Under belly storage

[desertmoose]

Bump! Any new and exciting ideas on how to execute this?

Rather than trying to repeat it, take a look at the post on our shakedown trip.
Basically, our tear has a foot of storage under the sleeping deck.

Thru the headboard in front, under the bed behind the doors, and with three huge drawers in the galley.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=50112

Sam

[2bits]

I honestly felt like the sealed plastic bin sitting on the ground that you slide in an out (and doubles as a foot stool to put on your socks) worked best for me considering the amount of engineering involved with mounting it underneath. When I leave, I just wipe off the bottom and toss it inside. I am wondering of anyone has done more than my lazy man's approach though?

[Kharn]

I went with access from inside the cabin, figuring it was easier to waterproof and offered more volume than a drawer solution would for the same change in ground clearance (since the drawer would need to completely clear the frame rails, while my bin could utilize the entire frame height for storage, about 6" on my build due to the 2" risers I put under the bed platform and the ~4" HF frame).

If you really wanted drawers, you could hang them underneath a under-bed compartment set flush with the frame, giving you both internal dry storage and storage for stuff that might be a little muddy or wet. Since drawer slides are normally 1/2" wide, I would use 1 1/4" or larger angle (non-perforated) set close to the hangars and bridging the gap for the slides, along with weater stripping, to block most debris from getting up into the drawer slides. I'd use a hasp or draw latch with a carabiner or padlock to ensure the drawer cannot open while traveling.

[KennethW]

If I was building a 2nd teardrop I would made a drawer under the bed (between the frame rails) With a lid hinged to the floor. To use you would grab the drawer handle, lift, then pull drawer out the door. for easier access. It would eliminate trying to hold the bed up when looking for something. To return you would just slid the drawer back in under the lid. The lid would ride on top of the drawer holding the bed up.
I would also look at steel studs track for and drawer sides.

[desertmoose]

Hard to tell from the pictures, so I made a crude cutaway sketch of our storage approach.



I removed a side wall, rear bulkhead, and galley.
The green is the lower storage area. Yellow is the mattress, gray are the three drawers that pull out when the hatch is open.
The purple headboard has sliding doors that access the lower compartment inside the front of the green box.

Behind the doors is under bed storage for muddy shoes, etc.

Here's a shot of the cargo deck and drawers before I built the cabin on top. Left drawer has the stove and silverware drawers built into it.



Here's the front storage that's behind the headboard sliding doors.


Now you can see the start of the cabin on top the storage deck.



Here's a shot of one rear drawer in use. they are simple plywood boxes sliding on the plywood bottom of the tear. No expensive or complicated drawer slides. It works fine. think of it as dragging a box across the floor.




The biggest reason I took this approach to the underbed storage was access and sealing. No lifting of the mattress is required, and the only seals are the doors and hatch like a regular teardrop.

Sam

[ctstaas]

Hi everyone, I am designing a drop floor for a 5x10 And I got some great feedback to my post Drop floors, in the trailer and chassis section. I want one only for being trapped inside and need a place to sit and limited storage. One discovery I made which may have some relevance to you is I drew a line from the point of the hitch to the bottom of the tire. I don't want any projection lower then this line. At least speed bumps would be cleared? Right?
Enjoy, Chris

[Kharn]

Hi everyone, I am designing a drop floor for a 5x10 And I got some great feedback to my post Drop floors, in the trailer and chassis section. I want one only for being trapped inside and need a place to sit and limited storage. One discovery I made which may have some relevance to you is I drew a line from the point of the hitch to the bottom of the tire. I don't want any projection lower then this line. At least speed bumps would be cleared? Right?
Enjoy, Chris

Not necessarily, you also need to consider overall ground clearance because your hitch would be perfectly level after your rear wheels pass the bump but before the tear's tires hit it. Going no lower than the axle would be a good rule of thumb, but I think I'd want more clearance than that for a HF trailer with the smaller wheels (8"?).

[Vedette]

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year,

I have read many posts on ideas for under belly storage, for example the outside drawers for ease of access. I have looked at the logistics of installing this type of drawers and thought about the problems that this configuration may have.For example dust and dirt getting into the slides. The issues of locking the slides to prevent the unsafe opening while driving and also the issue of keeping everything inside the drawers clean and dry.

I was looking at alternatives and found this type of storage container in the internet. They are easely found in the Mega box stores with a fairly affordable prices and I believe solve many of the issues I presented above.

The issue is how to install this type of storage container under the belly of the TTT or teardrop. I have come up with 3 possible installation configurations.
1. build a wood frame out of marine grade 1/2 inch plywood to store the containers with opening on both sides of the trailer for easy access of the items inside.
2. Build a frame out of angle metal material be steel or aluminum, the only drawback I see is the cost of the material and the issue of soldering the parts.
3. Another idea was to build a PVC frame out of 3/4 schedule 40 tubiing, this configuration will be lighter, inexpensive, and easely constructed with simple tools. The only question I have is how durable this setup might be.

Another advantage of this frame configuration is that we can make it a bit wider, and also store poles or long items in that box

I will appreciate any input or suggestions pro or against this type of setup.

Thank you,

Ed

Those are exactly the bins we have under the floor of Miss Piggy.
We have a sealed bottom, and the bins are accessed via aluminum hinged lids under the three piece mattress.
We have 8 " in depth below the floor.
Sandi packs each one of the two bins with all of the clothing we would require to be on the roads for more than a month at a time.
You can take them into the house for pre packing and into a laundrymat while on the road.
They work Great!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[FIREBALL05]

How difficult is it or how much of a pain is it to access those bins underneath the mattress? Seems like it would be a bit hectic and a nicer/easier solution might be to have some sort of exterior access to that area?

[Kharn]

How difficult is it or how much of a pain is it to access those bins underneath the mattress? Seems like it would be a bit hectic and a nicer/easier solution might be to have some sort of exterior access to that area?

Its not something you want to do every five minutes, we're going to use ours for stuff like an extra blanket, unseasonable clothing (sweatshirts, pants, boots, etc, in July), tools and beverages in dry campgrounds.

[coyote]

. I went to habitat for humanity and got this metal frame. ( maybe a window frame) for 10 bucks. Drilled both top and bottom, bolted aluminum in place for floor and bolted the top under the floor of trailer. Liberal application of silicone. I keep spare tire, hub/bearings, leveling jacks, 2 lawn chairs, and my antique drip coffee pot there. Put an extra piece of wood flooring over hole. With the 5 inch bed foam, you don't notice. Yep, kinda a pain to get stuff out, but space on a 4X8 is a premium.

[Vedette]

Ours is a snap!
Must open them 20 to 30 times "a day" while travelling or camping with Miss Piggy
It is one of the features wed like to show off!
We can get in from either side without even messing up the bed!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi