Woodworking Trailer

Jim Phelps of Concord, California has been building trailers for nearly 20 years. While building decks and working with redwood in Sonora California, Jim started with his first enclosed trailer from which he had to load and unload his power tools and materials on a daily basis. Tired of constantly having to move his equipment, Jim decided to design and build a trailer where everything would "pop out". Jim recalled, "I built the trailer to house my commonly used tools so I could pull up to the job site and play transformers where everything simply popped out of the trailer, and I could plug the tools in and go to work!"

Jim Phelps' multi-function woodworking trailer

Jim's woodworking trailer hosts numerous tool stations allowing him to take his mobile shop on the road.
View from front of trailer

1. 10" Craftsman tablesaw
2. Dewalt 12" compound slide mitersaw on the fold out table
3. The shop vac is on the same switch as the tablesaw and mitersaw so the shop vac turns on when either tool is used. The shop vac also connects to the accessories.
4. & 5. Mitersaw out feed rollers
Closeup of 10" Craftsman tablesaw

Jim's tablesaw, the back of the trailer uses an outfeed roller for supporting long stock.
Closeup of mitersaw with shop vac attached

Minimizing sawdust at each tool reduces clean up time later.
Work stations viewed from rear of trailer

6. Electrical outlets on various parts of the trailer connect to the circuit-breaker box.
7. Receiver hitches have been welded to several places on the trailer to hold accessories like a router table and a vise.
8. Pencil sharpener
9. Outfeed roller for tablesaw
Accessories at front of trailer

10. Jim welded a ¹⁄₄ " bit to the trailer jack so he can raise and lower it with his cordless drill.
11. 100' air hose connected to the air compressor regulator at front of trailer
12. 50-amp circuit-breaker panel. Both the saws and the compressor are hard wired to it. The box is fed by a 10-gauge extension cord with a twist-lock plug.
13. Air-compressor gauges and regulator
Compartments for an air compressor and bits

14. Air compressor
15. Under front top flip-out panel, Jim mounted safety deposit boxes to hold bits, blades, and small tools.
Inverter and battery

16. 5,000-watt power sine inverter and battery is charged by a dedicated line from the truck that's only sending it power when the truck is running.
17. Gel-pack battery
Room for lots of tools

18. Side tool box with drop down cover
19. Router table (accessory) mounted in receiver hitch
20 Pop-up umbrella for shade

The perfect compaion for an outside "shop".
21 Attachable light

Lights allow Jim to work past dusk.
Side view of trailer

Getting ready to roll, Jim flips up the side panel to enclose the tool bays.
Rear view of trailer with mitersaw table extented

The easily extended table makes a perfect platform for the mitersaw.
Side view of trailer with tool bay open

Every area of Jim's trailer works as a tool station or storage area.