Hi hi! So, this summer I bought a trailer, "some assembly required" (read: in pieces ;) ) It was purchased alongside a big buy of timber and other supplies for a house I'm building, because I was told that if I bought it the owner (who had been building it) would help me move all the supplies. He subsequently didn't (instead giving me a big heap of steel beams as compensation), but that's neither here nor there.
So I have this unfinished trailer, and I put it all together, randomly having to make missing parts, fix things that didn't really work right, etc. Everything is all done now apart from the cladding.... and a problem with the doors. I had noticed early on that while he overbuilt the frame, the doors he made were rather flimsy, and they seem all the flimsier now that they're on the trailer. Worse, they're "double doors", meeting at the centre, with no central beam... so there's nothing keeping them latched; they can just open simultaneously. While I imagine that they might feel less flimsy after adding cladding, that won't help with the latching problem.
What do you recommend that I do with the doors - if not to make them stronger, at least to help them stay latched? Video here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54125007@N08/37603782511/in/photostream/
In case it matters: you're probably asking what I plan to do with the trailer when it's done. And the honest answer is, I don't know. I like having *some* kind of trailer (say, if I need to haul timber around or whatnot), but I really have no specific need for a big *enclosed* trailer. I've considered that it might be neat to clad it in plexiglass and fit it out like a house trailer, and use it / rent it out for people who want to see the northern lights or just camp out in some beautiful part of the wilderness. But there's almost no limit to how much that could end up costing when you keep adding more comfort features, and I'm not sure how often I'd use it myself. I think I'm *probably* leaning toward just getting the doors done, and then selling it, so that someone who wants an enclosed trailer can clad it however they want for their particular needs.
So if there's a question like, "Would it be a problem to install a fixed central bar between the doors?" the honest answer is, "I don't know."
I would be tempted to add some slide bolts top and bottom to both doors (4 total), close to the door edges, to secure them to the floor and the top of the door frame.
I found this example at The Hardware Hut online, but Lowe's or Home Despot probably carry similar.
In reply to EastCoastMojo :
I'm trying to picture what you mean - are you envisioning them being vertical perhaps? Bottom going... somehow through the floor? Maybe the latch parts mounted on the doors and the thing they lock into embedded in the floor/ceiling?
(Just so you know, suggesting stores won't be helpful, I live in Iceland :) )
Nafnlaus said:
In reply to EastCoastMojo :
I'm trying to picture what you mean - are you envisioning them being vertical perhaps? Bottom going... somehow through the floor? Maybe the latch parts mounted on the doors and the thing they lock into embedded in the floor/ceiling?
(Just so you know, suggesting stores won't be helpful, I live in Iceland :) )
I think that's what he means, but use two of them on just one door. One latch that goes up at the top into the top door frame, and one latch that goes down into the floor. You then latch that one door to the door frame, and then the other door uses some other conventional latch to fasten to the first door.
In the US we also call those things a barrel latch, you can find this style at any hardware store.
Most basic would be bolt latches top and bottom of one of the doors, as ECM suggested. No point in putting them on both doors unless you're ok with only being able to open the doors from the inside.
Having a fixed center support would be a massive pain in the ass. Makes loading and unloading more complicated. Especially if you haul a lot of plywood/drywall etc. Not to mention, you put a center support on it and you can't haul things like trenchers, snowmobiles, gocarts or riding mowers.
I wouldn't worry about the doors being flimsy as long as they're sound and not going to get ripped off easily. If you put the bolt latches on one door, you can make the doors overlap so they fit snug when they're latched. Most cargo trailer doors are flimsy IMO.
Try this latch, just like bigger trailers and cargo trucks have. trailer door latch
I knew you guys would have the solution. :) Two barrel latches it is! That should work well.
So I love that you're here from Iceland. I hope we hear more from you. Awesome country with great people, and I really want to visit some day.
Drop me a line (meme AT eaku DOT net) if you're ever heading this way; I can answer any questions / make any recommendations you want :)
