Upgrade your caboose and other fun activities!

[Mr.Sovereign]

I inadvertantly posted this same exact message on the exterior storage thread first (sorry). If this is a duplicate for you, I apologize. Nonetheless....


Need a place to store all of your outside stuff? Time to upgrade the caboose (rear bumper storage).

I extended the bumper about 6 inches and added a neat little diamondplate lid. Incorporated locks (to keep my stuff to myself) and added nylon marine tie-downs as handles.

I added some extra goodies on the "service" side of the bumper as well. I've always been less than enamored by the city water hookup on my '87. I ditched the old connection and added a standard flange-mount city water connection. Since we're always in need of an extra spigot, I chose to incorporate this into the bumper as well rather than external attachments. The other hole that you see in my electrical cable "port". I thought this would be a little neater rather than hanging the cord from under the lid. Includes a screw on cap once the cord is pulled back into place. Since I didn't really want to fool with wiring an extra light back there, I mounted a battery operated LED light just inside the bumper (right side of pic).

Well, time for the picture upload. This is my first try, so bear with me if at first you don't see pictures!.





Happy Monday,
Warren

[Fyrzowt]

Nice work.

[Mr.Sovereign]

Next try.
WWW

[2wired]

Greetings
You can be proud of those mods. The bumper looks great & the pics are very good
thanks for sharing them.
dan

[overlander63]

It looks good, I don't know how I missed this when it first came around (maybe dealing with back room issues at the time).
Normally, it is advised against adding anything back there, but it looks like you've only added maybe 10 pounds to it, so I think the effects would be minimal, if any at all.

[Silverwanabe]

Very nice Mod. looks factory to me....

[purman]

Hey, whats the stop valve for, Drain???????? looks awesome... I was thinking I needed more room too....

[Mr.Sovereign]

Originally Posted by overlander63

It looks good, I don't know how I missed this when it first came around (maybe dealing with back room issues at the time).
Normally, it is advised against adding anything back there, but it looks like you've only added maybe 10 pounds to it, so I think the effects would be minimal, if any at all.

I was careful not to add too much weight in the back. I just need a little extra room for the "stuff" I didn't want stored inside the trailer. I haven't noticed any difference in handling! Thanks for the response.

[Mr.Sovereign]

Originally Posted by purman

Hey, whats the stop valve for, Drain???????? looks awesome... I was thinking I needed more room too....

Hello! I actually use it for three purposes.

#1: (and foremost) I use it as an extra spigot. To fill buckets, clean stuff, etc. on the outside. It actually comes in real handy and I don't have to keep up with unreliable "Y" splitters.

#2: As you state above, I use it as a drain when preparing to leave.

#3: I actually open it before I turn on the campground water. That way I can flush out anything yucky that may be in the lines (usually not a problem). I can then slowly close the "drain" valve so I don't create a pressure spike in the trailer.

Thanks for your post! Warren

[purman]

You have inspired me, Do you have any pics of it under construction... I would also like to store some stuff outside, yet have no room for it right now....

[hshovic]

Wanting to reduce water and dust intake, I added closed cell foam and sealant to my bumper storage. Seems to work well enough, but when it is hot, the lid is hard to raise, cause the foam gets somewhat sticky (&#$@@@). I did leave the drainage holes in the base of the compartment. Did you? Did that seal it up well?

However, making that cover is a good idea, and even more so if it overlapped the
rear bumper like it does on the sides. Did you use existing hinge and rivet it on the existing cover?

[63Silver]

That looks great! With little outside storage area I could use an addition like that.

63silver

[Mr.Sovereign]

Originally Posted by purman

You have inspired me, Do you have any pics of it under construction... I would also like to store some stuff outside, yet have no room for it right now....

Unfortunately no pics during construction. I'm usually that way, though. That way you can't see how many mistakes I made.... Sorry. WWW

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Mr.Sovereign

That way you can't see how many mistakes I made.... Sorry. WWW

That's what Photoshop is for...

[Mr.Sovereign]

Originally Posted by hshovic

Wanting to reduce water and dust intake, I added closed cell foam and sealant to my bumper storage. Seems to work well enough, but when it is hot, the lid is hard to raise, cause the foam gets somewhat sticky (&#$@@@). I did leave the drainage holes in the base of the compartment. Did you? Did that seal it up well?

However, making that cover is a good idea, and even more so if it overlapped the
rear bumper like it does on the sides. Did you use existing hinge and rivet it on the existing cover?

When I first started, I had the same problem. Nothing but road grime in that compartment. I eliminated the drain holes, but when I extended the bumper, I skinned the bottom with two pieces of sheet metal, overlapping each other about 1". (The rear piece is on top of the forward piece). There is enough "slop" between the rivets that any water will drain out between them. Be careful not to overlap the other way or water will make its way into the compartment as you're traveling. I hope this makes sense.

I did seal in the rectangular tubing, as this is a bad spot for rust (on most models).

As far as the cover, it is riveted to the existing cover using the factory hinge. I added a friction hinge on one side in addition to the factory "stop" hinge on the right side. Overlapping the sides and extending the rear overlap onto the bumper help seal this area significantly better. I also added two keyed latches that I have adjusted to be very tight. This gives me a fairly decent seal and it stays pretty clean back there. Not clean enough for groceries, but you get the idea....

Happy Tuesday,
Warren