Bikes on a tongue box... Thoughts?

[TimC]

You can see the tongue box on TD#1 in this photo. I haven't loved this thing since installing it. Leaks, which causes some mold and it is poorly designed for storage space. I mostly keep unused crap in there with the exception of a small folding table and a couple wood platforms I made to put outside my cabin doors to keep my feet out of the mud.



I removed the box and have been thinking of a new design that is less stylish box than utility box. I'm picturing a rectangular 48" wide 24" long and about 12" tall squarish thing made of 3/4" plywood sealed with PMF just like the TD. On top of the box will sit fork mounts and a "cup" to cradle the rear wheels. The TD is 61" wide. Both my mt bike and road bike will easily fit on the 48" box. Here's the tricky part. The tongue box will have two watertight drawers opening to the curb and roadside. One will fit my table and platforms (26"x20"x4" stacked) with room to spare and the other side will hold small tools, chocks and the like.

I know I can fit two bikes on there as I typically remove pedals and turn handlebars to discourage theft. I think the drawers will have a homemade hatch that opens to access each drawer. I searched tnttt for something along these lines. While I found many creative ways to add bikes I didn't find anything with drawers which should give me good access to my tools and other items that I use regularly.

I'm open to any suggestions or warnings...

[Andrew Herrick]

They do make tongue bike racks. They're typically elevated.

Gotta watch out for tongue weight, though. Two bikes + a rack is, what, 100 pounds? That's a lot of weight for a teardrop!

[tony.latham]

If I ever build another teardrop, I think I'll kinda copy what Cozy Cruiser does for their bike racks.

https://www.cozycruiser.com/accessories ... m-iu4hyt1i

Tony

[TimC]

They do make tongue bike racks. They're typically elevated.

Gotta watch out for tongue weight, though. Two bikes + a rack is, what, 100 pounds? That's a lot of weight for a teardrop!

Thanks for the reply AH! Yeah, I gave that some thought. The boring details... Before remodeling my tongue weight loaded is around 160# (loaded trailer is 1350#). I'm going to save about 10-15# with the new box and loosing some of the crap I won't be putting back into the box. The box will be just big enough to hold my platforms and small folding table and a wheel chock and wrench so I won't be tempted to fill it up again. One bike, sans front wheel, is 27# with the fork mount and rear wheel pocket (rack is just a simple fork mount bolted to the plywood box and a very small rear wheel pocket with a nylon strap). I'm estimating weight with one bike will be under 175#. At 160# the trailer pulled well and caused little squatting of my TV. I can futz with that tongue weight a bit by packing my cabin smartly.

Update... after more thought about Andrew's post I have decided that lightening up the box will be a good thing. I don't think I am way over capacity, but, it was getting close to over the line. I have redesigned the interior of the box and eliminated at least the long drawer. That side will now just be a cubby for the table and platforms. No need for a drawer and it's heavy ball bearing slides and case. I'll still do a drawer on the other side for small tools. Haven't come up with a final design for the hatch covers. I think they will just be like caps with weatherstripping and they'll be held on with some sort of draw catch. Just finishing up the PMF with painting yet to go. Painting is the easy part. Then I can determine the size of the hatch covers.

[TimC]

If I ever build another teardrop, I think I'll kinda copy what Cozy Cruiser does for their bike racks.

https://www.cozycruiser.com/accessories ... m-iu4hyt1i

Tony

Tony... that is a nice rack definitely worth copying. I was going to do something similar and use an unused Yakima Cobra rack along with a cut down round Yakima bar I have, then, I remembered I had a couple simple fork mounts that I can easily bolt down to the tongue box. I'll build a simple, very small rear wheel pocket with a nylon strap on it to attach the rear wheels. Mostly I camp alone so won't have a need for a second bike, but, I'm going to add it anyway in case my kids decide to borrow the TD and bring their bikes. I've been McGivering bike racks since my 20s and have never lost a bike yet!

[friz]

I have trouble transporting my bikes outside.

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[TimC]

I have trouble transporting my bikes outside.

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Ha, that looks very familiar. I just began to not like unpacking the cabin when I needed to just pull over for a nap or night. It does keep the bike nice and clean though!

[TimC]

I've determined that this build is a failure of giant proportions. Not only will I not be able to use it on my TD tongue, but, I can't come up with a way to salvage it either by repurposing it or cutting it down to reuse the materials. I did not think this through. The 48" x 24" profile of this tongue box does not allow me to make even the widest sweeping turns with my TV. I wish I had tested the fit with a cardboard mock-up before I went ahead with it. So many folks have suggested that first step with other projects and I now have the utmost respect for that modeling technique. Back to the old leaky, moldy tongue box until I dream up a workable option.

[dancam]

I've determined that this build is a failure of giant proportions. Not only will I not be able to use it on my TD tongue, but, I can't come up with a way to salvage it either by repurposing it or cutting it down to reuse the materials. I did not think this through. The 48" x 24" profile of this tongue box does not allow me to make even the widest sweeping turns with my TV. I wish I had tested the fit with a cardboard mock-up before I went ahead with it. So many folks have suggested that first step with other projects and I now have the utmost respect for that modeling technique. Back to the old leaky, moldy tongue box until I dream up a workable option.

