Putting Wooden Sides on a Utility Trailer

[JGaulard]

I've got a total of three trailer projects for you to browse in this thread. The first and third are excellent for all around usage, but the second one is only good under certain circumstances. The first project is great for hauling leaves, dirt, mulch, and all that, because the sides are solid and the loose material won't fall out as you're driving. The second project calls for lightweight luan, which gets ruined when wet, so be careful with that. The third variation uses waterproof, long lasting pressure treated decking. along with angle iron, which is an incredible solution for hauling furniture and large items (pianos, lawnmowers, etc...). But since there are gaps in its construction, it wouldn't be suitable for dirt, leaves, and things like that.

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Three Wooden Trailer Sides Options

1. Solid Plywood & 2"x4" Trailer Sides
2. Lightweight Luan Trailer Sides
3. Heavy Duty Decking Trailer Sides

All of the following options are totally DIY that you can handle yourself. I bought everything I used right at my local Home Depot. Be sure to bookmark this page for future usage and please share on social media. That would help me out a lot!

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I am sure you are all just thrilled about my new utility trailer. I know I am. I have been having dreams about driving around with it.

Yesterday, I went to Home Depot in Windham to pick up a bunch of supplies. The project was to put wooden sides on the new trailer, so mulch and stuff like that doesn’t fall out. I also wanted wooden sides to kind of shield anything I am towing from bad weather.

I bought a lot of stuff, including plywood, bolts, nuts, washers, drill bits, spray paint, a tarp, a ball for the lawnmower hitch, etc… I have found that purchasing the entire box of bolts is a lot better than buying them individually. I am always looking for nuts and bolts and now I might just have some.

I was confronted with a little issue while browsing for the plywood I was going to use for this project. I went in the store with every intention of getting two sheets of 3/4″ pressure treated plywood. I left with two sheets of 1/2″ non-pressure treated plywood. The reason for this? Well, I was going to seal whatever I got up with Thompson’s Water Seal anyway. I have had good luck with sealing natural wood up and it’s weathered the environment. With the 1/2″ sheets going for about $11 each, I just couldn’t pass it up. Plus, I wanted to keep things light on the trailer. It’s really not intended for heavy-duty towing.

Here, let me show you the photos and then we can talk about them.







Okay, the first thing I would like to discuss is how great the trailer looks with the John Deere lawn mower. I bought a 1 7/8″ ball with a 3/4″ shaft yesterday, just for this occasion. I am going to have fun towing stuff around the yard now.

The wooden sides came out better than I thought. I planned on drilling a bunch of holes through the steel and really anchoring the wood down to the trailer. As it ends up, once everything was framed, I didn’t need to do that. I only actually drilled two holes in the steel towards the back of the trailer. Now, all I need to do is to take those two bolts out and the whole wood unit comes right out. It’s as snug as a bug in a rug and rock solid. You really should check it out. Everything is straight too. Wait, I lied…I drilled six holes on the ramp to hold that one piece of plywood all the way at the back. Whoops.

I also picked up a nice heavy duty tarp to cover whatever I have on the trailer. You can see that it is brown. I really hate those ugly blue tarps. They are a disgrace to look at and doesn’t help out the neighborhood if I have to cover something up, like a wood pile. From now on, brown tarps it is.

Home Depot didn’t have any Thompson’s Water Seal. After building this today, I am kind of glad. I decided that I can paint the wood black and things will match much better. If I pop the wood portion out and slop on some black Rust-Oleum, it will look a lot less than some home-made trailer rolling down the road. I will cruise in style.

Just as I was finishing up, Laura pulled in the driveway. I told her I had a surprise for her and held her hand as I helped her in the trailer. She sat down and I hopped on the mower. Then, I proceeded to drive her around the yard. We looked like total idiots, but I will tell you, that stuff is fun. I guess we didn’t look any worse than when she pulled me around the yard right afterwards. Man, I have been trying to get that girl on this lawnmower ever since I got it. Strange how she hopped right on today. Maybe it has something to do with the weather.

I need to pick up that black paint. I’ll take some more pics when it’s all finished and sealed up.

