Enclosed cargo trailers are a handy piece of equipment for both personal or business use. In addition to traditional uses for an enclosed cargo trailer, there are several creative and not-so-traditional ways you can use your trailer. Here are two ideas you can use to convert your cargo trailer into something more creative and useful and help you be prepared.

Store Your Emergency Preparedness Supplies

Being a prepper, or someone who is preparing for survival during an apocalypse, or end-of-the-world situation, by stockpiling food, water, clothing, generators, ammunition, and other supplies has become more popular recently. In fact, National Geographic conducted a recent survey and found that 40 percent of Americans believe that prepping by stocking up on supplies or building a bomb shelter is a wiser investment than investing in a 401k. Being prepared is also important to help you and your family survive after a natural disaster or during a financial hardship, and with an enclosed cargo trailer, you can prepare for such a situation.

An enclosed cargo trailer provides you with a secure and mobile storage unit to place all your food and water storage, clothing, and other survival items  in. And because it is portable, it will be easy to transport your survival storage with you anywhere. As many people have a survival backpack prepared with essentials called a "bug-out bag", you can consider the enclosed trailer and all its contents your personal "bug-out trailer". 

Converting the trailer into a storage unit for your supplies is simple, You can install or build wooden storage shelves or attach metal shelving inside the trailer. Be sure that any shelving is attached to the interior framing of the cargo trailer, so if you are transporting it with your pickup truck, the shelves and their contents remain stable.

Place your food items onto the shelves lining the sides of the cargo trailer, then fill the middle aisle with portable items, such as solar panels, gas generators, tents, sleeping bags, and bedding. You can also fill the nose of the trailer with water-filled 55-gallon barrels for water storage. Be sure to check the weight rating capacity of your cargo trailer, which should be posted on its tongue, so you don't exceed its weight capacity.

Convert It to a Camper-Trailer

A cargo trailer also makes a good space to convert into a camping trailer that you can live in or take on vacation. It is important to insulate the interior of your cargo trailer by attaching insulation foam boards to the ceiling and walls of the interior. This helps keep the interior a more comfortable temperature during summer and winter. Next, you can apply a protective coating onto the flooring to give the wood flooring durability, or install laminate, vinyl, or rugs. 

Build shelving attached onto the walls using two-by-fours and plywood, along with a wood-framed bed with storage beneath it. Install a basic camping mattress or foam padding onto your wooden-built bed.

Next, install a mini fridge and freezer along the floor to keep your food cool, and place a camp stove on a shelf to cook inside your trailer. If the weather outside is nice, you can move the camp stove outdoors to cook.

To run power to your cargo trailer's mini fridge and freezer, some simple interior lights, and a television or computer, you can install solar panels on the trailer's roof. Talk to an RV retailer to get help calculating the total watts and amps you will need for your power usage while you are staying in the trailer. As an example, a 100-watt solar panel will give you an average of six amps for every hour of full sun it receives, or approximately 30 amp-hours each day.

To complete the solar panel installation, you will also need a power controller mounted inside your trailer, a 12-volt battery to store power, and an inverter to convert the power from DC to AC power so you can use it from an electrical outlet inside your trailer.

With these two options, you can convert your traditional cargo trailer into a preparedness storage trailer or a camping trailer. To learn more about cargo trailers, check out websites like http://www.coloradotrailersinc.com/.