Just how ridiculous was this trailer purchase?

[DMax82]

Hey everybody, I've been a member here a few months now, but this is the first thread I've started. This morning I bought a radar/speed trailer off of GovDeals. It looks pretty cool, and I am excited. However, it's still a little weird to think that I just bought a FREAKING RADAR TRAILER. Anyways, I've attached a couple of pictures below. I haven't seen it in person, so I have no idea how it really is. It has a solar panel and onboard electrical stuff with batteries. My wife will be told that is a work trailer (I'm in construction). Actually it will be cool to haul some tools in and use the electricity to charge cordless tool batteries on remote job sites. But really, it's for having fun on the weekends. It is small and maneuverable, and not too heavy. I will probably modify it a bit once it arrives.

Any thoughts?

 

[colorado matt]

I have craigslist looked at those also .... could never figure out if the only door was the one on the side or if the back opened also ... and the short tongue I did not like ... but I see them around every once in a while for sale for cheap and the y always get a lot of thought ... and for the price you have bats and a solar panel with all the electrical bits in between .... seems like a win ... Matt

 

[DMax82]

Hi Matt, thanks for your reply! I think the side door is the only door. I plan on picking it up next week - it's about five hours away.

 

[RAFoutdoors]

I worked with these during my LE career. They usually only had one door on the passenger side. There will be a large glass window in the back which would have had the "your speed" display. There will also be a smaller circular window facing backwards which was used to aim the radar gun. When you get it, check the wiring for the solar panel. The mount pivots up for use (parked) and down for transport. The constant movement sometimes caused the wiring to fray. Should be easy to fix if it does. The big problem we had with these was the floor falling out due to rust and corrosion. There was usually no undercoating on these trailers. Can be a fun build but will be too small to sleep in. Should be a good tool trailer. Have fun with it.

 

[Smksignals]

You gotta leave the "BUTTS" decal on. The ribbing around the campsite will be endless.

 

[Mark Harley]

I like it! Enclosed storage, A RTT and some paint and it is good to go.
I would suggest changing out those rims though.
Post more as you build.

 

[rnArmy]

Sometimes less-is-more. Plus you got the solar panels and wired for a battery? Score!
Looks like a great starting-off point for a little adventure trailer.
Should be easy enough to cut off the current tongue and weld in a longer piece of 2" receiver tubing to your length.

 

[Fireman78]

You can have fun with that thing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Martyinco]

Please set it up along a random road just to get people to freak out, just once!

 

[DMax82]

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback and encouragement. The trailer is from central Georgia, so hopefully rust won't be an issue. I'm super excited to mess with this thing.

Martyinco - I am thinking to park it on a friend's street, then about a week later send him an official looking ticket saying the speed trailer filmed him speeding.

 

[DMax82]

Well, I picked up "Speedy" yesterday afternoon, after the conclusion of a five day camping trip and drove her home, overnighting in Franklin State Forest just outside of Sewanee, Tennessee. It towed reasonably well on the backroads, but I didn't like going much over 60mph on the interstate. I don't much like the interstate anyways, so much of it might just be me. I mostly did backroads until I got pretty close to Nashville. The trailer box is about four feet wide and nearly five feet long. It is in pretty good shape. I found some keys inside, but they don't work, at least not easily. It has been a little cold out, so I didn't feel like messing with it.

I have a couple of nitpicks - the access door is on the passenger side, which is a little bit of a pain since the rear door of my GX opens that way, so I have to walk around the trailer when moving stuff from the back of my car to the trailer. Hopefully I won't have to do that much, I did this morning though.

I already know of a few things I want to do with it.
-Paint it, probably black
-Get the lights working. It is missing the cord that runs from the trailer to my car. It is a four hole plug going into the trailer.
-Build shelves inside.
-Figure out a better way to mount the solar panel, and remove all the extra metal currently holding it in place.
-Figure out the electronics and batteries and such, and how to best utilize them.
-Add a Yakima roof rack.
-Add a receiver hitch to either use a bike rack or cargo rack.

This thing is pretty cool. It is a handy size and pretty easy to back up. It is also light enough to move around the yard by myself. Hopefully the weather will improve and I can start messing with it soon.

 

[DMax82]

https://goo.gl/photos/Mxaz4SqguC6KE7P29

 

[kcdeming]

Awesome! You are going to love this trailer. Personally, it is a great size for a camping trailer. I plan to cut out the back panel and window and put a door with drawer systems. I also gutted the entire electrical system and rewired it to a 7-pin connector (Never done any wiring before but it was super easy.) Let me know if you have any questions about it since there aren't any other people doing an overland build with one of these that I have seen.

 

[twblanset]

Take off the Sheriff and the Y so just says BUTTS COUNT.

 

[jschmidt]

Or Butt Sheriff