Can you just angle the corners or do you have to redo it all?
Whats the tongue capacity of the hitch on your tv?

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[TimC]

Can you just angle the corners or do you have to redo it all?
Whats the tongue capacity of the hitch on your tv?

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dancam... I gave that some thought, but, my table and platforms wouldn't fit with the angle. Curt states that the tongue capacity is 350#. I would never submit my TV, a 2007 Mercury Montego, to that much weight. I was concerned when I went over 175#. I don't think Ford even rates the Montego for towing capacity. I hope to move to a better TV in the future. Right now that can't happen so I added electric brakes to the TD and the Montego.

Anyway, I did salvage the project somewhat and will post a photo when I get it done. I basically cut the width from 48" to 30" which eliminated the drawers I had planned. That's Ok as I still have room for my table, platforms, a lug wrench, small chocks and a few basic hand tools. And it is significantly lighter. I have to redesign my bike rack which is no biggie. I'm happy again!

[Tigris99]

Im actually working on which route i want to take with mounting bikes up front. My trailer has a receiver welded on the rear mainly just to transport my hitch rack if we cant camp in the same park as the trails Im aiming to hit. Thankfully not an issue locally, parks worth camping have trails.

I may occasionally transport my sons bike on it though.

My "thoughts" have gone between trays on the tongue horizontally (like that link above) or trays just for rear wheels toward the front of the tongue with a cross bar on the top with fork mounts. I intentionally lengthened my tongue just so i had room for 2 bikes.

Ill keep you posted on which route i take and why.

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[dancam]

Can you just angle the corners or do you have to redo it all?
Whats the tongue capacity of the hitch on your tv?

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dancam... I gave that some thought, but, my table and platforms wouldn't fit with the angle. Curt states that the tongue capacity is 350#. I would never submit my TV, a 2007 Mercury Montego, to that much weight. I was concerned when I went over 175#. I don't think Ford even rates the Montego for towing capacity. I hope to move to a better TV in the future. Right now that can't happen so I added electric brakes to the TD and the Montego.

Anyway, I did salvage the project somewhat and will post a photo when I get it done. I basically cut the width from 48" to 30" which eliminated the drawers I had planned. That's Ok as I still have room for my table, platforms, a lug wrench, small chocks and a few basic hand tools. And it is significantly lighter. I have to redesign my bike rack which is no biggie. I'm happy again!

Ok! Would be cool to see photos when your done. Good to hear that your bikes still fit.
Its interesting trying to decide how much tongue weight is ok for your vehicle. 350 pounds is like 2 not overweight adults sitting in the back. Except its in the very, very back. If the hitch is very well attached it should be able to handle that as technically any vehicle should be able to handle 2 overweight adults in the back (600 pounds).
But most vehicle suspensions are not designed with having passengers in mind, lol. Put 2 big people in the back of any compact car or suv and it looks overloaded and handles like garbage. I have a newer honda civic and with 2 kids under 3 in the back, camping gear and 2 bikes on a bike rack i have to inflate the tires to max psi to be able to drive and be careful not to bottom out over bumps because it will....
Anyhow, i modified my new tow vehicles suspension so the rear can comefortably handle 200 pounds of tongue weight and 200 pounds of trunk weight. Pulling a trailer is amazing now! Comefortable when driving empty also, all except for the biggest bumps which remind my back of the bump stops i installed, lol.
This below is with 400 pounds in the rear and 350 in the front. It stays level!


This is what i was talking about with my civic. This is without us all in the car. There is a shadow on the rear tire from the wheel well and i think the ground is uneven there, but resting on a level surface the tire is way up inside there already and it doesnt sound nice over big bumps :/


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[Tigris99]

Man even minivans/suvs with third row suck in that regard. I put our 2 kids in the middle, just our bags and then 2 bikes/rack on the back and i notice a difference. Way better than our old colbalt but our odyssey is getting some form of rear upgrade when i can afford it. Trans cooler was first concern along with finishing my build. Fraking little bits are adding up fast and I still need fork mounts for my bikez.

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[daveesl77]

Wifey and I had been looking for years for a pair of folding bikes, but simply could not justify the outrageous expense for something we might not use or hate. Then comes along friend-of-friend who decided to get rid of their two older Dahon Mariner 6 speed 20" folding bikes. $50! Yeah, took me about 2 seconds to say I'd be there to get them. We love them! When folded they fit in the "hide a seat" area behind the 3rd row in the minivan, with enough room left over for more junk. Easy to put in/take out. Weight about 35# each. And they are actually pretty darn comfortable, but not so stable due to the small wheel diameter. Takes just a few seconds to fold or unfold. I probably wouldn't want to go on anything rough with them, simply due to wheel size.

dave

[Akuma129]

IMG_2351.JPG (130.37 KiB) Viewed 13151 times

Here is what I did, bought e track rail and e track trimer (weed waker ) attachments bike snaps right in and is secured./Users/JJ/Desktop/Travel Trailer Project/IMG_2351.JPG