What's the Best Wood to Use for Trailer Sides?​

I often get asked what's the best wood for trailer sides and I'd have to say that depends on the size of the trailer. If you're building sides for your utility trailer, you'll definitely want to use pressure treated wood; both plywood and 2x4s. If your utility trailer is small, something like a 5'x8', then you can use 1/2 inch plywood or even a bit thinner than that, depending on what you're going to be hauling. If you've got a larger trailer that you'd like to add wood sides to, something like a 7'x14', then you can use 5/8 inch or 3/4 inch plywood, especially if you're going to haul motor vehicles like cars, ATVs, or snowmobiles. The trailer sides will likely get beat up a little bit and it's better to have them thicker and be able to withstand the abuse. But more importantly, the wood have to be weather resistant. I have heard good things about marine plywood if you can afford that.

COMMENT: Your lawn tractor received the hitch ball without modification? I have a zero turn Gravely which comes with a trailer hitch mount, but the hole is like 1/2 inch. I bought a 1-7/8 ball with the skinniest shank I could find, and it’s still way too big for the hole on the Gravely, which is I think 1/2 inch. My intention is to pull a very light duty trailer around the yard. It’s so light that my 6 year old can lift the tongue without any problem.

COMMENT: You know, for the life of me, I can’t remember. I’m almost sure I didn’t modify the hole. I believe it was large enough. I know for a fact that it was bigger then 1/2″. You may have to drill yours out, if you’ve got the extra material around it.

Actually, I know I didn't modify it because I was pulling that trailer around before I got my John Deere bagger. I just saw a photo of the bagger and the hole wasn't modified or drilled out in any way.

COMMENT: On my craftsman, I just punched a hole to the left of the main hole and put a ball on. Its not exactly in the middle but it really doesn’t have to be if your just pulling it around the yard. The trailer will go straight anyway…

COMMENT: Good idea. Like you said, it really doesn’t matter where the hole is. At the speed the tractor is moving, there’s no worry.

COMMENT: I need to add sides to my trailer as the leaves are starting to come down and I really don’t feel like taking 1000 trips to the transfer station like last year. Your pictures are great but I can’t tell how the back is secured in between the sides. I also can not see where you attached the sides to the trailer. Do you have details on hardware and materials? Any info is appreciated.

COMMENT: If you look at the fourth picture down, you’ll see a 2×4 running across the rear deck of the trailer, right in front of where the gate attaches. I put that board there so the sides wouldn’t be flimsy and it really worked. I also bolted the trailer sides to the frame in the rear as well. If you look above the license plate in the area of the gate pin on the left side, you’ll see the metal trailer frame. I drilled holes through the frame and through the wood on both sides, front and back. That’s where I attached everything together. So those bolts coupled with the 2×4 screwed to the trailer floor, in between the sides, really made the whole thing rock solid. The bolts through the frame and 2x4s stopped the sides from caving in and the 2×4 on the floor stopped the sides from pushing apart. Let me know if you have any more questions. I’m happy to help.

COMMENT: Did you cut the plywood in half for the sides?

COMMENT: The trailer was 5’x8′, so the sides were about 2 foot tall. I just ripped a 1/2″ piece of plywood lengthwise. I then framed the sides out with pressure treated 2″x4″s. Very important to frame the sides out or you run the risk of having flimsy sides. Let me know if you have any more questions.

COMMENT: Thanks so much for posting this bro! You have the exact, same trailer I just bought and I’m using mine for landscaping equipment. I just want to build walls, but this is a great help.

COMMENT: No Problem. Glad I could help.

COMMENT: What size is the trailer?

COMMENT: This was a little 5×8 trailer.

COMMENT: I have a 5×10 utility trailer that weighs about 700lbs. I have been wondering how much my John Deere LA135 can tow. I don’t want to damage the transmission. Filled with mulch I can see the trailer weighing 1,500lbs. Any idea?

COMMENT: You will burn that motor up in no time, provided the tractor will even pull it.

COMMENT: Agreed.

