Mobile Detailers With Trailers...Got a question for ya..

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imported_ajbarnes

New member
What size trailer do you recommend for my business? I'm planning on getting an open utility trailer to haul a 50-90 gallon water tank, pressure washer, and generator. Instead of an open utility trailer, should I go for an enclosed one or just get a open one? I'm new to trailering and I'm a little confused on what to get. I have a Class I. hitch and my vehicle is a 2003 Chevy Tracker 4 X 4/ 4 door.



Thanks! :xyxthumbs
 
I utilize a 5' x 10' enclosed trailer. I would recommend that you get a trailer that's at least this size, as I'm a one-man operation and my trailer is pretty scrunched with equipment. I highly recommend the enclosed trailer for several reasons. First, your equipment stays out of the weather, you can lock it so nothing can be stolen, lots of advertising space, and you can maintain a much quieter environment. I know my pw and generator are VERY loud and without the abililty to simply keep the doors mostly closed, many neighbors and offices would be upset with the constant noise. Also, you might want to consider getting a slightly larger tank. I use a 125 gal. tank from TSC and it works great now...but I know as I grow I'll need something even larger still. Lastly, you might want to consider putting the trailer together yourself if possible. It took me about 2-3 weeks to map out and put together my trailer. I have all the same components and more as what these companies offer, and I saved nearly 6k by doing the work myself. Just a thought. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.



Take Care,



Matt Williams

Silver Lining Detail
 
You need to check the weight limit on that class 1 hitch , I don't think its very high. Also check the towing capacity of yourTracker , thats going to dictate what you can tow . If you have a garage to park your trailer in an open setup would work for you . Think about how safe it would be to park your open trailer outside with all your equipment in view. I would tell you to buy the biggest trailer your truck can tow safely, you can never have to much room. 5x10 ,6x10 , 6x12 . Measure your tanks and go from there since they take up the most room . Good luck
 
I run an open trailer. With an 82 Gallon tank. A good freind of mine owns a metal fabrication business and did an amazing job on it. The trailer size is a 4 x 8 and to be honest I could use a bit more room. I bought thetrailer from home depot 2 years ago and justused to load my stuff in it. What we did now was take off the sides, front , and rear gates to make it a flat trailer. Then we removed the 2 piece wood floor and welded in a 4 x 8 sheey of metal diamond plate for a new floor. Next we welded in some supports underneath on the frame where the tank would go. next we bulit a stand for the water tank so it was raised alittle more that the pressure washer. The honda pressurewasheris gravity fed so the source had to be higher. Next we made some stainless steel straps to hold down the tank. We then made a stainless steel cage ( box ) in the back section to hold buckets, jugs, vac's and stuff. Also in that cage the reals are welded in for the pressure washer hose and the air hose. When you get to a job you just open the cage and wind out the hose you need. What a time saver for me. Overthe axle is the water tank. Then bolted and welded to the sub floor is the generator, pressure washer, And air compressor. We made a stainless steel cap for the compressor because it can' reallt hold up to the elements. And in front of that we bolter in a aluminium diamond plate tool box ( like that goes in a pick up bed ) to the front section to hold the toools and chemicals. We painted the whole the black, and polished the stainless steel stuff up and she is good to go. as far as weight goes I use a 2004 Durango so the size of the tank doesn,t matter for me. For you make sure you checj what youtruck can pull. With the tracker it has a very short wheel base and even if the truck has the power to pull it. Stopping is dangerous. The short wheel base make the trailer jack knife pretty easy if you pull to much weight. I had an 03 Jeep wrangler before this one and when I read the tow rating I was surprised to find out it was only 2000 pounds. When I asked why it was becuase of the short wheel base and braking. Depending on what type of detailing you do you might not need a huge tank. If you are doing more private customers you are probably doing a few a day so you don;t need a huge one. My first trailier I used a small 45 gallon tank and I could squeeze a few cars out of it if I was carefull. The most I ever did on a full taank was 4 or 5.



Clinton
 
We use custom made trailers to be pulled by a 4cyl s-10 xtreme.. They are 4 x 8. We do not have a high tow rating our trailers do come to about 1,000 lbs if not less. With 65 gall tank, air compressor, pressure washer, generator, reels/hoses, storage box, broom, water pump, signs, etc. They are open an enclosed trailer is nice but we have weight to consider and this does not need to be opened and no need to climb inside.. just walk over kick pressure washer on and go. If you would like photos or maybe even want one made up let me know im sure we can help out an autopian. Sounds like your facing the same problems we ran into when first looking at detailing trailers..so we came up with our own solution :)
 
Thanks Brian.



Well, I purchased yesterday a 4 X 6 trailer (open utility). During the following week I will be getting the tank, the air compressor, pressure washer, generator, etc. Brian, I have a general idea of how to bolt on the equipment, but do you have some photos of how you have your equipment bolted on?
 
I'll try to get some detailed photos of the trailer tomorrow for you. On ours anything with a motor has a rubber seal/washer deal between the equipment and the trailer itself to help with vibration on the bolts and trailer. (power washer, air compress, generator, etc)
 
Hey AJ.



