Hi all,

For those of you with trailers, I'm interested in hearing your experiences with different methods of keeping a fully enclosed windsurfing trailer cool inside. The options i see are
- do nothing and hope it doesnt get too hot
- put in a few static louvre type vents
- put in a litlte whirlybird
- put in a solar powered vent fan

I am planning on using Alupanel cladding in a dark blue colour, which will probably get a lot warmer than if it was white. So I will probably need to do something to vent out the hot air.

I'm also a bit concerned about how much water/rain these different vents will let in if I'm driving home in the rain (happens a lot in summer with storms etc). So would be interested to hear if anyone has had big problems with water getting in.

cheers
james

I see this as your only viable option

Build it out of plywood, have had no heat problems with mine

mine is plain ali sheet, un painted -cool to touch
the silver finish reflects heat probably better than any other finish.
no issues here with over heating...mind you it never really gets hot here
only problem is it doesnt stand up to hail damage all that well.

I have a whirly on top of my van. Been there for about 6 years.
It has never let in a drop of water, and it definatly drops the temp inside.
The bearings dont last amny seasons. You can hear them when inside the van but you might not notice if its on the trailer (?)

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BundyBear said...

Build it out of plywood, have had no heat problems with mine

That thing you built over would keep your car really cool as well. Fuel efficiency must be down somewhat with the drag though.

The cheapest is the household wall vents made out of thin steel or aluminium, about $10 a pair for 25cm x 15cm at Bunnings etc. But not waterproof

For waterproofness (is that a word? ) you can get all sots of ones that open and close with rubber seals etc, have a look at a motor body builders
Expensive though.

Main thing is forget the dark blue!
I made mine out of sign sheeting that is colourbond light grey. On a normal spring day you could put your hand on it for a couple of seconds - just! I reckon about 50 - 60 degC. In summer you'd be able to fry an egg on it. Ooh just had a Gnaraloo camping cooking idea.... anyway, I digress.
After painting it white, now it is touchable on even the hottest summer days. You can bung your palm on it as long as you want.
Not expensive to paint - one litre of white enamel does it easy with a foam roller. But you may need an etch primer and all that jazz on alum or colourbond to make it stick properly.

You can also insulate the inside of a steel clad one with rubber - old carpet underlay (the multicoured bits of cushion foam looking stuff) is free anywhere there is a roadside rubbish collection or commercial building reno going on.

I am in the process of building a trailer also...i have used a product from "ULLRICH ALUMINIUM" called signpanel....has 1mm aluminium sheet either side of 3mm thick plastic...can get it in various colours incl plain alloy colour...bends pretty easy once you have routed out a channell through to the inside sheet...is pretty light as well.....i will post some photos 2nite. It was $85 nz/sheet which is 1220x1440..and $129nz/sheet for 1500x3000 size...so not the cheapest but is easy to work with,and cuts pretty easy withan air powered hacksaw....I have used the white panel( allthough i coulda used black and never had temp issues here in wellington !!!..would more worry about it splitting in the cold !!) and have rivveted it onto square steel tube.Unless you are an engineering marvel i very much doubt that any trailer made wouldnt have sufficient air flow through the trailer when driven or parked, allthough a rotating top vent would do a good job I personally think it is overkill.... my 2 cents worth !

I have put a solar vent on my roof for about $60 from a marine shop. It's plastic so it wont rust. I found this to be the best option considering my trailer sits around for long periods and a whirly bird needs breeze to work effieciently.

There's probably some cheap insulation on the market at the moment to line your trailer

Contact Peter Garrett insulation Services Canberra

Here is one we are working on now.
started as something to transport customers Street Rod, then just as we finish, we get asked to mod it to take the his and her Hogs thru side.
Inside looks like outside, all bonded 50mm refrig panel.

No vents, no need, stays Cool.

^^ I was just about to ask how much damn gear you have!!!!

I will be making sure my trailer stays cool by careful placement of a few select windsurfing related stickers and perhaps a strip down the sides.

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Mark _australia said...

^^ I was just about to ask how much damn gear you have!!!!

I need a tri axle for all my gear

Here's a couple of pics of my trailer..not finished yet but close...

James, my trailer looks a little like KevKev's, made from Sign White panels. (see photo on my profile)
I went to Bunnings, got hold of a role of silver insulation material, glued in place with liquid nails product. top, sides front and rear.
Gets a tad warm over here, but no issues so far. Trailer is about 2 -3 years old now. Wont cost you too much if you measure up what you need before purchase.
Mineral

mine being silver ally sheet panles doesnt get realy hot but extreme humid inside due to all the wet **** ..smells bit funnie 2 ;....eh

Anyone played around with the thin white fibreglass sheets (from Qld) used for pantech siding? I'm particularly interested in it's weight and cost to sign white sheets.

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KEVKEV said...

Here's a couple of pics of my trailer..not finished yet but close...

Nice job. Are those hubs mounted on block rubber suspension? I've been dreaming of building a new multi purpose enclosed trailer for yonks. My gal box on a box trailer has seen better days and it's fugly.

The hubs on the trailer are called "duratorque"....is a rubber type suspension set up...each hub rated to 650kgs......the trailer was originally just an old garden trailer that was sitting round not being used...mind you theres not much left of the old trailer now except a drawbar and a bit of framing....HOPEFULLY WILL FINISH THIS WEEKEND AND GET IT ALL STICKERED UP....WILL PUT UP A FINISHED PRODUCT PIC SOON !!!!

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nosinkanow said...

Anyone played around with the thin white fibreglass sheets (from Qld) used for pantech siding? I'm particularly interested in it's weight and cost to sign white sheets.

http://www.lucar.com.au/panels.html

Here is one we prepared earlier with this stuff

Yeah, those trailers are ok, but what about keeping ME cool???

Btw, not suure of who owns or built it, but bl00dy brilliant!