The Camping Forum

[Wayne]

I priced a high side kit up for my trailer and was a little shocked by the price.

My trailer is a Maypole MP711 from Weekend Leisure



Standard dimensions are:
Internal Dimensions 1040mm(L) x 840mm(W) x 320mm(H)
External Dimensions 1720mm x 1220mm

Also Its weights are:
Gross Weight (Trailer and Load) 315Kgs
Unladen Weight (Trailer Only) 70Kgs
Carrying Capacity 245Kgs



The high side kit gives the height an additional 450mm, taking it from 320mm deep to 770mm deep, however the kit is mesh and cost's £94.99 (also available from Weekend Leisure) also on top of this you need the High Side Cover costing £37 and none of the prices includes postage.
I decided to buy the high side cover as there isn't really a way round this and then I plan to build my own high sides out of wood and anything I can lay my hands on for as little money aspossible.This thread will follow making the high sides (for free if possible ) from start to completion (or disaster ).

(It is purely coincidental that Weekend Leisure is based just under a mile away from my house, I use these because its a local business. I am not in anyway apart of them

[Wayne]

I am going to use Dexion, normally used for metal shelving, as the internal corner supports. I can fix this to the trailer and bolt each piece of wood that will form the high sides. Also I have a couple of lengths lying about, although there very rusty.


2 lengths of Dexion ready to be cut into 4 pieces for the internal corners.


Clamped down and being cleaned up, I just used some sand paper I had, which really did the trick


2 Pieces ready to be sprayed. All the loose paint and rust has been sanded off and they have been washed with Sugar Soap to remove any grease and dirt and rinsed off and allowing to dry.


This shows all 4 pieces cut at 770mm with there first coat of Black "Direct to Rust Smooth Hammerite" Paint, which I had in my garage.


I screwed the wood panels in to position with temporary brackets to make sure all the dimensions were correct and I also checked the cover fitted (not shown) before I started painting the wood.
I had the wood cut to size for me (I picked softwood 12mm Ply). Some places will cut it for free, you just have to buy the sheet from them. A sheet ranges from £15 to £20, so it pays to shop round. Mine was free from a friend who is a joiner and wants a favour from me.

[Wayne]

Undercoat is applied to the plywood. A proper undercoat is required as its bare wood. I managed to find just enough in my paint cupboard. Pays to hang on to things



The internal supports and plywood baking round my garage heater, Better not leave the heater on too long, with the cost of utilities it would be cheaper to buy the kit (You don't really need to bake them, I was just trying to speed the process a little.

Currently, the boards are drying from there first coat of satinwood white paint and the supports from there 2nd coat of Hammerite.

I'll be heading down soon to give them there second coat.

[Rob-merlin1973]

Nice one mate it seems to be coming on fine.

Marine ply is great and a few coats of primer/undercoat make all the difference

[Wayne]

I must admit, I thought about Marine ply and what to treat it with. I went for standard ply because it was free also I confess that I have only applied one coat of primer, again all I had without spending. I figure that technically its not outside as the high side cover comes all the way down past the wood by 60mm onto the original trailer. I also figured that even with this it might only last about 3 to 5 years as it will still be subject to a degree of weather, but by then I might look at selling and upgrading

[Admin]

I must admit, I thought about Marine ply and what to treat it with. I went for standard ply because it was free also I confess that I have only applied one coat of primer, again all I had without spending. I figure that technically its not outside as the high side cover comes all the way down past the wood by 60mm onto the original trailer. I also figured that even with this it might only last about 3 to 5 years as it will still be subject to a degree of weather, but by then I might look at selling and upgrading

Looking good.. Like it

I think your right though, even with the weather its going to be a few years before you would need to think about replacing/repairing and on the basis that this has cost you nothing then its no hardship!

Like it! thats two now with another posting about doing the same! going to need a rename i thing?? "The Trailer Building Forum.co.uk" lol

[Rob-merlin1973]

I went for standard ply

I have to admit i did the same but becouse mine will not have a cover i used 5 coats of primer undercoat and then 4 coats of international satin top coat.

Becouse of your cover though you should get a good few years out of it

[Admin]

4 coats of international satin top coat.

International?? is that like paint that can be used in any country?

[Rob-merlin1973]

International?? is that like paint that can be used in any country?

[Wayne]

4 coats of international satin top coat.

International?? is that like paint that can be used in any country?

I did actually laugh out loud then, Its so Merlin can take it abroad .


Errrrrr, what is International Satin ,,,,wheres google.

Merlin, I can understand you putting so much paint on, like you say your hard shell is exposed to the elements, so its worth the extra trouble. I have applied 2 top coats of Satin on mine and it looks OK, but was gong to apply something like a polish and buff it up with the buffing machine, any suggestions on what to apply. Might just try good old Mr Sheen.

[Wayne]

Ahhh, Its the make. A bit of good stuff from the top shelf eh

[Rob-merlin1973]

but was gong to apply something like a polish and buff it up with the buffing machine

Personally mate i would probably just leave it with the painted finish. The problem with applying polish is that if you decide to re paint next winter you could get some realy bad reactions with the polish.

[Wayne]

hmmm, hadn't thought of that,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, , me repaint

[Wayne]

Right, back to the High Side Kit and all is going well.

All the pieces are now painted, dried and hardened and ready for assembly.


I clamped the first section in place with the internal supports, the supports go all the way down to the floor of the trailer


With the first section drilled and fixed to the Dexion supports I moved on to the side pieces and continued to fix these to the supports


The bolts I was using were too long, but I used a disc cutter on my Dremel which gave a really smooth finish (the last thing I wanted was a rip in the tent as it was lifted out the trailer.
I could have used an hacksaw and file, but I found the Dremel was easier going and made a better finish.
I should also mention that the nuts I used were Nylock Nuts, they have a hard nylon collar inside that bites into the thread of the bolt and doesn't work loose, I hope


I put three fixings down each corner and I fitted the longer side of the Dexion down the shorter side of the joint to catch the fixing in the wood as far in as possible. If that don't make sense, study the picture above .
The top fixings, I fitted penny washes to the outside to stand more impact.


The Penny washes can be seen in this picture.


So, the high sides are practically finished, at the moment they are not physically fixed to the trailer and the whole unit can be slid out

[Wayne]

This picture shows the whole unit lifted out, so the trailer can still be used as original.


Whilst the High Side unit was out I decided to weight it as this would need to be taken into account when towing.


I found some quick release clips in my shed and fixed one to each long side of the High Sides and trailer as a means of securing the two sections together but making it easy to remove.


So that's it, job accomplished and ready for the road. It hasn't been fully road tested yet as I have only took it for a spin round the block, but all looks well at the moment.


The only other thing I thought prudent is to print a data sheet up for the upgrade, showing all the weights etc. I have put a copy in the car in my glove box, If I get stopped by a smart ass cop, its always good to prove you know your facts.