Before any pulling tractor or truck can make a run down the track, it must first be hauled to the event.  While the big name outfits have tractor-trailer transporters, many of the part-timers simply hook a goose-neck up to the pickup to haul their tractors in.  In past years I have showed you several ways to customize tractors and trucks to make a nice looking puller.  However, if you spend alot of time customizing a pulling tractor or truck, you will almost certainly want a good way to get it to the pull in style.  Toy manufacturers have done a great job recently coming out with some nicely detailed pickups, but so far the trailers haven't received the same attention.  There are detailed custom trailers and kits out there, but an equal or better level of detail can be had for less money by making some simple modifications to a trailer you probably already have in your collection.

One of the more common trailers out there is Ertl's venerable goose-neck flatbed.  This trailer has been around for nearly ten years, and has been sold packaged with several different pickups.  You can also frequently find these trailers by themselves in the bargain bins at toy shows for five dollars or less. 

One of the first things you will probably want to turn your attention to on the Ertl trailer is the wheels and tires. When these trailers were introduced, the snap-on style wheels were perfectly acceptable.  Today however, they look out of place when the trailer is paired with a modern pickup equipped with detailed wheels and real rubber tires.  The first thing you will want to do is remove the stock wheels.  This can be accomplished by prying them off with a screw driver.    With the wheels removed, you will still have the axle stubs to contend with.  They can easily be cut off with a rotary tool using a cutting bit or cut-off disk.  Clean up any rough edges or burrs on the trailer frame rails with a sanding drum.  

I have found several sources for tires and wheels that are appropriate for this type of trailer.  If you are wanting to make your trailer a tandem-axle or triple-axle with single tires, there are a multitude of pickups out there that could be good donors.  Likewise, if you are wanting to go the dual wheel route, there several sources readily available as well.  For this example, I am using the rear duals from  Ertl’s F-350’s. Once you have your wheels selected, you will likely need new axles.  Find the size of wire or steel rod that is the right diameter to fit with your new wheels (3/32" for Erlt F-350 Duals).  Cut the axles to the appropriate length to give you your desired wheel spacing. 

Regardless of your wheel choice, you will have to make modifications to the trailer to accommodate them.  For the tri-axle setup, you will have to first remove a couple of the braces to provide clearance for the tires. Tandem axles will fit in the location formerly occupied by the stock tires.  In most cases you will have to add an axle tube to hold your axles in place.  Use some brass or plastic tubing just large enough for the axle to turn freely inside.  Next you will have to attach your axles or axle tubes to the trailer.  You will need to locate your axles vertically so that you allow adequate clearance between the tire and trailer bed and so that your trailer sits level when hooked to your pickup.  In some cases, you may just be able to drill holes for the axles.  For my trailer with axle tubes, the holes were going to be too close to the bottom edge of the frame rail.  Because of this, it was easier to just cut notches in the bottom of the frame for the axle tubes to sit in.  As you are drilling your holes or cutting your notches, make sure to do it so that your axles will be straight across and level.  The axle tubes can be glued to the frame at this point, but leave your wheels and axles off for now.

Another detail you might choose to add to your trailer is some mud flaps.  This is a relatively easy thing to do that really adds a nice touch to the trailer.  We won’t install the flaps themselves just yet, but in order to add them later you will need to make a small modification to the trailer frame now.  There are some “braces” that extend out from the frame rails just behind the wheels.  These are a good place to attach the mud flaps.  It is possible to attach the flaps to these braces as they are, but they will stick better if you do a small amount of grinding on the face you will be glueing the flaps to, to give you a cleaner, flat surface. 








 At this point, the modifications necessary for the trailer are done, and you are ready for some paint.  If you plan on repainting the whole trailer, I recommend disassembling it first.  If you are going to just leave it black, you can likely get by with just touching up the areas that you modified.  Once your base paint is completed, you are ready to start adding some details.  You can add an extra touch of realism to the bed decking, without actually cutting it out and replacing it with wood, by just painting it a wood colored shade of brown. 








Your trailer is also going to need some safety equipment.  Some brake lights and amber running lights can be added to the sides and rear of the trailer.  This can be done by painting on some red dots with the end of a toothpick.  Many trailers also have reflective striping down the sides.  This can be accomplished with red and white fine-tip paint pens, or by making or purchasing striped decals. 






It is now time to add the mud flaps you hopefully made provisions for earlier.  There are a wide variety of materials you can use for mud flaps.  For the ones for this trailer, I used a small section of a ¼” black plastic strap like is often used in packaging to hold bundles of materials together.  Another good option is the black plastic cover from a binder.  Glue your flaps to the support brace on the trailer frame just behind the rear tires. 







With the mud flaps installed, it is now a good time to put on your wheels.  If your wheels you are using have chrome rims, you may want to paint them prior to putting them on.  This will give an extra touch of realism.  Installing the wheels should hopefully be a fairly painless process.  If you do end up having to glue your wheels onto your axles, I suggest doing one side before you put the axles on the trailer.  After the glue has dried, slide them through.  Before you glue the other side on, coat the trailer frame, axle tube or any other areas that might get glue on them (except the part of the axle you want to put glue on) with Vaseline.  If any glue does get on these pieces, the Vaseline will help keep it from sticking and allow your wheels to turn freely. 

One final touch you might want to add is a toolbox.  These can be easily created by cutting a piece of wood to the desired shape and size, and then painting it silver.  You could also add tie down chains or straps, or fold-up ramps.  However, if you are that ambitious, you probably don’t need my help to tell you how to do it. 

When it’s all said and done, you should have a nicely detailed trailer that will look perfectly at home behind a newer pickup replica, and that will get your model pullers to the fair in style.