Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Teardrop is all done. I bought it in an unfinished state and have done everything at this point. One thing left, it's minor but wondering if anyone has a good suggestion for how to pull this off? Please see photo. The tongue box looks like like a pirate treasure chest and has a mortised latch in place that works and has a key. The problem is that there is no catch. Hoping you can see what I mean in the photo. The real problem is that I cannot see exactly where to put a catch with the lid closed (X-ray would help). So, clearly I need a catch and an eyebolt seems like a potential solution but in order to have it catch just right, I'll have to glue a block of wood on the inside of the top lid with the eyebolt in just the right place so that when the lid is closed the latch in place will catch the eyebolt. The idea seems fine but getting it just right, working inside the lid etc., is like trying to cut the back of your hair with a mirror. I also thought of draw latches on the outside (padlockable) and I think I could get them to work OK but they'd really destroy the nice look of the outside. If anyone has a creative suggestion - or any suggestion, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

Do your best to figure out where in space the eye bolt needs to be, use bits of masking tape and measure for your best guess. Then stick your eye bolt block in place with double sided tape. Test it out and see how close you are. Then pry off the block and move it where you think it needs to go. Keep doing that until it works and then screw and glue the block in place.

It might be easier to use and "L" or "U" bolt instead of an eye bolt. You can make the "L" bolt by bending a carriage bolt and sawing off the head.

Try using velcro so you can adjust the position over and over until you get it correct. Then mark the location and permanently attach it.

I love it! Thanks guys, great suggestions! I really do want to use what's already in place and not mess up the overall "look" if possible. Really appreciate the suggestions. I'm on it and will report back

Make a "sacrificial" block with a pin sticking out of it. Use your "best guess" where it will actually end up inside the trunk. You can use elongated holes to get the exact position for trial & error & a good catch. Once you have this, make a block with smaller holes that is a good fit. Use the pilot hole for the pin to have the exact location marked on the inside.

You could also use 1/8" aluminum or steel to have a shallow plate (not wood necessarily) on the inside which is the permanent location & takes up less room on the inside.

noseoil wrote:Make a "sacrificial" block with a pin sticking out of it. Use your "best guess" where it will actually end up inside the trunk. You can use elongated holes to get the exact position for trial & error & a good catch. Once you have this, make a block with smaller holes that is a good fit. Use the pilot hole for the pin to have the exact location marked on the inside.

You could also use 1/8" aluminum or steel to have a shallow plate (not wood necessarily) on the inside which is the permanent location & takes up less room on the inside.

Thanks a lot. Working on this today.......

philpom wrote:Try using velcro so you can adjust the position over and over until you get it correct. Then mark the location and permanently attach it.

Velcro idea was first-rate! Thanks so much. I only had to move everything once so not too bad at all. Glued up, screws a mite too short so off to hardware store but now I can lock the tongue box and I even have my new suitcase solar panel topping off the battery. Like James Brown - I feel good!