Traveling Workshop Part 2
We did a lot of work to make a totally unique trailer look like… every other white cargo trailer on the road… why?! Because I don’t care for the color red. That’s it. Had it been pretty much any other color I probably would have went with it. Instead I got to learn how to (and not to!) paint metal.
Making it unique again
I like to make our stuff unique. Partly because it’s cool but also, it makes it hard to steal. I mostly believe people are good. But if someone stole our tractor you bet I’d be asking if people saw a Kubota with daisies on it. Or if our camper went away I’d be asking if people saw the vintage camper with the big map on the drivers side… it’s my personal version of insurance. 🙂
So now we have a plain ole white cargo trailer to make unique. I also don’t like obnoxious. There is a line. Because this trailer is the mobile version of our workshop which is being designed to assist in building crazy dreams I thought it appropriate to call back to all those crazy dreams we’ve already built. In that way the paint job on here can shift with life and whisps can be added each time we bring a new dream to reality!
Picking a color pallet
I wanted something that included the green from my tiny house, the orange from Daisy and the yellow from our camper. All ‘crazy ideas’ we’ve had and brought to life. I didn’t want it to be obnoxious thought so I mixed them with a few grey tones.
Some people see weeds, others see wishes…
I debated ordering vinyl stickers. They would have been a couple hundred bucks… Instead I found this cool stencil and decided it would be perfect! Hazel and I learned how to use it together. It’s not got the same ‘crisp’ edge that a sticker has but I kind of like the hand made look of it. We can continue to add to it easily over the years too! I sort of want to add a bunch more but I am easing into it – so I don’t just over do it!
Since the kiddos were little we use dandelions as ‘wishes’. I thought it was a good metaphors for what we hope to accomplish through our lives. Re-use, working WITH nature instead of against it, etc. We added a couple colored seeds that represent the wishes we made into reality (the tiny house’s green door, the camper’s yellow accents, and the acreage tended by our orange tractor, Daisy). As we keep creating we will add more.
Onto the Inside
There is a lot to be done still but I was able to build our main workbench inside. It’s 8 feet long withe 2 extra feet of storage for our air compressor and shop-vac. Within that bench is another 8 for bench that slides out and rest’s on stands. It can also be taken completely out and set up closer to wherever it needs to be, as needed. in addition there is a fold down bench for more space. Inside a 16′ trailer we have 22′ of workbench area.
The workbench also fits our bins which hold all of our building supplies. We have a bin for electrical, plumbing, drywalling, insulating, painting, etc. All of those odds and ends we’ve collected through our projecting now have a home to stay safe and organized.
Still To Do
Next up will be to build the custom shelves where all the power tools will have a home. Right now they are stored on the floor and that’s not going to work. I will also be building a door between the shop area and the room at the front which will house my sewing machine and art supplies. It will have a nice chair in it, probably a TV since we have an extra one. It will be a place the kids could ‘play’ while we work on projects.
I am also shopping for a big generator to install on the tongue as well as an RV style air conditioner if once happens to cross our path. Might as well be comfortable, right! 🙂
