Small Trailer Cooler

My first flower cooler was also a modified space. I purchased a second hand Carry-All trailer and had it spray foamed for insulation. I’d recommend using a non-porous surface like some sort of vinyl or metal rather than the plywood. Even with mold-resistant paint and mold killing paint, mold still develops in this unit. It doesn’t seem to affect my bulb forcing or even summer time flowers.

The trailer is minimally heated with a small ceramic space heater and an Inkbird device in the winter and it is cooled with an LG A/C unit and a Cool Bot in the summer. The insulation works well. It can hold a temp for quite a long time, even after being unplugged.

I used to use this as both my flower cooler and my means of transporting all my goods to the farmers’ market. It was great! I didn’t even have to load up for the markets, because my things were all in the trailer already.

Now, it sits as a more permanent little cooler on our farm. We’ll use it if we don’t want to turn on the big container. Or if we need a different setting for some plants/crops.

The trailer is leaning in the video because the right tire expired this winter (rot). It will need to be replaced or we may just prop the trailer up on some cinderblocks since I don’t take it on the road any more.

This cooler served me well for years until we out-grew it. If you have a small farm and 1 to a few employees, this may be all the space you need.

Or maybe you don’t need a cooler at all! I love this bit of knowledge— “if you’re putting flowers in a cooler you’re already losing”. What that means is that if you are not able to sell your perishable good right away, you’ve got a bottle neck. The goal is always as little time in a cooler as possible to optimize sales (unless you are doing big events and need to save up in order to fulfill those high-value orders).