Although the trailer has been sat outside for an age becoming, rather fetchingly, part of the undergrowth, my old grey matter has been working overtime on the construction of turning this lump of rust into a space for seasonal work and also a place to have a brew in the dry. In light of this, I wanted to build something akin to a shepherds hut or, possibly more inkeeping with heavy forestry work; a contractors living van, similar to those towed in halcyon days by traction engines.
Armed with five days annual leave, a delivery of timber, some kingspan, breathable membrane and some 'wriggly tin' I set about the build...
I had already set about extending the length of the trailer by approximately four feet (making it a total of 17 feet long) by welding some taper flange channel to the existing chassis at each end. This stuff, although relatively puny in comparison to the main chassis, is solid stuff!
Starting from the chassis, I attached twelve cross members of treated 4x4/4x3 to the base by way of bolts through welded and drilled angle.
From this point on, things really moved fast, as the base/floor was constructed using a membrane under sheets of OSB3 to sandwich a frame of 2"x2" with an infil of Kingspan insulation.
At the rear end of the base I attached a few lengths of decking for a bit of a porch/veranda area, which you'll clearly be able to see later on.
The following day was occupied by getting the base into its new location within a clearing we've been using to process wood etc. On the way in, the trailer had a minor disagreement with a Scots Pine on a corner, which had to come down (the stump still needs tidying up). This resulted in one of the cross members snapping, but it was swiftly replaced by unbolt ing and unscrewing it from the base and sliding a new one in.