Equipment Trailers for Schools, Sports Teams and Marching Bands

Every fall a few booster clubs and athletic directors call us about a trailer. Marching bands need to move drums, sousaphones and pit percussion to away games. Football and baseball programs haul gear, water, tents and medical kits to every road trip. Travel teams live out of a trailer all summer. The buyer is usually a volunteer committee and the trailer is usually funded by a fundraiser, so getting the spec right the first time matters. Here is what to think about.

Band trailers

Band equipment is bulky, fragile and expensive. A marching band with a full front ensemble needs an 8.5-wide, usually 20 to 24 feet, so marimbas and drum sets roll in on their carts and stay upright. A ramp door is essential, with the heavy-duty rating and spring assist so students can raise it. Inside, E-track at two heights lets each instrument cart strap in the same spot every trip, and a chalkboard-style layout diagram on the wall keeps load crews consistent from year to year as students graduate.

Sports program trailers

Athletic gear is heavier per cubic foot and more tolerant of rough handling. A 7x14 or 7x16 tandem covers most programs: shelving down one wall for helmets and pads in bins, floor space for coolers and tents, and a rack for the pop-up canopies. If the trailer will also serve as a sideline tent base, an awning on the side door wall gives the training staff shade. Our post on awning options covers the sizes.

Security and supervision

• Barlock on the side door and a flushlock on the ramp. Instruments are a theft target at away games.
• A hitch lock and a wheel lock, and a clear rule about who holds the keys.
• Interior lights on a switch by the door so no student is loading in the dark.
• A sealed floor and wall liner, because a trailer full of teenagers gets treated like one.

Towing it

The trailer is only useful if someone can tow it. A 7-wide tandem tows behind most three-quarter-ton trucks and many half-tons; an 8.5x24 band trailer needs a three-quarter-ton or larger and a driver who has towed something that size. Our guide to what truck can tow a cargo trailer is worth sharing with the booster board before the purchase so the tow vehicle question is answered up front. Schools that use a district vehicle should check its rating and hitch class.

Buying as a school or booster club

Booster clubs buy in the club's name, and schools and districts buy through purchasing. We handle both. If the purchase goes through a public bid or purchasing process, our government and institutional page explains how we work with public buyers. If it is a booster club with a fundraising total and a deadline, a written quote on a specific unit lets the committee vote on a number. Contact us and we will put it together.

Where it lives during the week

A school trailer sits parked far more than it travels: behind the field house, beside the band room, or in a volunteer's driveway between trips. That is where most of the damage happens. Order roof vents so instruments and pads do not sweat inside a closed box through a Georgia summer, and park it where the sun does not hit the door side all afternoon if you can. Put the trailer on a simple calendar: tires and lights checked before the first away game, bearings serviced in the off-season, the ramp springs looked at once a year. A trailer that sits for months and then makes a long trip on a Friday night is exactly the one that has a tire problem on the interstate. Our post on long-term trailer storage covers what to do between seasons.

Lettering and colors

A school trailer is a rolling billboard for the program. School colors are available across the Poly-Cor color lineup, and a screwless exterior takes a mascot wrap or vinyl lettering cleanly. Order the smooth side if lettering is in the plan.