I use an open trailer with a 100 gallon tank and 20 more gallons in four five gallon jugs up front. I have a wet/dry vac, pressure washer and generator + all my chemicals in the rig with my extractor, MF towels in bins, ladder and pop up tent in the truck bed



G91a.jpg




I have a Class 3 hitch and my truck can easily tow that load. Your Tracker with the Class 1 and a 4 cylinder is going to be tough. I would try to find the lightest trailer you can and still be able to mount your equipment. The brakes and engine on that Tracker are going to get a workout when daily towing so you might want to look to the aftermarket to upgrade your motor and more importantly your brakes (better pads, stainless brake lines and synthetic fluid).
 
1 Clean WS6 said:
Hey AJ.



I use an open trailer with a 100 gallon tank and 20 more gallons in four five gallon jugs up front. I have a wet/dry vac, pressure washer and generator + all my chemicals in the rig with my extractor, MF towels in bins, ladder and pop up tent in the truck bed



G91a.jpg




I have a Class 3 hitch and my truck can easily tow that load. Your Tracker with the Class 1 and a 4 cylinder is going to be tough. I would try to find the lightest trailer you can and still be able to mount your equipment. The brakes and engine on that Tracker are going to get a workout when daily towing so you might want to look to the aftermarket to upgrade your motor and more importantly your brakes (better pads, stainless brake lines and synthetic fluid).
Click to expand...





Thanks for the advice!! When you say upgrade my motor do you mean stuff like a K&N air filter, new exhaust, chips, etc.? What type of brakes do you recommend and also what type of synthetic motor oil do you recommend? I figured I would have to upgrade everything with the jeep. :o



I have a 250 pound open utility trailer. I just purchased a 35 gallon water tank from Tractor Supply (wanted to go with a small one for now). What are the installation, bolting, etc. recommendations you all have for mounting my equipment and tank on the trailer?



Thanks, this is really helpful guys! :2thumbs:
 
[quote name='1 Clean WS6']Hey AJ.



I use an open trailer with a 100 gallon tank and 20 more gallons in four five gallon jugs up front. I have a wet/dry vac, pressure washer and generator + all my chemicals in the rig with my extractor, MF towels in bins, ladder and pop up tent in the truck bed











What type of extractor do you use?
 
No problem AJ. For the motor I would switch to Mobil 1 synthetic oil and see if the aftermarket has any exhaust systems or cold air intake kits. Stay away from "chips" or hand held programmers as the tunes they provide are not designed for towing and you will most likely get some detonation from them. Aside from that try anything that will add some ponies (and more importantly...torque) to the Tracker.



Your stock rotors and calipers should be fine but change your brake fluid over to synthetic (your whole system will have to be bled and filled) and get a set of stainless lines and a good set of pads if you can. Those few mods to your factory brake system will improve the pedal feel and allow the entire system to run cooler and more effeciently.



AutoNova I use a Mytee Lite II heated unit.
 
Does this fit your needs well and is it a good one? I am in the market for an extractor and I do about 2-3 cars a day. I want something that isn't cumbersome to use and will still allow me to access small areas of the car. Who sells them at the best price?



Thanks
 
ajbarnes said:
Thanks for the advice!! When you say upgrade my motor do you mean stuff like a K&N air filter, new exhaust, chips, etc.? What type of brakes do you recommend and also what type of synthetic motor oil do you recommend? I figured I would have to upgrade everything with the jeep. :o



I have a 250 pound open utility trailer. I just purchased a 35 gallon water tank from Tractor Supply (wanted to go with a small one for now). What are the installation, bolting, etc. recommendations you all have for mounting my equipment and tank on the trailer?



Thanks, this is really helpful guys! :2thumbs:
Click to expand...







The the equipment like generator/extractor. We have a rubber garment type deal between the machin and trailer for vibrations. For the tank get some hooks to bolt onto the trailer and we use ratchet straps for quick removal of the tank for cleaning others use metal straps and screw it down. Try to get a power cord reel and hose reel it does save a ton of time.
 
Thanks Brian! I spoke to Rich the other day and he was very helpful! I have a checklist of everything I need to get and do.



Thanks again everyone and I'll have some pics up soon of the rig once I'm done.
 
Aj, don't waste your time with cold air intakes or exhaust systems, they won't provide any substantial power gains to your tracker. They make big marketing claims about air in and air out, but the reality is that if you haven't changed the fueling via mechanical mods or electronic mods, all that extra air in and out is just noise and wasted money..you won't make it back in fuel economy gains either lol. There really isn't much room to chip either on a normally aspirated gas engine either, especially if you're going to be towing, as mentioned above. Get yourself a Cummins! ;)
 
Aj also, I would try towing out after you get your rig set up first before you start replacing/upgrading things. I towed a couple jetskis around for years with my old jeep wrangler, which had a similar hitch and capacity...never had to do a thing.If you really find you are having to step on the brakes pretty hard, you may come out cheaper if you just have brakes installed on your trailer and use a trailer brake controller...if you decide to do the tracker though, I'd do some better pads and cross drilled/slotted rotors...the stainless steel lines are nice for bling factor and pedal feel, but at the end of the day the pads/rotors are going to give you the biggest improvement.
 
WOW, this is an old thread! July of 2005! :laugh:



So much has changed since then and I am very happy with my current setup. Thanks for the advice anyway.



:up
 
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