LuigiVampa

I bought an enclosed 27' Pace Shadow GT trailer at the end of last year and spent the winter accumulating stuff that I "need" for it. The trailer was pretty well outfitted with some cabinets and a tire rack, but I want to install some hooks, hangers, shelves, etc. In other words, I want to pimp it out a little bit.

Accordingly, I had a few questions for the RL brain trust:

1. The inside of my trailer is finished with white aluminum and there are screws about every foot or so. The outside screws do not match up to the inside screws so I am wondering if there are any "studs" in the wall? My tire rack appears to be bolted in between where the inside screws are located on the inside and don't really correspond (as far as I can tell) to the screws on the outside. (See picture of tire rack.) Where do I mount items if there are no studs? (or are there?)

2. I am concerned that the little latch lock on my door could be opened with a pry bar in about 3 seconds. I know you can't prevent someone who is determined to break in but has anyone added an additional lock to their trailer door? I was thinking about a padlock hasp from it will stick out, the lock will bounce around, and it will just look ugly. Any ideas?

I bought one of those small quiet Honda inverter generators to power the trailer while at the track. My wife and daughter want a place to hang when they come with me besides the truck. I was going to put in a small microwave and some other comforts. Any ideas for a nice home away from home man cave kinda trailer?

I'm already a big fan of 24Chromiums epic trailer thread. I am going for a slightly more subdued version.

RickBetterley

My CargoPro interior may be similar to yours. If so, behind the plastic interior panels are 'c' shaped aluminum studs. I was advised to use high strength self-tapping bolts screwed into the studs. I use them for the e-track that holds up my tire rack and they have held well.
Studs are 16" on center and are behind the vertical column of fasteners holding the plastic panels to them. They can be tough to locate when attaching the bolts; easy to miss or catch just the edge.
Sorry I can't help on the other questions.

SWK6Cup

Rick was a huge help for me when I ordered my trailer. He knows quite a bit. He has a boat rigging for his tire bars in his trailer, but it does mean you have to duck under it all the time. Ask around, there will be stories about the wall units coming off the wall.....only when driving around, due to shaking and then ****bam**** oh no, the car! Think about Tires rack's tire rack.... decent build, rolls around, in and out no problem (just got a new one to replace my smaller tire cart) and you have e-track to strap it down, in front to behind the car.... mine is strapped down behind, so the tongue weight doesn't change.....just a suggestion.

As for the lock, "issue" you could put a deadbolt on the inside...this would mean that you would have to leave via the rear door. Not sure where you are/will be traveling but I haven't had any problems. Rick does have some serious locks for his rear door Cargo 10 or something like that, IIRC. drop him a note and he'll be happy to dial you in, I'm sure.

Honda is simply the ticket. Mine fires up the coffee maker, as simply can't get decent coffee at the track....not sure if you are a coffee guy...or the family member are coffee drinkers...btw yo can always run hot water thru for tea/soup.........believe me, first part of the season and end of the season, the hot stuff helps. GL

RickBetterley

Glad I could help, Scott!
Not sure what a boat rigging is (re tire bars) - what I have is 2 parallel cargo load beams, which are square sectioned aluminum that use etrack: http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/...Q&gclsrc=aw.ds
Very strong and rigid. They are above the hood of my car and yes they get in the way. But they are strong, keep the load lower than the side wall racks mentioned, and I think are a lot stronger. Mine holds 8 tire/wheel combinations. Ducking under when the car is out is no big deal. When the car is in, I have to walk outside the trailer but that is easy and I probably would have anyway, as the new car is wider than the original 911 (1984) then 993 occupants.
The etrack is screwed into the side walls and are 8'(?) long. Why? I wanted a lot of fasteners for redundancy. I come from a background of ocean sailing and know the value of well-secured equipment.
I have a few friends that used the wall-mounted tire racks and have had problems with them tearing loose. I'd really rather not have that happen near my Cayman, thank you very much. CargoPro advised me against wall mounting if the wall had not been built with extra support in that area (plywood?).
Scott's idea of the cart is a good one, but I didn't want to give up the floor space. I would have had to put it in front of the cabinets and that would have blocked access to them.
As all trailer owners know, the trailer really gets hammered on rough roads, and fasteners will come loose (not if, when). So keep an eye on them; I have on occasion needed to tighten the bolts.
In case anyone wonders, I run a ratchet tie down through the wheel hubs to hold the tires down on the beams.
Hope this helps. Trailering can be an adventure.

