This trailer restoration was pretty a standard frame-off except that I redesigned it such that it could be disassembled in an hour or so, rather than the 50+ that it took to disassemble it for this restoration. As you would expect in a restoration, longevity, strength, and ease of maintenance were my primary consideration in materials and redesign.

   - Before the restoration, each floorboard was screwed to the steel cross members with about 100 counter-sunk bolts, each of which was rusted and very

     time consuming to remove. The floor is now held in by two pieces of channel with six hardened bolts each. Once these angles are removed the entire

     floor lifts right out. This allows for easy maintenance and the occasional removal of the floor-boards for cleaning and sealing.

   - The trailer was originally bolted and welded together and not intended for disassembly (certain bolts were permanently encased by welded

     supports in ways that you could no longer access their head for removal - cutting was mandatory). I have corrected these issues by hinging the main

     support beam; it can now be swung out of the way, allowing for removal of the floor and the shelves around it in about 5 minutes.

   - The side walls were originally an envelop of steel that wrapped around a piece of plywood, and as as you might expect, this was a dust & moisture trap.
     The wood had turned into powder on the lower half of each side, and the steel wrapper was rusting badly near the bottoms.  To eliminate these

     issues, I replaced the walls with PVC. PVC will not absorb moisture, is very strong, and should last a lifetime. The decking in slid into channels that I

     have welded into the front and rear sides of the trailer walls. A support then bolts to the inside middle of each side securing the PVC, but allowing

     for complete remove of side walls in roughly half an hour. 

   - The entire trailer was sandblasted, inside and out.

   - Most bolts are now stainless steel, weveral grade 8 and grade 10 bolts remain non-stainless.

   - The floors have been replaced with rough-cut 2” oak and were sealed on all sides prior to installation with Marine Grade Spar Varnish. This
     is expense, but is the longest lasting, most durable wood treatment that I have ever used.

   - All seams have been sealed with automotive grade caulk.

   - I also installed an aluminum rain gutter so rain water runs from the roof to the gutter and off the back, rather than down and around the
     windows, and eventually inside the trailer.