Posted 2011-06-09 2:04 AM (#134706) Subject: Steel Horse Trailers
New User
Posts: 4
Location: MS
Hi I'm very new here and I know that it's late, but I wanted to ask if there is anyone here that has done a DIY project on painting and a small living quarters in their steel horse trailer. I just purchased a two horse slant with a dressing room. The trailer does need painting and I would like to fix up the dressing room. Any ideas and photos are welcome. Thanks.
Posted 2011-06-09 9:35 PM (#134727 - in reply to #134706) Subject: RE: Steel Horse Trailers
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342 Location: Ohio
What specific information are you searching for? I've got 2 steel 3h trailers, one of which has a 15' full LQ (bed, kitchenette, a/c, bathroom, water tanks, 12v and 110v electric, etc) that we just restored, the other is a smaller 4' shortwall weekender dressing room (basically a bed, a/c, and 110v electric). Honestly, adding a small LQ is as difficult as you want to make it. It can be elaborate and professional, or more of a homebuilt yet nice looking interior. Some good hours on google and this site in the for sale ads looking at interior layouts of similarly sized trailers was the most helpful for me. Also, you can use the search function on these forums to see if some of your questions have already been asked and answered. I think your post was a little too broad as far as the interior, but as a basis, you'll want to insulate it first off and paneling is easy to work with. Menards has some very nice leather look wall board relatively inexpensively. Getting into the electric side of things is obviously a little more complicated depending if you want 110v and/or 12v. You can have propane appliances if needed, air conditioning, water tanks, plumbing, sink, etc. etc. etc. Just depends on what you want.I just painted the exterior of my 28' box LQ trailer. It was a full Friday morning through Monday night project--after 4 days of prep. We started with sanding everything. We have a air body sander that made quick(er) work of it--Drill mounted disks made by 3M work well, too. Took any rust down to bare metal with a drill mounted wire brush and patched any holes, used body filler in the smaller areas, and used a lot of rust converter. Then sanded again. Washed and dried. The primer we used was basic Kilz 2 acrylic primer. We used a paint rig to spray it on. We laid it on pretty thick. This was welcomed when we painted it. If I had to do it again, I would've rolled it on. The paint we used was Behr Exterior Enamel from Home Depot and we rolled it on. It was about $30 a gallon, but is good stuff. For the roof, we used White Elastomeric paint which if you aren't familiar with, is a rubberized paint that offers sealing properties and well as high reflectivity. This was the best upgrade we did to the trailer throughout this entire process. In 95 degree weather in the sun, the roof remains cool to the touch and interior temps are reduced easily by 40% or more. The brand we used was Henry also from Home Depot and we rolled this on as well. It was actually very easy to apply and went on quick. I am getting ready to apply this to our smaller trailer and travel trailer. If you have questions, feel free to ask here or send me a pm.
Posted 2011-06-09 10:59 PM (#134728 - in reply to #134706) Subject: RE: Steel Horse Trailers
New User
Posts: 4
Location: MS
Thank you so much. I have a very small dressing room. I think it's like a 1 foot short wall. I just want to have somewhere to go for long show days. A small a/c or heater and a bed but also want it to look nice. If I can figure it out I will send a few pics of it.
Posted 2011-06-10 9:23 AM (#134737 - in reply to #134706) Subject: RE: Steel Horse Trailers
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342 Location: Ohio
There were no pics attached..
What you are wanting sounds similar to what is in my small weekender. Basically it is insulated, covered in paneling, has laminate wood flooring, a little plastic storage container, air conditioning and we just use a space heater if needed. Does your show grounds have electric available?
The a/c that was previously installed was a window unit installed under the goose. It works just fine for that small of a space. If it were me, I would've tried to find a smaller roof top unit off of a pop up camper or something.
The mattress we put in is actually 6 layers of foam mattress toppers we got from a bargain store called Gabriel Brothers. Works great, was very cheap, and is comfortable.
Posted 2011-06-10 11:05 PM (#134756 - in reply to #134706) Subject: RE: Steel Horse Trailers
New User
Posts: 4
Location: MS
I tried to attach the pics, I couldnt get it to work. But what you are describing is something like what I had in mind. Yes our show grounds has electric hookups and I was thinking of getting a small generator just in case I could get to a hook up.
Posted 2011-06-13 8:46 AM (#134799 - in reply to #134706) Subject: RE: Steel Horse Trailers
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342 Location: Ohio
Since there will be electric available, i would suggest, for electric, to go with a simple 110v system and not worry about batteries and wiring for 2 diiferent voltages. You can find small breaker boxes and appropriate sized wiring at any home improvement store. You can just use a little lamp or something for light when needed.
Posted 2011-06-13 9:43 AM (#134807 - in reply to #134706) Subject: RE: Steel Horse Trailers
New User
Posts: 3
Location: Croton, OH
I just purchased my first gooseneck. It has small dressing room (short wall 33"). It has wood paneling on the slant wall & I painted the steel wall a light cream color. You can go to a reputable paint dealer & they will help you get the correct paint for steel. I then found a print company to print some of my vac photos on magnets (8x11) & I can place them anywhere. My husband built a storage bench & then a cubby hole that I can place a wicker basket in for more storage & then went to a home improvement store & purchased a kitchen wall cabinet that sits securely on top of the cubby. The trailer had an A/C unit but no electric, so my husband also ran some electric & a couple lights & switches. I have a small frig in there & some storage units for my clothes.
Steel Horse Trailers
