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darkStar · 07-28-2003, 02:01 PM

Is there any sort of rear mounted rack/containers for trailers? A saw a SOB with a bubble shaped storage thingy attached to the back. This container was maybe 2 x 3 x 3. (I'm thinking of where to store the 'smelly' stuff, hoses, generators...)

thenewkid64 · 07-28-2003, 02:10 PM

Yes there is, but only add one to an Airstream if you want to be paying for frame problems, rear end seperation, etc.
The frame of an Airstream is designed to hold the trailer and your stuff in the trailer. Adding an extension/bike rack/genset causes tremendous stress as the rear of the coach moves up and down, and can create all of the things mentioned above. A better solution is to carry the hoses in a tube under the coach. many folks do. As to the genset, BBQ, bikes, there need to go in the back of the truck, or on the roof of the jeep/rover/burban/expedition/excursion in a pod or on a roof rack.

Just my $.02 worht from reading tons about the cause and efffect on a trailer designed like the airstream is designed. Not saying it is bad, just that it is engineered just right. Adding the stuff on the bumper pushes you thru the engineering envelope and can cause trouble. The SOB's may have the same issues, but they usally do not hold up for 30-40-50 years like an Airstream.

Silvertwinkie · 07-28-2003, 05:45 PM

I'm 110% with Brett on this one. I've read a ton on the rear end not being up to the task of extra weights. I'd not put too much back there. Overlander64 placed a spare tire on his bumber and had thousands of dollars in repair work.

apple 1 · 07-29-2003, 05:53 AM

In addition to the problems with the frame and body seperation when you add weight to the rear you are removing weight from the tongue. When the tongue weight falls below 10% of the gross trailer weight you create handling problems such as sway and are an accident waiting to happen.
Jim

Silvertwinkie · 07-29-2003, 06:07 AM

Good point Apple1. I didn't even think of that!

darkStar · 07-29-2003, 09:01 PM

These are excellent points - another huge thumbs up for this forum!!

How about this... Is there any way to store stuff between the trailer and the tow vehicle? (The canoe's got to go up top, so that's looking like a bad place for a generator...)

mcostanzo · 07-29-2003, 09:25 PM

I carry my Honda 1000 on top of the battery box behind the propane bottle enclosure. Not had any issues. It doesn't touch the skin of the trailer or the bottle enclosure. I posted pix a couple of months ago. I don't know if they are still there since the forum crashed a while back.

Mike

joe hall · 07-30-2003, 10:17 AM

space myself, as trying to get the electrical cord, the sewage hose, and drainage connectors into the rear bumper compartment is usually a test of my own patience. However, I agree that adding a storage container of any size to the rear bumper is just asking for trouble. In an earlier life I had an SOB motorhome that had the spare mounted to the rear bumper. The constant moving and shaking caused by uneven roads eventually caused both bumper and frame stress, which was costly to correct. Recently, while driving north out of Florida without my trailer, I watched a big new SOB 5th wheel blow past me. They had a bumper extension on the rear, with an all-terrain 4X4 mounted on it. The road bed was concrete, with about 15 feet in each section. The section grooves caused that rocking motion we all hate when pulling heavy loads. I thought when the rig passed me that it looked like an accident waiting to happen. About an hour later, I found them stopped alongside the road. The whole rear bumper had peeled off the frame, unloading the ATV onto Interstate 75. No one hit the thing as it rolled end-over-end down the interstate, fortunately. The owner was lucky he didn't cause someone's death or injury, and damage to his trailer was going to be expensive. The ATV was demolished.

thenewkid64 · 07-30-2003, 10:32 AM

I do not have the bumper space for a hose so i made a storage tube. Campingworld sells this one

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/p...=SRCH&tcode=37

It mounts under the trailer and keeps the sewer hose in solitary confinement, keeping all the gookies away from everything else

Pahaska · 07-30-2003, 02:17 PM

I have two storage tubes beneath the trailer, one long and one short, and a 10' and a 6' hose with the blue slip-on connectors.
The short tube is one that removed from my Scamp about 12 years ago and has languished in a corner of the shop ever since.