KaiB

FWIW, I drilled through the studs and mounted my tire racks bolted all the way through to the exterior with SS bolts and washers with nylocks.

Before I did so I spoke with a few guys at ATC and ALL of them liked the approach. They will not come down.

RickBetterley

Definitely the best way to do it. I wanted to avoid penetrating the exterior but through bolting is the best.
Just make sure its through the studs (as noted).

Frank 993 C4S

Care to share any details of the Honda generator? I'm looking for something to charge my laptop, phone and maybe a water heater.

KaiB

You want one of these guys: http://powerequipment.honda.com/gene...models/eu2000i

Or his 3K Watt brother.

LuigiVampa

+1

This is similar to what I have except mine is the companion model.

http://powerequipment.honda.com/gene...000i-companion

The companion has one 20A and one 30A as opposed to two 20A for the one KaiB has. I bought a plug that converts the 30A into two 20A if I need it but in truth the generator will be hooked up to the panel in my trailer so I doubt I need the extra plug.

If you buy both of these you can rig them together for more power!

It is really quiet and runs for 8 hours on a half load. Just looking to run lights, coffee maker, and a small microwave - although not all at the same time. Perhaps a heater and fan depending on the weather.

SWK6Cup

Rick:
boat rigging= "I come from a background of ocean sailing and know the value of well-secured equipment."

+1 for the Honda, inverter, quiet portable, either model of the 1500/2000 series, or the 3000 should work just fine!

RickBetterley

Oh, ok - so it wasn't a typo.

jrgordonsenior

Or the top rail as I've done. I did lose one side of a 4 wheel rack many years ago and it landed on my cup car's front fended and headlight. Not pretty or cheap to fix....

As for security, your best bet is not to leave the trailer vulnerable. Don't advertise with Porsche stickers or store it with anything valuable inside. No matter what lock you choose it will only take a determined thief second to penetrate. You could take a portable sawzall and cut thru the walls in a heartbeat. In hotels I won't park it anywhere that's not well lit or that I can't see it from my room. Even at a track I take the most valuable items with me back to the hotel. That includes my helmet & Hans, suit, Smartycam, and Snap On impact wrench. I'd rather carry those into the hotel than risk the loss to ********....

LuigiVampa

I'm just looking to deter the random idiot carrying a pry bar. While I don't leave expensive stuff in the trailer, and I don't have any graphics on the outside, I still worry about something that can happen even in a "nice hotel" parking lot.

Searched around the internet and did not find any quick solutions. It seems like I would either have to install a bolt from the inside, causing me to have to exit through the rear door, or put a hasp on the outside. Neither is something I really want to do so I will keep searching for a while.

RickBetterley

I wouldn't be surprised if there are localized intrusion alarms that are battery operated.
I have no idea where to look, though.
I remember when a fellow New Englander had his beautifully developed 930 stolen out of his trailer at a nice hotel outside Tremblant. Expected to be in a container headed to Europe 6 hours later.

rlm328

Your aluminum walls are probably backed by 3/8-in plywood. Remove one of your light switches to check. For a tire rack I put e-track on either side of the trailer and used aluminum studs to span the gap. Holds 8 tires, been in the trailer for 2 years with no problems. I used plain old sheet metal screws to screw the e-track to the walls.

For security on the side entry door I used a dead bolt lock that you can get at the hard ware store, works great.