WHY NOT: Floor Storage

[greenchicken]

Garage is cleared.
Trailer is ordered.

And so it begins!

I will be making a series of WHY NOT post because there are things I am considering that I have yet to see done by others.

Maybe it has and I just haven't seen it.

Maybe it hasn't for good reason.

So for my First WHY NOT


Why not make the deck taller and use it for storage?

Instead of making a 2x4 frame for the deck. Why not a 2x6 on it's side to create a 6" cavity. I could store a folding table, chair, etc.

[lfhoward]

Again I like this idea. Table, chairs, awning poles, camp stove, water casks, spare tire (depending on the height) could all fit under here.

A con might be that if your trailer has a certain height limit (like 4 feet if you want to keep the sides to a typical 4x8 sheet of plywood, or if you have height limitations in your garage), then any basement storage comes out of headroom. Headroom is a big part of comfort inside one of these trailers. If you are ok with a taller trailer, then this is not a problem. Basement storage also provides a little extra insulation from the cold under your mattress.

[greenchicken]

The plan is a 5x9x5 trailer, so I am already outside the 4x8 material limitation.

I plan on using 5x5 birch 3/4 ply. I definitely want maximum headroom.

[tony.latham]

Keep in mind that the bottom of the door opening should be halfway into the mattress. And when you sit down in the doorway you don't need steps to get there.

By the way, 6" of storage space would preclude our camp chairs and roll table.

T

[John61CT]

Storage can also go lower than the usual "floor level" no need for a single 2D solid platform

but tricky to design, and can increase build costs, especially if trying for light weight.

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[Pmullen503]

Convenient access (you have to move/remove all the other stuff in the trailer) was why I didn't do it, and the lost head room.

[John61CT]

Sliding drawers from outside

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[lfhoward]

Folding floor is an option if you decide against outside doors.





The way I did it was pretty heavy but it’s built on a 1.5 ton military trailer.

[Padilen]

I've been thinking about doing under floor storage all year!

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[swoody126]

rememberize...

a 2x6 aint 6" wide

best case scenario is it would be 5 1/2" wide and many are coming in a bit less nowadayz

and I LIKE THE CONCEPT

sw

[KTM_Guy]

It has been done a lot. Even in commercial teardrops.

What are you planning on doing for a mattress? If you are doing to do some custom made ones where you can move and stack them to one side so you can get to your storage then go for it. But if you are planning on going with say a regular foam mattress forget it. It will be a pain to try to move the mattress out of the way to get to the storage. 5.5" wouldn't be useful for me, 10" to 12" is a better size.

The Soapcreek build has under bed storage that you can get to from the outside. http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=69614

Todd

[greenchicken]

My Plan is sliding drawer access from outside for storing things like chair, tables, tarps, etc.

[Pmullen503]

I would make sure everything is well waterproofed and that any water that found it's way inside has a place to drain.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I had built some under-mattress storage in one of mine. I really never used it because it was a pain to move the mattress and bedding out of the way to get access to the stuff. And then to try to hold the mattress up while maneuvering things out was as much of a pain. Never bothered with it again. Found it much easier to just throw the camp chairs, canopy, etc. on the bed and take them out whenever we got to where we were going. For a 'traditional' teardrop, you'll enjoy having the space inside the cabin much more than you will the storage under the bed.

[swoody126]

as mentioned above ^^^ this concept aint new

chuck wagon builders installed false floors for storage w/ access from one or both ends

at a glance(to the casual observer) there wasn't a door/gate/hatch cover there

FRONT OF CHUCK WAGON.jpg (100.76 KiB) Viewed 645 times

a simple pivot latch was made on the outer board of the hatch cover which was hinged in the center

hinged gate.jpg (127.69 KiB) Viewed 645 times

by pivoting the latch and pulling on the (in this case) left end the hatch cover folds in the middle and the ends come out of their slots

VOILA... you have access to under floor storage

and as you can see... the space is designed around the items intended to travel there and not just a space where one might stash random stuff

front of box.jpg (124.61 KiB) Viewed 645 times

with outside access the mattress issue wouldn't come into play

as i've heard said... there's more ways to kill a cat than just choking it to death on butter

sw