Ozark Kitchen and Bath's Cart System Tool Trailer

Foundations

The trailer is a dual axle that is 12' long and 7' wide. Its ramp door was necessary to make the cart organization system work effectively, although there are pros and cons to ramp or barn doors on a trailer.

Eric built tilted plywood shelves, a long plywood workbench, and spaces for ladders and sheet goods.

Eric preferred the use of Festool Systainers in this build since they're much less bulky than a typical Milwaukee Packout.

Although he can stand in the trailer and store a few things on the ceiling, Eric says that he ducks when he enters the rear of the trailer due to the low-hanging rear door lip. This is definitely something that can wear on you if you're repeatedly ducking all day long!

Innovative Cart System

One of the standout parts of the tool storage in this trailer is the cart system. We've seen other uses of carts but Eric has taken it to another level. Carts are great for putting together job kits, creating mobile power stations, and keeping tools in a centralized location on a job site.

Instead of using a commercial solution, Eric built 5 carts using plans from TSO Products that are specific for Festool Systainers. The carts have pull-outs and shelves to fit organizers and toolboxes and can be reconfigured for different setups.

The carts fit under the trailer's workbench and are held in place with a wood "bar" that folds in front of them.

One noteworthy thing about these carts is that they use caster wheels. Caster wheels are mounted under a cart, while many commercial carts use wheels mounted on the sides. Caster wheels take up vertical space and side-mounted wheels take up horizontal space - you need to decide which is more important in your trailer build.

Rolling Those Carts

Trailers with ramp doors have two problems:

1. There is a gap between the ramp and the trailer floor.
2. There is a gap between the ramp and the ground.

Since Eric has many carts, he needed a way to fill these gaps to keep from trapping his cart wheels when he wheels them on to the job. He built a plywood ramp toe that flips down between the ramp and the ground and a similar flap that flips between the ramp and the trailer floor.

The gap filler and ramp toe are useful on almost any trailer that has a ramp for moving tools and materials, but also because they reduce the chances of tripping or catching your toe - or even having to think about lifting your foot that small extra bit!

Mostly Cordless Tools

Eric says he's gone to about 75% cordless tools and he'd like to go full cordless. Many tradespeople have gone cordless in order to reduce the number of tools they need to carry and the time required for setup and takedown.

Orienting extension cords at the start day and then coiling them back up at the end of the day is one of those time sucks that can add up quite a bit over the year.

Cords are a trip hazard and often interrupt your workflow when you are switching tools between cords. Ever pull the trigger on a tool to find it's not even hooked up?

Battery and motor technology are at the point where most construction tools have an acceptable cordless counterpart.

Keeps It Clean

Keeping a home clean and dust free is important for keeping customers happy. Eric uses dust extractors and a Festool PLANEX drywall sander to keep dust to a minimum.

A cordless Milwaukee vacuum makes small on-site clean-ups easy, and a cordless blower keeps the trailer and driveway clear of sawdust. Depending on the type of work you do, showing up with booties on your feet can also make you a hit with the customer.

A V-Nose Trailer Storage Idea

Because the trailer is only 12' feet long, it can be a little short on storage. Eric built shelves in the nose, but found that he needed a bit more.

Inspired by a the idea of a secret library door that reveals something hidden, he built a pivoting shelf that covers one side of the V-nose. By releasing a gate latch at the top of the shelf, the shelf swings out on small casters to reveal the another shelf behind it.

He likes this setup, but plans to replace the double casters with a single caster mounted on the side to make the action smoother.

At the Side Door

The trailer's side door has both Festool saw tracks and the personal items that make Eric efficient: his Atlas 46 tool vest and his Veto Pro Pac OT-MC tool bag.

The personal items are easily accessed and the tracks fit well in this space. Behind the side door Eric built tilted shelving to hold several Craftsman organizers. On a tilt, the organizers are easy to grab and never need to be held in place with tie-downs.

Small Ladders

Ever show up to a job site with wet or icy ladders?

Like some contractors, Eric minimizes the number of ladders he needs by using one short fiberglass ladder and one Little Giant collapsible ladder. The short ladder is light and easy to maneuver in and around a home. The aluminum Little Giant can be used as a step ladder or folds out into an extension ladder.

Both ladders can be stored inside the tool trailer, keeping them clean, dry, and easy to access.

On Board Electric

This is probably one of the simpler (yet complete) setups we've seen for adding on board power to a tool trailer. A cord reel at the rear of the trailer is mounted with electrical conduit clamps. Its cord simply drops through a hole in the floor, so it can be pulled out and plugged in to the job site.

Inside the trailer, a four gang electrical box plugs into the reel. This provides power throughout the trailer.

Since the cord runs through the floor the trailer can be closed up at night, but still charge tool batteries.

What's the Power For?

Eric has a clean tool battery charging station located near the front of the trailer, with several Milwaukee and Festool chargers.

LED lights brighten the space and make it easy to find tools and inventory.

A long power strip is mounted above the workbench to be able to plug in multiple tools at a time while working on a project. Also above the workbench are plastic battery holders for all the Milwaukee and Festool batteries. This placement makes it easy to quickly check the charge on a battery.

Conclusion

Eric packed a lot into this trailer. It is a clean, bright, organized setup and is the kind of thing that can give confidence to a customer. The use of multiple carts should reduce the number of trips required into the trailer throughout the day, bumping up the efficiency of his crew.