I installed a plastic partition near the left end of my bumper storage bin and made it watertight with caulk. Into this area go the various sewer hose fittings and the foam collar. The caulk insures that the remainder of the storage bin does not get contaminated. The reminder of the bin is where I keep my equalizer bars, pipe lever, and sway bar when the trailer is in storage.

darkStar · 07-30-2003, 04:32 PM

mcostanzo -

I think the photo gallery is still down. Would you be willing to re-post that picture? Is this storage idea accepted as safe and non-damaging?

Thanks!

mcostanzo · 07-30-2003, 10:17 PM

Sure, here's one of the pictures. I've got it well secured (IMHO) with webbed straps that have metal cinches that are meant to handle much heavier loads. It does not move. Only thing that touches the rig are the 4 rubber feet of the generator on the top of the battery box. I think it's a cool solution. It has been very secure over hundreds of miles of twisty bumpy NorCal roads. Naturally, that is just my experience and your mileage may vary, as the saying goes.

Mike

Pahaska · 07-31-2003, 06:16 AM

There is a recent Bambi that comes and goes where I store my trailer that has a large generator (enough to power the AC) mounted on a welded frame on the tongue. He also has removed the rear bumper and replaced it with a metal frame holding 2 5-gallon jerry cans.

Here are some photos of his installation.

59toaster · 07-31-2003, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pahaska
There is a recent Bambi that comes and goes where I store my trailer that has a large generator (enough to power the AC) mounted on a welded frame on the tongue. He also has removed the rear bumper and replaced it with a metal frame holding 2 5-gallon jerry cans.

Here are some photos of his installation.

Hmmmm does give some ideas. The frame on our 59 is much more narrow then newer units. I wanted to mount a battery box between the frame rails as ours hangs on the front of the unit and in very bad shape. I wanted to go with two batteries but I'm not use I could get one Between the rails even moving the tanks forward. If I located the tanks like that guy did I could turn the battery sideways and possibly stack two batteries between the tanks.

Doing things that way may also let me move the jack back so I can open the tailgate on the Suburban.

Have to do some measuring to see if I can clear the leveling bars with the tanks in that location.

Inland RV Center, In · 07-31-2003, 08:00 AM

Mounting a generator on the A frame is very risky.

We have seen and repaired several such trailers, where the A frame snapped off. Makes the trailer difficult to tow that way.

The additional weight, especially when a heavy duty tow vehicle is used, flexes considerably, each time a bump is hit. That in time, causes the steel in the A frame to crystalize, and then snap.

This also punishes the front of the trailer, especially the hold down plate. It too, in time, will fail.

Andy

darkStar · 07-31-2003, 08:12 AM

Andy -

Thanks for your input, so, if your tow vehicle is an SUV, where would you put your smelly generator?

Silvertwinkie · 07-31-2003, 08:15 AM

Sounds to me like you store it in your car/truck and place it on the ground connected to the trailer power line when needed.

darkStar · 07-31-2003, 08:21 AM

Well that's the fallback position, get a 30 gallon 'tupperware' container to try to keep the fumes at bay. I was hoping to find an 'outdoor' solution that would be safe and not hurt the trailer.

59toaster · 07-31-2003, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by darkStar
Well that's the fallback position, get a 30 gallon 'tupperware' container to try to keep the fumes at bay. I was hoping to find an 'outdoor' solution that would be safe and not hurt the trailer.

I'm concidering a big roof rack for the gen set to ride on as well as our bikes. My problem is the truck is already 6ft tall and it is my DD. I do on occasion go places that I may need to go in a parking deck. Lowest roof rack I have found in the style I like is going to add 8 inches of overall hight.

mcostanzo · 07-31-2003, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Mounting a generator on the A frame is very risky.

Andy,

I know you speak from the rich experience of seeing almost every form of trailer abuse possible (I appreciate your sharing that experience). I'd like to get your opinion about my specific situation. Do you think that carrying the Honda 1000 (under 30 lbs. wet) on the top of the battery box of my 2003 Safari may actually fatigue the frame and lead to its failure? Could the load capacity margin on this key area of the trailer be so narrow?

Thanks for your time,

Mike