Looking at a Utility reefer trailer for a spray trailer. Only one concern, the sides are bulging just a bit inside, and the rivets are pulled on the back corners. Here are a couple pics.
Pretty normal, forklifts are hell on refers. Those rivets are blind Huck 1/4" not hard to get. As far as the Kemlight wall bulging that's common too with age. Refer repair shops carry kemlight in sections or small pieces. The sealing caulk to use is Bostich FS 1100, that stuff really sticks. Main thing is the floor in decent shape? The Aluminum channel where the forks run gets shaved sometimes real bad, especially with slip sheet machines. It's like a big scrapper on that aluminum, just files it right down to nothing. Is the floor {if it has a slider/or not} in front of slider support good not cracked. Real common for that area to crack on older trailers. From photos it doesn't look too bad-nothing that can't be repaired.
I was hoping you'd give your opinion. We were a little concerned that the bulging in the side might be structural, but it sounds like that's not the case? It's bulging directly ahead of the tandem slider frame, but everything looks perfect underneath. Floor is in great shape, couldn't find anything looking like damage anywhere. Thanks for looking at the pics.
Thump around the bulged area of the wall to make sure the vertical posts are solid. And check the rub/belt line-{14" aluminum belt at bottom of wall in that area for previous tig welds/patching. Refers are know for rather slight of hand repairs--if done by Utility usually nothing to worry about.
What's a spray trailer?
Can also call it a sprayer tender, it's a farmer term for a van trailer with 3 - 1600 gallon poly tanks connected together, mixing cones, transfer pump and hose reel to haul water and chemical to the sprayer for crops. During spraying season, if you are covering 1000 acres per day, you need 10k to 20k gallons of water. The reason we use reefer trailers is they have an aluminum floor that won't rot out.
Cool. Thanks for the info, learned something today.
Which part? That we use semis to haul water to spray, or that we use that much lol.
We sold some old Utility trailers some years back for storage units--Those would have made great spray tenders. The floors were built extra heavy to be able to haul rolled paper/huge rolls-news print. The corrugates were 25% thicker and twice as tall. The walls were built with 10% more posts.
There are no large scale farming operations anywhere around Central AL except for tree farms.. So I find it interesting in how its done. There are some cotton and soybean farms scattered around but they're only couple 100 acres. The land is too hilly to get much more flat ground than that.
Most in this area build ten wheeler or 45' flat trailer spray tenders, This is similar. *
Some guys do this as well. We like the enclosed trailers because the tanks will last pretty much indefinitely, and the chemical is out of the elements as well. Also, chemical is supposed to be under lock and key, so these make that possible as well.
There are a few around here that use a van as well, mostly old ones with a right side curb delivery door.
We buy used Utility vans for storage, job trailers. The floor seems well suited for vibrations. Genset trailers around the crusher seem to last around 3 years before the floor under the generator begin to crack. The most recent, a utility brand as been on the go for almost 6 years with no sign of damage. They seem well built
It's the best of that type of trailer--the rest are all trying for second place.