COMMENT: Awesome post, I am getting ready to do some similar work to my utility trailer as well, and you solved a couple of problems that I had not been able to design around yet. It looks like I could even pick up mulch and fill dirt when done! For those looking for a solution for trailer hitch balls, I had something similar to this on my previous lawn tractor: I believe it would of course interfere with a bagger (or maybe not, never tried it), but it worked great for what I used it for before I got my 4 wheeler which was dragging the pastures with a chain drag and pulling my utility trailer all over the property. Never tried moving the horse trailer with it, but for anything up to a small boat, I think it would be perfect.

COMMENT: Could I build 4 foot high sides on this side trailer to haul tree limbs and brush? Could you provide detailed information on how to please?

COMMENT: I'm sure you could. Just cut the walls higher than I did. Also be sure to secure them with a 2"x4" frame. The more plywood you use, the more wobbly those walls will become. You need to make sure they'll be strong.

COMMENT: We are wanting to enclose an open bed similar to what you have done. We would like it higher and have the top about half way down. Have lots of ideas but would like some other ideas.

COMMENT: Do you think by just adding the ball it would be too much weight to haul a log splitter?

COMMENT: Nah. Log splitters don’t weight that much. I pulled around this trailer full of mulch as well as the trailer with almost a ton of pellets in it. No problem.

COMMENT: Hey Jay - did you use treated 2×4s on the sides and front?

COMMENT: If I were you, I’d use treated for everything. I did use it for the 2x4s, but not for the plywood. I should have used it for everything. Also, paint as much as you can with the canned Rustoleum (with a brush) and really get the paint in there. If the trailer sits outside, the wood tends to get old quickly. The goal is to preserve it for as long as possible.

COMMENT: Thanks for posting this. I got a 5×8 trailer from Lowe’s a few weeks ago. I already installed wood on the floor and am now in the process of designing the walls. What’s your opinion on using 3 ft high walls to match the height of the ramp instead of 2 ft?

COMMENT: That’s a great idea. Just make sure those walls are framed with 2x4s and you should be fine. Also remember that those little 5×8 trailers don’t hold that much weight, so be sure not to overload it. When calculating the weight, you need to account for the weight of the trailer and any accessories, the weight of the wood used to make the sides and the weight of the cargo you’ll be hauling.

COMMENT: I have the same 5×8 Lowes trailer. Something I did to increase weight capability and wheel clearance (found it on Youtube) was flip the axle. Gives you about 3 more inches of clearance between the wheel and fender, increasing the weight tolerance.

COMMENT: Jay, Your the best. Great job! Any ideas on doing this to a garden tractor dump trailer?

COMMENT: You would definitely need to post photos of your trailer here so I could take a look at it. I wouldn't even know where to begin without seeing what I'm working with.

COMMENT: I’m a total beginner. When you say “framed”, I’m not real clear how to put everything together. I already have wooden floor and bought untreated plywood, which Home Depot cut for me. I have two sides , and a piece for the front. I need to buy 2″ x 4″ x ? (enough to frame all three boards and attach them together). You assembled this and then put in trailer, Can you give me a “step by step” guide. That is probably asking a lot but basic should be good and very appreciated.

COMMENT: Hey Wendy, you can do a search on YouTube for a step by step assembly instructions! I did that for my poly trailer, it came out great!

 

[JGaulard]

ALERT: This was my second attempt at creating wooden sides for a utility trailer and it failed spectacularly. The reason it failed was because I didn't use waterproof wood. The luan was a great idea to keep weight down, but the moment it got wet, it curled up and came apart. If you'd like to make sides like I did below, I urge you to use a waterproof material such as fiberglass or something else.

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The name of this game was weight. Or perhaps I should say, lack of weight.

That’s what I was after with this go round. I’ve built trailer sides before and I’ll admit that I succumbed to the temptation of creating what I like to call “tank” sides. I used half inch plywood and pressure treated 2x4s as a full frame. The sides almost weighed more than the trailer. You should have seen me a few days ago trying to get the things off. I almost pulled my back out – and that was all for a small 5’x8′ trailer!

