FINDING, FIXING, AND SELLING SMALL TRAILERS

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I dearly love to attend garage sales and auctions, and they're prime places to stock up on reconditioning goods. I shop for hubcaps, wheel covers, taillights, wood, tires, rims, and paint . . . while always keeping one eye open for likely trailers.

When it comes to maintaining a good supply of tires, though, my best source is the owner of a local gasoline station. Whenever he gets a decent 15" or 16" trade-in, he puts it aside for me . . . and I pay him $2.00 to $5.00 apiece. The used rubber replaces the threadbare or completely treadless tires that are generally to be found on the vehicles I buy to recondition.

Once a to-be-refurbished trailer is in your shop, the creative part of this business can begin. Always work with the buyer in mind . . . letting your own critical eye function as the customer's representative. Hauling capacity and mechanical condition are important, but I find that "eyewash" — or appearance — is the factor that sells two-wheelers to most people. If your for-sale cargo hauler looks good, the money is halfway into your pocket. So keep asking yourself that all-important question, "If I were shopping for a trailer, would I buy this one?"

Start the spruce-up job with a general cleaning . . . to remove old paint, grease, dirt, and trash. (I've found that a small air compressor with a hose and nozzle is a great labor-saver, since it allows me to blow-clean the vehicle before washing it.)

Next, make any wood or metal repairs that are necessary, then patch the floors and fix any deep flaws with a commercial filler such as Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty. (This product can be purchased at most lumberyards and hardware stores. It's easy to work with, and as tough as bullhide when it dries . . . but it won't flex, so don't use it on areas that will have a lot of play.) If you're handy at sheet metal work, you can now hammer out, fill in, and otherwise fix up any damaged metal body parts.

Then comes the painting . . . which is perhaps the single most important part of your effort. I coat the wheels, hitches, tongue, and undercarriage with the least expensive spray enamel I can find . . . but I always dress up the body — whether it's wood or metal — with exterior latex house paint. Two brushed-on coats of latex covering will have most trailers looking sharp, and I make it a point to paint the trim a second color . . . because doing so adds eye appeal and increases the cart's value to most customers. If the floor of the two-wheeler is beat up or badly stained, I cover it with a dark shade, usually brown or flat black.

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