Our new detail trailer...

sudsmobile

sudsmobile

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After a while of working out of a full size SUV with a hitch carrier, we finally took the plunge and purchased an enclosed trailer. Got it used with one trip on it for a pretty good price.

I built pretty much everything from scratch. The water tank is 100 gallons and sits in a pocket created from 2x12s and 2x10s. The cabinets I built from 1/2" birch play with cherry face frames. The baskets are held in a 1/2" lip on the face frame. The bottle holders are made from 3" ABS. I'm going to add 5 more but I ran out of ABS.


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The pressure washer is mounted on an isolation plate and we take that out and place it on the ground. The generator is mounted to the floor and the exhaust is vented through the side and comes out in the wheel well so totally invisible. The floor was reinforced with 1/2" OSB and carpeted.

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The MyTee is strapped to the floor. The vacuum kind of press fits in that area.

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The pump is a ShurFlo on demand that feeds a Y for the pressure washer and a hose to fill buckets and bottle. We use only spot free water.

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The trailer has it's own Group 27 marine battery installed and I installed a 6 pin trailer plug with a dedicated 12v + and - to help keep the battery charged when we drive. I ran power down both sides to the front and installed an LED light on the left wall. I'm installing two LED light strips on the roof. All will be controlled from a panel mounted on the side of the cabinet by the door which will have a voltmeter, 12v cig lighter plug and 2 USB ports for phones. A switch there will turn the entire panel on and turn on the pump. A switch of the button off turns off all power to everything mounted in the trailer.

Not done yet, but getting pretty close. I have to install a bunch of hooks, holders for brushes, etc, etc.
 
the bottle holders on the door is a great idea :xyxthumbs:
 
Nice setup! The bottle holders was a smart and clean look and so the fumes outlet to the generator.

How is the weight distribution when the water tank is placed at the front?
 
I was always taught keep heavier weight in front of the axle(s) and centered. So far, it's been excellent. I can't even tell it's back there and it doesn't sway.
 
We also decided this morning that we're going to add another row of cabinets, but 2/3 the length. The same company, Akro Mills, makes a basket that is 24x16x8, so it will hold four more baskets that are double the size of those already installed. We like the larger baskets for tools, brushes, etc and one for our dirty towel hamper. When we get home we just grab the hamper basket and take it into the wash.
 
How did you attach the PVC to the doors for the bottle holders?
 
DMW said:
How did you attach the PVC to the doors for the bottle holders?
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I first cut them all to the same length with a jig on my chop saw. Then I used ABS cement and glued them all together on their sides where they touch. Then I drilled a hole in each tube about 1" up from the bottom edge and countersunk it. On the row of 6 on the 2nd and 5th tube, and on the row of 5 on the 2nd and 4th tube, I drilled a hole where the top of the tube meets the door, about an inch up and angled straight enough where I could get a bit into the tube opening and still drive a screw. Then I screwed the whole thing in with 1.5" wood screws.
 
Newest project finished. The place where we buy our water uses a 2" flexible PVC hose with a 2" elbow on the end to "hook" into your tank. The hose is BARELY long enough to reach our tank, it requires you to move everything out of the way and climb over everything and then when you take it out you have to be careful to keep it elevated or the water spills all over the trailer. Voila! 2" PVC with a 2" elbow and a male coupler on the end. All we have to do is open the door, press their 2" female elbow on and insert the money. I hope. It hasn't been tested yet.

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Oh and I took that other hook out and added this hook. I have five of them but I need to figure out the spacing before I install them all. I've got to hurry up and get this mostly finished. We're completely booked tomorrow and Friday and it goes in for a wrap on Thursday. I'm sure Saturday will fill up here pretty quick too.
 
sudsmobile said:
All we have to do is open the door, press their 2" female elbow on and insert the money. I hope. It hasn't been tested yet.
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I like the set up!

Be careful with that last bit there. The places I've gone to have some pretty strong pressure. I can see their flex-hose popping up/off your PVC elbow from too much water pressure.
 
JustJesus said:
I like the set up!

Be careful with that last bit there. The places I've gone to have some pretty strong pressure. I can see their flex-hose popping up/off your PVC elbow from too much water pressure.
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I was worried about that so I started with $1. LOL To say it worked like a charm would be under selling it. It didn't leak a single drop of water. I did $5 one at a time and it worked perfect.
 
A great looking well organized trailer Suds. It’s always nice to have everything you need within easy reach. Good luck with the business.��
 
How big is the trailer and where did you get that water tank?

That’s really well laid out but a lot of tongue weight. I’d feel a hell of a lot better with that weight over the axle. 100gal of water is round about 800lb, most half ton trucks are only rated for 500 on the tongue without a WD setup.


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It's a "5x8", but it is slightly longer than 8' down the centerline. I will say, most of the time we only carry the water tank about 1/2 full. Every Friday we setup at the local hospital and work there from dawn to dusk, but it's only 2 miles from our house. The place where we buy water is about 10 miles away. I bought the water tank for $220 at a place in Orange County about an hour from my house. I just drove over there and picked it up. Kind of a weird shop, the guy sells water tanks, pressure washers, hoses, generators and spot free water, but it wasn't what you'd call a detail supply place. He appeared to also do small engine repair.

I will say this, I've towed big boats all my life. Like a 30' Warlock that was 37' tongue to drives on the trailer. I don't get any of the negative feedback with this setup. It's not sloppy, it doesn't sway, it doesn't sag my rear end, it's not hard to stop. But like I said, I rarely drive it anywhere fully loaded. It's nice to be able to carry 100 gallons of water one day a week, but we can get 10-11 washes plus bucket fill ups out of that, so for day to day use it's not really necessary. I'll keep an eye on it.
 
Not being negative, just stating what I’d personally feel more comfortable with. Particularly in the event of a blowout.

That looks great for a 5x8. When I sway toward going with a trailer vs a van, for some reason 5x8 seems so small when looking at pics but it looks like a lot of really good, usable space without being a nightmare to move around.

That, and your setup has me reconsidering how much water I need to carry. I was thinking 100gal tank but may go 50-70 since I don’t do a ton of cars per day right now. That price you got seems to be going rate for 100gal tanks.


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I’ve always truly admired the engineering and ingenuity that goes into these mobile setups. Thanks for sharing.


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The Spray Bottles holder will be copied by many.
You should have put a Patent on that idea.

Great looking set up -)
 
JCDetails said:
That price you got seems to be going rate for 100gal tanks.


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Click to expand...

We couldn't find anything similar for the price and I live in SoCal. Everything local was way more expensive. Everything online was the same price until you added $150 in shipping. I mean there were guys on craigslist selling used tanks for $250.
 
We finally got it wrapped yesterday and spent all day working out of it today.

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