So I've got a 24Ft. enclosed trailer and my current racecar is 17 feet long, so I really need to maximize the ability to utilize the left over space at the front of the trailer for all the stuff I take to the track for a race weekend. With the length of the car, I'm left with realistically, 6 feet of space forward of the car to store tools/chemicals/spares/gear. Looking for creative and inexpensive *(but durable) cabinet solutions.
And GO!
Used kitchen cabinets. People get rid of them for dirt cheap when they renovate their kitchens, and they will take a beating and half.
In reply to boxedfox (Forum Supporter) :
What he said. Brother in law is a contractor, ends up pulling brand new stuff out of homes all the time because rich folk are rich.
Look for a Habitat for Humanity "Re-store" near you if you want to use old kitchen cabinets. Beware, however, that wooden kitchen and bath cabinets are not designed to be subjected to the incessant vibration, pounding and temperature variations that they will see in an enclosed trailer. They will shake apart, doors will loosen and fall off in time. Glue every joint you can get to and install solid latches/locks on every drawer and door so they can't bang around in transit. Try to find cabinets made from solid wood, not particle board or MDF. If MDF gets wet, it's done. You can create a serviceable workspace/storage setup with them, but make your choices carefully if you want any semblance of durability.
Try Lowes or Home Depot. They have some cheap cabinets.
One of our local surplus places had a wooden cabinet for $75.00. I strapped it in the front of the trailer. I wasn't fancy and you had to remember to put the straps around it but it was cheap and functional. You can see it in this picture that I took when I was building the basement in the trailer for the spare tire and winch battery.
For tools I'd roll this tool box in the trailer for race weekends.
In reply to Mikelly :
The proper way button is buy a cabinet with the size doors you want* and take the back off make the back of the cabinet fit tightly into the V of the trailer. It's really not that difficult to do.
* source the cabinet from Facebook free sites or second hand stores. If you re-purpose some of the cabinet wood you will have an absolute minimum cost involved in it.
Don't nail it together, glue ( with Titebond 111 ) and screw. I always pre-drill the screw holes but you might get away with some of the new self tapping screws.
We put a workbench in the front of one of our trailers. I think it was a steel Craftsman brand, but it was basically one of the ones from the shop. Put it crossways across the front of the trailer, bolted it in and filled the drawers with the stuff we needed. I drilled a hole in the top, attached a sway bar bushing at the bottom and cut the arm off a sway bar so it could be poked through the hole and into the bushing as a lock for the drawers. Gave us organized storage and a place to work.
Obviously, this was not a V nose.
I used a Harbor Freight rolling cabinet, and built 'benches' on either side to match the height. The cabinet can roll out into the pits, and there's room under the benches for larger stuff. I had originally intended to face the benches with cabinet style doors, but decided it wasn't necessary. In addition to the HF cabinet, I probably spent ~$250 in materials, $200(!) of which was the aluminum square tube.
My trailer is also a 24', which leaves me room for more stuff either between the car and bench, or behind the car with the car moved forward. A future project is a rolling tire cart that will go in that space. For now it's usually just tires on the trailer floor... I built a 'crib' out of 2x4s that I can set 4 tires in, and then tie the whole thing down to the E-track.
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