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How to Design a Trailer Online

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How to Design Your Own Trailer Online: Our Guide

Are you looking for a bumper pull or gooseneck-style trailer (see link for our ‘Choosing a Trailer Hitch’ guide) for you or your organization’s mobile work or transportation needs? If so, then a custom trailer may be ideal for you. 

Custom trailers can come in all shapes and sizes, offering different features depending on your needs and preferences. At MO Great Dane / Total Trailers we offer enclosed custom mobile command, medical office, fiber splicing trailers, and more custom builds for organizations needing to do specialized work in the field.

If you’re new to the trailer game, you’re probably wondering how to choose the right trailer to fit your needs. You might have browsed trailer catalogs with dozens of options, only to find that no single trailer meets your needs perfectly.

In this beginner’s guide, we examine everything you need to know about designing a custom mobile command center, medical office, lab, fiber splice trailer or other specialized build online.

Benefits of Designing Your Own Trailer Online

You might be wondering at this point: is it even possible to design my trailer online? 

The short answer to this question is yes – you can design a custom trailer online, although it does depend on your specific work needs. 

custom trailer build online

Check out this mobile air support control tower we built for a client – it’s just one of the many emergency backup trailers we can build for you!

That’s where the MO Great Dane / Total Trailers trailer experts come in, and we’re happy to answer your customization questions over the phone or through our contact form (you can also find a form that will let you pre-select trailer options & specifications at the bottom of each Custom Trailer page).   

For some trailer builds like car haulers and toy hauler trailers, you may be better off choosing from fully equipped models that we have already in stock. 

If a custom trailer is the right fit for you, there are tons of benefits to designing it with selected options that make it a fantastic alternative to purchasing a pre-built trailer. 

Some of these benefits include:

Higher Quality

With a custom trailer, you get complete control over the types and quality of materials that go into the build. This means that you can opt for the best quality materials, lowering the risk of malfunctions and breakdowns while you’re on the road.

Plus, by choosing a reputable trailer dealer like MO Great Dane / Total Trailers, you can also ensure that your trailer receives the highest level of workmanship. 

Collectively, these factors can contribute to a higher-quality trailer that can last you a lifetime. 

choose your trailer color

Trailer color is one of the many exterior & interior options we offer to help make your trailer your own.

Custom Specifications

Pre-built trailers often come in fixed widths, lengths, and configurations that cannot be easily altered. While this may not be an issue for infrequent or recreational trailer users, you might find that a pre-built trailer does not give you a sufficient level of comfort if you intend to use it regularly or for extended periods.

When you design a custom trailer, you get to decide on the exact specifications for it. This means that you can design and order a custom trailer that has the specific length, width, and features to meet your needs. 

Ready to see custom options for the trailer you have in mind? From our Custom Trailer page, you can navigate to the trailer type and then select options based on past custom builds or any other specifications. (All trailer options listed here.)

How to Design a Custom Trailer

If you want to take advantage of the benefits of custom trailer design, here are some steps that you can follow to build your dream trailer:

1) Consider Your Intentions

Before diving into the technical details concerning your custom trailer, start by considering your intentions for the trailer. Your intentions can greatly affect the characteristics and features that your final trailer design will have.

Some questions you can ask yourself include:

  • Will you be using the trailer for recreation or for commercial purposes such as hauling cargo? If for recreation or your needs are relatively basic, our trailer specialists can help you find the best fit – including trailers available in in-stock inventory or on order 
  • How much storage space will you need?
  • How long will you, your family, or your employees be on the road?
  • Retail, vending or other mobile marketing trailer: do you need a stage and/or slide-outs to display products/ merch? 
  • Mobile command centers: do you need desks/workspaces/outlets for computers
  • Medical trailers: consider the need for special materials for soundproofing, etc

Coming up with concrete answers to these questions can give you a better idea of your trailer needs. This can help to provide you with a guiding framework when you proceed to customize the specifications of your trailer. For example, if you intend to use your trailer for short trips that usually take no more than a day or two, then a custom build with just basic features may be ideal. 

On the other hand, if you intend to use your trailer for long cargo hauling trips across multiple states, then more advanced features such as a kitchen, bathroom, and even living quarters can help you or your employees travel in greater comfort. 

At MO Great Dane / Total Trailers, we offer a variety of custom trailer builds to cater to customers with different needs. Some of the builds we offer include:

2. Plan Your Budget

The next step is to allocate a budget for your custom trailer. Making a decision upfront about how much you’re willing to spend on your trailer can help you avoid overspending at a later stage. 

Planning a budget also forces you to prioritize the most important trailer options, or features, that you want in your custom trailer. This can help you avoid spending money on options that may seem appealing at first glance but that may not actually improve your experience when using your trailer. 

You can always reach out to MO Great Dane / Total Trailers if you have questions at any stage of the custom build process – including questions on cost/budget – and we’ll be happy to help.

3. Choose a Trailer Design

Trailers can come in a variety of different designs to suit different needs and uses. 

For example, depending on your trailer hauling needs an enclosed gooseneck trailer may be more suitable for individuals with more experience hauling trailers. These tend to have a tighter turning radius, which makes them easy to maneuver for experienced users but tricky for newer users. 

Do your research on hitch configurations upfront, and we’ll be glad to help if you have questions. And again, if you’re deciding between a Bumper Pull and Gooseneck style hitch, you can see our guide (see link)

4) Choose Your Trailer Options!

Finally, before we start on your custom build, you’ll want to decide on trailer options. This is the fun part. Some of the many customizable options we offer for your trailer include:

If you’ve got a trailer design in mind but have doubts about its feasibility – or would like more information on available trailer financing options – you can reach out to our experienced team who will be able to answer all your queries. 

Why Choose MO Great Dane / Total Trailers?

As a leading nationwide trailer dealer, MO Great Dane / Total Trailers is a 3rd generation, family-owned business that has been in the industry for over four decades and also provides trailer rentals, leasing and repairs. We offer 100s of customizable trailer options as well as a large supply of in-stock trailer inventory that includes enclosed cargo and car trailers, semis, toy haulers, and more. 

With two dealerships in Missouri and factory locations across the United States, we build and deliver trailers of all shapes, sizes, and designs to customers across the U.S. and Canada. If you’re considering purchasing a trailer – custom or otherwise – get in touch with us today!