Before heading out to purchase any lumber this time, I sat down to decide exactly what I wanted to build sides for. I came to a few conclusions:

1. The sides I need will be used primarily for moving light cargo. No mulch or gravel. Only plastic totes filled with household items.
2. They must be rigid, but light.
3. They must be able to disassemble relatively easily, fold down into flat pieces and be strapped down.
4. They must hold up to at least 70mph winds, or otherwise known as highway driving.

I think I found a solution. There’s a board out there called “Luan.” I’m sure you’ve seen it. It’s the stuff cheap doors are made out of. It’s also used as backing for a variety of products. I remember it as being really strong and really light. I think I tried to break it in two once with little luck. It just splintered, but hung on. I thought this type of wood would create the perfect trailer sides for the use I was after. Also, I decided to steer clear from anything pressure treated and use regular pine. Well, I did use 2×2 pressure treated wood for the rails, but it’s light.

I started the project this afternoon and within a few hours, I was pretty much done. All I need to do is paint all the wood with some nice black protective Rust-Oleum paint and I should be good to go. There are a few things I would like to show you though – in the way of pictures. I want you to look at the details of how I am planning to keep this whole thing together. By not using heavy lumber, I had to come up ways to keep the unit strong against those high winds. I’ll do my best to describe what I did under each picture.

By the way, the zip ties you see were temporarily holding the sides in place as I was doing the building.



COMMENT: I followed your advice and made my trailer sides out of Luan as well. It looks great. But how do I secure it to the trailer? I’ve been on your website several times and there are no explanations under the pics.

COMMENT: Please read my warning about using luan. I'll answer your question, even though I don't recommend that material. Perhaps you only use your trailer on sunny days and store it in a dry location. If you look at the photos closely, you'll see that I attached the wood to the trailer via zip-ties as well as 2"x4"s that keep it so the sides won't lift from the bottom. If I were to really secure things down, I'd screw some 1"x1"s inside the trailer, along the sides, down to the floor of the trailer and then screw the sides into those 1"x1"s.

 

[JGaulard]

ALERT: This is my third attempt at making wooden trailer sides. This one turned out awesomely, if that's a word. I used pressure treated decking and metal angle iron for construction and, although heavy, these sides were as strong as all get-out. They're perfect sides for hauling cargo, such as couches and other furniture, but lack the "keeping it in" quality you'd need when hauling mulch, soil, compost, etcetera. The best part is, these heavy duty trailer sides really bolt up to the steel of the trailer. They won't fly off on the highway.

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I know I’ve been down this road before, but I thought I’d give you an update on the installation of my new wooden trailer sides. I’ve changed things up a bit.

With my first go-round of setting up some nice sides for my new trailer, I emphasized that weight was of the utmost importance. Well, after sleeping on it and looking out the window at the flimsy trailer sides I’d put together, I decided that luan wasn’t going to work out. While I was still conscious of weight, I also needed strength.

Back when I was looking at the trailer store’s inventory of trailers, I noticed that many trailers that were sent straight from the factory used standard 6 inch wide decking board. Many used the board all the way up to create sides that were at least two foot high. I didn’t need solid two foot sides, but I did like the idea of using the decking board.

So, I took another trip over to Home Depot (which I don’t enjoy, by the way) to pick up the materials I would need. I purchased four 12 foot long boards, and two 8 foot long ones. I also bought a few boxes of nuts, bolts, washers and some pieces of angle iron. I was happy with the plan I had.

The goal of these sides isn’t to waterproof my cargo. I’ll have tarps for that. It’s simply to create some sort of an emergency barrier in case something decides to shift. My peace of mind requires this at the very least.

After a few days of working in the knuckle banging cold, I cut, drilled and painted my way to some pretty sweet looking and acting trailer sides, which I’ll post below for you to see. I’m very happy with what I’ve done here because they still meet my requirements of being fairly lightweight and quite strong.

Just a note on the pictures I’m posting – I did this sort of post years ago with my last trailer side endeavor and had many comments asking questions about the intricacies of what I’ve done. So to preempt those types of comments, I decided to post more than mere far away photos and to focus on the details as well. Enjoy.



