Office trailer basics

There are four main questions you need to answer before you're ready to shop for an office trailer:

How much space (land) do you have to put it on? Make sure you measure the available room for your trailer. Having a trailer delivered only to find that it partially blocks a driveway or sidewalk is an expensive and embarrassing mistake.

How do you plan to use it? A trailer that will be used as a sales or construction office will differ from a classroom or storage trailer. Knowing the use will help the dealer show you appropriate trailers.

How many people will it house? A very rough rule of thumb is that for general office applications, you need 100 to 150 sq ft per person, so a 12' x 60' single-wide trailer, with 720 sq ft, can handle 5 or 6 people. This will change as you include bathrooms, meeting rooms, or storage space.

How long do you need it for? 80% to 90% of office trailers are leased, not sold. Knowing how long you'll need yours for will help determine the price you'll pay and availability.

Once you know these answers, you can consider the size and type of trailer you need.

Choosing an office trailer size
Office trailers are available in widths of 8', 10', 12', and occasionally 14', and lengths of 16' to 60'. At the upper end, 12' x 60' is a "singlewide", and a doublewide is 24' x 60' - simply two singlewides put together. Some common sizes are 8' x 24', 8' x 36', 10' x 30', 10' x 40' or 42', 12' x 50', and 12' x 60'. Every dealer will have different sizes in stock and can help you determine which size is right for you based on occupancy, use, and available space.

One important caveat: not all dealers measure size the same way. To best compare sizes, make sure your dealers are quoting you sizes based on the size of the box - the usable floor space. Some dealers include the trailer "tongue" in their measurements - that's the piece that connects to a hitch for towing - and that adds four feet. While that external dimension is useful to know for site planning, that extra four feet does not give you any more space inside. You should specifically ask for both internal and external dimensions.

The term of your lease may affect the size, as well: generally, smaller buildings are leased for shorter terms. 12' x 60's or doublewides are usually set up for 1 or 2 year terms, while the smallest units are more often used for 1 to 6 month jobs.