each piece too. Next, we installed one of those high-powered quartz light fixtures to the top of the side door with it's wiring plugging into a 120v outlet just above the door. Future lighting will be added at the rear of the trailer just inside and above the rear drop down door. Mounted on swivels, it should help us out during unloading and loading the car, plus if we are ever forced to pit directly behind the trailer we will have a ready source of light.

Actually that's something that we have forgotten to mention here as we have wired the trailer for 120v throughout with the input coming into the front of the trailer via a weather covered outlet box. We have that feed going to a double slot breaker box (just for added protection) and then from there it feeds the overhead fluorescent lighting and outlets. One note is that since our trailer already had interior walls, we used the plastic boxes and conduit runs available from any hardware store to run our wiring. It beats trying to fish it through the walls and makes changes a snap to do. The only downside is that if you are using normal romex sheathed wire, you need to strip the sheathing off to get it to fit inside the wire moulding strips. If you don't feel confident wiring your trailer yourself, consider talking to a electrian about doing the job on the side. Most of them are willing to handle a simple project like this for a small cash fee.

Additional hardware hooks have been placed here and there in the trailer to accommodate tie-downs, extension cords and air hoses. Most of the stuff is just standard hardware store items that can be purchased for a few dollars.

On the back end of each set of wall cabinets we have mounted an old set of box speakers. At this time we still haven't installed a radio yet nor run the wiring for the speakers. We also have a set of outdoor marine speakers that we want to mount to the outer wall of the trailer and tie into the radio so just maybe we can hear when the next round of racing is called. Just a thought mind you. We also have a microwave oven sitting on the counter that we picked up at a yard sale for $25, but we're thinking about removing it as the motorhome has one and it would clear some work space for us.

Next up besides the radio install will be covers for the vents. We like to keep the vents open, but as has happened before, a strong gust of wind will rip one of these vents clean off the trailer. The vent covers allow you to open the vents without that worry, plus you can keep them open in the rain as the covers prevent water from entering the vent area.

We recently started thinking about an air system. Today, we just put our portable air compressor in the trailer, but we think that it might be good to have a permanent location for it inside the trailer with a short hose attaching it to a permanent air system on the trailer. One connector inside and one outside would provide the additional convenience of being able to use air tools. The upside is that we wouldn't have 50 feet of air hose in our way constantly. At our old house, we used 1/2 pvc piping to create a system that provided air access at 4 points in the garage. It worked very well and as long as the fittings and pipe went together real snug before you glued the joint together, it held up to 125+ pounds of pressure without any problem.

The last items that we have considered adding are rear skid wheels and a spare tire. On occasion you find yourself in a situation where the back of the trailer is going to hit due to the elevation or dip. You mostly run into these when pulling into or out of a filling station or diner. The metal skids that we have now are fine, but just drag on the pavement. A set of skid wheels would allow the trailer to at least roll along and probably decrease the possibility of additional damage. The other item has been on our list for quite sometime and it's only pure luck that has kept us from needing a spare tire. If you buy a trailer, pop for a spare at the same time. It's worth the extra money and you don't have to worry about taking care of it later.

A general cleanup of the outside, then a polish and wax is needed. We have not paid the attention that we need to the outside and it is oxidizing badly. A weekend with a polishing bonnet should take care of most of it. We also need to go over the roof which is one piece, but the edges need to be checked for cracks in the sealant. Anything we find amiss will be repaired.

They say that you don't race your trailer and I agree with that one. But once you do have one, it becomes an intregal part of your support system and you end up wondering how you ever got along without one. If you don't have an enclosed trailer at this time, you should really consider looking into buying one soon.

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