COMMENT: I read most, if not all, of your trailer posts today. Very nice info. With respect to this post, did the usage of your trailer change after putting on these sides? I’m going to be enclosing a couple of feet of my utility trailer much like you did the first time around with 2x4s and plywood. This will allow me to carry soil and mulch without the need for wrapping it like I do now with a tarp. I’m curious how (or even if) you carried these loose loads with this setup. I’d also welcome any suggestions or pointers you have as well. BTW – I’m assuming you got ride of the Sure-Trac trailer when you went with the enclosed – the sure-trac looked like a very nice trailer.

COMMENT: I actually only used this setup to haul my belongings from Connecticut to Florida. Once I got to Florida, I sold the trailer and the sides. It made two round trips very nicely. To answer your question about the Sure-Trac, yes, that was my favorite trailer of all time. It was so well made and worth the money spent. I got good money for it when I sold it too, so apparently there's a reputation out there for them. In your case, I'd probably set up these heavy duty sides for all-around usage and then make some solid sides that I could slide in and out when necessary. That would be a super handy solution.

COMMENT: I am going to be adding sides to my utility trailer and I was wondering which wood is the best to use. I am going to be building my homemade sides soon, so it's important that I get the wood type right the first time. I'm assuming it'll be plywood, but I wonder if there is any specific type that's best. Thanks.

COMMENT: Hi - I responded to your question up in the very first post of this thread. You can read it there. It's at the bottom of the first post. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

COMMENT: I have a Karavan 6 x 12 trailer I am going to enclose as you have done. With the longer sides, I'll need more than one (ripped) sheet of plywood for each side. Do you have any suggestions for keeping the two pieces tightly bound together? Thanks!

COMMENT: Let's see - off the top of my head, you have two options: 1. You can buy three pieces of pressure treated plywood and use 1 1/2 pieces per side. Rip all three pieces so they're 8'x2' and then cut two of those pieces so they are 4'x2'. Then, you'd use two 8'x4' pieces for each side and two 4'x2' pieces for each side. You'd end up with two layers of plywood in a staggered fashion for each side, making the walls twice as thick. Basically, what I'm trying to say here is that you'll double up on the plywood for each side because you want to cover each seam with a solid piece of wood. 2. Personally, this is what I'd do. Since you're already going to frame out the walls like I did in the post above, why not just run an 8' long 2"x4" across both pieces of plywood so the plywood seam is in the middle of the 2"x4"? For each side, you'll be using an 8'x2' and an 4'x2' piece of plywood butted up against each other. Start your framing with the 2"x4" at the 4'x2' plywood side so it covers the seam between the two pieces of plywood. Then, cut a smaller piece of 2"x4" and cover the inside seam with it. Does any of this make sense? It sure is more difficult to explain than I thought it would be. If what I wrote isn't clear, let me know and I'll try to draw a diagram.

COMMENT: Here, I did my best at two diagrams. For the first option, simply stagger the double layers of plywood for each side. You can use construction adhesive with short screws to fasten the wood together. For the second option, look at how the 2"x4"s cover the plywood seams.


I would do option two because the sides will be lighter overall. But then again, option one will be stronger. I guess it depends on what you'll be hauling.

COMMENT: Thanks, Jay! That was along the lines I was thinking: stagger the 2x4 bracing from the plywood. I was also going to put a piece of 2x6 or 2x8 on the plywood seam, and bolt it to the pressure-treated wood on both sides. One further question: it looks like from your photos, that you're using carriage bolts for the connections. What size are they? I was guessing that 1/4-20 would be good enough. Thanks again for the great post!

COMMENT: No problem. I enjoy writing threads/posts like this one. Also, regarding the bolts, I'm sure they were 1/4" at some length. I don't remember, but I'm almost positive they're 1/4" bolts because I know I wouldn't have paid for anything thicker than that. And those are plenty strong. When you get your trailer sides up and running, you should post some pictures of them in this thread. I'd love to see what you come up with. Thanks!

COMMENT: Jay, I'm starting to cut wood and bolt pieces together, but I'm not sure exactly how to attach the front piece to the sides. Your pic's don't seem to have enough detail for me to see how that's done. Thanks again!

COMMENT: Thanks! That's what it looked like, but wanted to be sure.