When it comes to how welders move their machines from one job site to the next, there is a heck of a lot of debate about what is best. Just Google the search term “welding trailer or welding skid” and you’ll see pages and pages of results leading to articles, forums, sites, and blogs… but mostly forums. And those forums are absolutely full of welders who strongly disagree.
At the end of the day, you could probably get by just fine with only a truck and your welding machine. But if you want to move that welder around easily and safely, you need something more. So, what would you choose, a trailer or a skid if you could only have one?
We are reluctant to say that one is necessarily better than the other. But one will certainly fit your use case better than the other. However, there is no reason why you can’t have a welding skid that you keep in a trailer. But never mind that for now. Let’s keep the debate alive and compare the relative pros and cons of welding trailers versus welding skids.
In This Article
Welding Skid VS Welding Trailer: Pros & Cons
There is a lot that’s great about welding trailers, and the same goes for welding skids. They have a heck of a lot of overlap. After all, generally speaking, they are almost the same thing. But there are a few things that a trailer won’t do that a skid will do and vice versa. By golly, that means one has just got to be better than the other! Right?
Well, let’s see if we can find out.
Welding Skids: Pros & Cons
A good welding skid will protect your investment, carry some gear, and generally make your life easier. So let’s break down what makes them great, and what to look out for.
Pros
Versatility & customization
There is a practically unlimited number of types and sizes for welding skids. On top of that, if you can’t find one that solves every problem a welding skid could solve, you could make your own. There are entire Pinterest pages dedicated to showing off dozens and dozens of designs, plans, and styles.
Save time & money
A good welding skid will hold everything you need to get to work welding and stay working until you run out of supplies. Just carry your loaded skid to the work site, and you won’t do much walking back and forth because it’s fully loaded out. But most importantly, it will protect your welding machine from all kinds of harm, making it a very valuable investment indeed.
Fits into a workshop or workspace easily
Most welding trailers won’t fit into most work spaces. A skid will, almost without exception. Frankly, we don’t know why more skids don’t have wheels.
Cons
One is never enough
The one big, big drawback about welding skids is, despite the fact that you could design one to do anything, you would be hard pressed to design one that can do everything. That means if you’re not very disciplined, you might end up with a collection of these things. After all, they are strangely fun to design, build, use, and own.
They can be heavy and clunky
Unless you are working with a small welder weighing 50 pounds or less, your loaded out skid can get really heavy really fast. Once you get a loaded skid over 100 pounds, you just about need a crane and, you guessed it, a welding trailer to keep it on.
Welding Trailers: Pros & Cons
If you think about it, a welding trailer is kind of like a welding skid with wheels that you tow behind your truck. But there are things trailers can do that a skid can’t.
Pros
Carry heavier gear and more of it
Even if you have a full size truck with a rack and tool boxes, the experience of constantly running out of room for your growing list of equipment should be a familiar thing. That’s where a trailer comes in. Adding a welding skid to your truck and trailer won’t give you any more room at this point. In fact, adding a skid to a trailer will just take up some of that precious storage space.
Cons
Trailers are big
The one significant drawback of a welding trailer is the fact that it almost takes up as much space as a full size truck. It makes maneuvering in and out of locations tougher and more dangerous. Also, it’s more likely that gear will fall off of a trailer during transit. You could fix that problem with an enclosed trailer. But that will cause visibility problems and make it less convenient to use.
They don’t fit into workshops
Unless you’re working in a big open garage or workshop, the trailer has to stay outside. That would be about the time that a nice welding skid would come in handy.
What About Both?
At this point, it seems to us that a welding trailer with a welding skid in it really is a winning combination. Of course, it doesn’t make much sense to have a trailer unless you have enough gear to make it necessary. But if that is the case, adding a skid to your list of assets does seem like a good idea.
This combo is especially useful if you work in spots where a whole trailer can’t go, and you need enough equipment to make a trailer necessary.
So at the end of the day, it really is your own personal use case that determines what is better, a trailer, a skid, or both.
While it seems unlikely that we will have changed the minds of any experienced welders out there, we do hope that we have provided some food for thought. If you have yet to get full use of everything a welding trailer or a welding skid can offer, then there’s room for improvement in your equipment load out. Either way, we’re sure you’ll agree that trailers and skids are both massively useful and cool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Additional Sources & Resources
-https://books.google.com/books?id=za4WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA201&lpg=PA201&dq=welding+skids+and+trailers&source=bl&ots=YH4g2zUgzO&sig=ACfU3U1iB6tCjcCIkrfF342Vk7oZKpZh1w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5uPHA0IfrAhWPbCsKHRDnA5EQ6AEwCnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=welding%20skids%20and%20trailers&f=false
-https://books.google.com/books?id=K2QoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA229&lpg=PA229&dq=welding+skids+and+trailers&source=bl&ots=Eb_YHhXDHg&sig=ACfU3U0CjcF6Kyziw1YeLr8KvALDps7Iaw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5uPHA0IfrAhWPbCsKHRDnA5EQ6AEwDXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=welding%20skids%20and%20trailers&f=false
-https://books.google.com/books?id=6l8iDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA439&lpg=PA439&dq=welding+skids+and+trailers&source=bl&ots=-YVfyYHKBz&sig=ACfU3U0iBrsGgYSYDW9_FUrT2I1ORiq5jw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5uPHA0IfrAhWPbCsKHRDnA5EQ6AEwAnoECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q=welding%20skids%20and%20trailers&f=false
-https://books.google.com/books?id=8SwPDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=welding+skids+and+trailers&source=bl&ots=-YVfy43GBz&sig=ACfU3U2eX7NGZhDX9XgbCjc_TGiYDgIj-w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5uPHA0IfrAhWPbCsKHRDnA5EQ6AEwB3oECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=welding%20skids%20and%20trailers&f=false
-https://books.google.com/books?id=pL8iDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=welding+skids+and+trailers&source=bl&ots=-YVfzM7FBz&sig=ACfU3U1gtsFctcGCUlCHdX9GfHGz7TGi1w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5uPHA0IfrAhWPbCsKHRDnA5EQ6AEwBnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=welding%20skids%20and%20trailers&f=false
Our team of writers are welders and welding enthusiasts who are excited to share specific information related to welding for everyone from the welding novice to those who have years of experience. Shoot us a note with feedback or topics you'd like to see covered!
