The Riggle Rig

My mobile workshop. The solution to trying to do it all everywhere.

This 28′ enclosed cargo trailer has been modified so much that I probably should’ve just started the build with pile of steel instead of buy a pre-fab trailer.

So many modifications were made to the frame and suspension that I can’t list everything. BUT, the first thing that became very obvious was that the tongue of the trailer was way to short. On the first trip the top corner of my truck’s ladder rack made a nice dent into the front of the trailer. Also by adding a longer tongue it effectively moved the trailer center of gravity further back lowering a little of my excessive tongue weight, and secondly it added a lot of strength to what I eventually found out was a very weak trailer frame.

So after a lot of work was done to reinforce the frame and improve the suspension the first road trip to Colorado was made. Only to find the next weak spot, the tires. Previously I had already trashed the stock bias ply tires that came on the trailer and I upgraded to the Goodyear Endurance 14ply load E trailer tires.

When it comes to trailer axles, tires, and brakes. There is no such thing as overkill. Getting rid of the factory axles and going with a 17.5″ wheel tire setup with larger brakes made all the difference in the world.

I built the interior of the trailer around a 10,000 watt 3 phase military style diesel generator and made everything fit around that. Originally majority of the heavy equipment was in the front half of the trailer and I would load our diesel VW Jetta into the back for the trips from Florida to Colorado. We ended up finding it much easier to just buy a second $1,000 jetta to keep in FL. And to balance the trailer I moved the lathe back to above the axles.