Asa's Saws-Inside General Contracting Tool Trailer

Ways of Working

Asa's trailer is set up so that he can cut wood inside the trailer. This makes him faster because he doesn't need to set up his saws at the start of the day or take them down at the end of the day.

However, this creates a lot of dust inside the trailer, which needs to be dealt with somehow.

There are two other ways that contractors often work:

1. Set up a portable table outside their tool trailer.
2. Cart tools and materials inside the job site.

With either of these methods you have a smaller inside workspace, or no workspace at all. There is no right or wrong method here. You need to figure out what will work for you to most efficient, then build it.

Make it easy to change, because you will change it!

Simple Design

The trailer build is based on Ron Paulk's ideas, but is much more simple and open.

Ron Paulk's builds use drawers with a consistent width so they can be swapped.

Vertical drawer supports are routed at regular spacing so that different height drawers can still be swapped around. Variable drawer heights make it so that drawers can accommodate different tools and supplies.

Asa's build primarily uses a single height for drawers, although he's routed the regularly-spaced "slides" so that he can build shorter or taller drawers in the future.

The full-length work benches give the trailer a very open feel and make it easier to work with long lengths of material.

Serious Mobile Shop

One of the unique features of this tool trailer is the nearly full-length bench tops running the length of the trailer.

In the middle of one bench top, Asa's Bosch miter saw sits on a semi-permanent table. The setup allows him to use the miter saw inside the trailer and could be easily adjusted to fit another saw.

The passenger side of the trailer has the table saw set at the very rear of the trailer. It, too, is mounted so that it is level with the work bench. The saw is oriented so that Asa can rip fairly long pieces of lumber.

A JessEm router lift is set into the workbench at the opposite end of the workbench.

Cord and Cable Reels

Asa's extension cords are mounted on cord reels on the front wall of the tool trailer. He used a Pull-It electrical box cover for pulling wire to be able to route the cord or hose out through the floor of he trailer. This allows him keep the trailer closed up and to run power to or from the trailer.

Hose reels are true timesavers: Asa loves the fact that he can reel either one very quickly.

What About Dust?

By using both saws inside the trailer, Asa needs to deal with dust. For his miter saw, he attaches a shop vac, which lives below the saw, to the saw's vacuum port.

The table saw's port is connected to a drawer that needs to be emptied periodically.

It's difficult to get a true dust collection setup working in a trailer because it requires space and bulky plumbing. Asa uses the setup with:

• The trailer's doors open
• A running box fan
• A dust mask

Even then, he says dust gets on everything. He blows dust out with the air compressor, though many tradespeople also use a blower.

Conclusion

Asa's trailer is a great example of a simple tool trailer build with built-in miter and table sawing capabilities. There are tradeoffs to this setup, but it can truly ramp up your efficiency if it fits your work style.