Cargo container / box installed on equipment trailer? Am I crazy?

tractchores · Sep 13, 2018

farm boy00 said:
How long will it stay on or is this a rare occasion that its needed? Just get a delivery box off of a box truck. Completely sealed and has a nice roll up door usually. I sold one for $400. Usually it's hard to get rid of them around here.

This will Be once in a while vs a permanent conversion. Where would I find a box? Junk yard?

4570Man · Sep 13, 2018

How much does it cost to rent a trailer or box truck for the occasional use? I’m generally not a fan of renting, but this seems like a good case.

strantor · Sep 14, 2018

Thanks for the idea. I'm stealing it. I've been debating on what to do with my car hauler. I need to bring lots of tools to jobsites and really want an enclosed trailer for that. But money. And space. If I sold my trailer I would have money and room for an enclosed trailer but then I wouldn't have a car hauler, which I want to continue having. Solution: box on a car hauler. Together they occupy the same real estate as just a car hauler. Thank you.

farm boy00 · Sep 14, 2018

tractchores said:
This will Be once in a while vs a permanent conversion. Where would I find a box? Junk yard?

Junk yard, craigslist or Facebook marketplace. They are kinda heavy but then again anything you do will be heavy.

tractchores · Sep 17, 2018

4570Man said:
How much does it cost to rent a trailer or box truck for the occasional use? I’m generally not a fan of renting, but this seems like a good case.

With rentals its not as much the cost as the logistics. It'''s pretty tough to get a rental near me for a trailer and for a box truck they charge mileage and I'll be doing about 500 miles round trip whenever I need the cargo trailer.

I ended up buying a cargo trailer today. I got a good deal on one that should last a long time and given how well they seem to hold their value I don't think it'll be too bad to own. It'll double as a storage shed when not in use (which is something else I needed to buy). The cool part about using it as a storage shed is its not a building, so town setbacks don't apply and I can put it where I want (which happens to be by the garage next to the property line). Should work well... though I still like the idea of an enclosed option on my equipment trailer..

ning · Sep 17, 2018

tractchores said:
With rentals its not as much the cost as the logistics. It'''s pretty tough to get a rental near me for a trailer and for a box truck they charge mileage and I'll be doing about 500 miles round trip whenever I need the cargo trailer.

I ended up buying a cargo trailer today. I got a good deal on one that should last a long time and given how well they seem to hold their value I don't think it'll be too bad to own. It'll double as a storage shed when not in use (which is something else I needed to buy). The cool part about using it as a storage shed is its not a building, so town setbacks don't apply and I can put it where I want (which happens to be by the garage next to the property line). Should work well... though I still like the idea of an enclosed option on my equipment trailer..

I have similar thoughts on having my next truck be a cab & chassis, with custom (self) built units that go on the back - flatbed, light & low cargo (similar to the shell I've got on my truck now, but without the truck bed taking so much volume, and possibly with built-ins that go below the normal floor line where possible), and a big camper. Not sure how reasonable these ideas are either, or if I'll ever get around to doing them...