Recessed storage

Since the trailer would be our home for the couple of months we are on the road, we wanted to try to include a much storage as possible. I thought a good way to carve out some space would be to recess a couple of cubbies into the trailer frame. Trying to design and determine how to install the recesses as deep as possible while maintaining enough room for insulation was the trickiest part of the build so far. The idea is that they are completely hidden, keeping the underside of the trailer flush.

I started by installing some 1/2" thick closed cell insulation in the base of the first two sections of the trailer. I did this by cutting the insulation to fit and then 'jamming' it in as carefully as possible. Any unintentional cuts or gouges to the insulation were covered with aluminum tape.


Unfortunately I didn't take many photos of the construction of the recess as I was attempting different things and learning as I went. I used 1x3 pine boards to create a box that would fit exactly within the floor frame members of the first two sections of the trailer. These boxes would sit on top of the insulation but needed to be ripped down around 1/2" to be flush with the top of the floor framing. After the box was made I attached small steel angles to the outside of the walls of the box to help support the 1/4" base that would lay on top of the insulation. This way they would provide some support but not be seen. To fit the 1/4" base, I simply traced the outline and used a jig saw to cut them out. After everything was fitted together, the boxes were screwed to the frame and voila! Storage! All in all they ended up being about 3" deep.


After removing the lights and wiring from the trailer, I proceeded to tape up any torn pieces of poly in the two open sections of the trailer. We cleaned it as best we could and sealed up any more cracks in the trailer that we might have missed before. This will be the last time we see the inside of the trailer before the floor is installed!