Tongue Box with slideout for fridges

[mtbikernate]

I have a Hiker Trailer "squaredrop" trailer with a toolbox (basically a truck box) mounted on the A-frame tongue for tool storage and for my battery and a few other electrical components.

I just got my hands on a Dometic CFX3 55IM for a smoking price (this had been more of a long term plan) and now trying to work out how to carry it on my trailer. It won't quite fit in the galley space without some modifications to the cabinetry. I don't know that they'd work well enough and they'd create a lot of dead space behind the fridge.

I'd prefer to do this with a tongue box, and tongue boxes with fridge slides are pretty popular in overlanding circles these days. Problem is, I can't find a single one that's simply for sale. The manufacturer of my trailer has one (no price on it, of course), and after some conversations, they are saying flat no, since my trailer frame would not support the entire perimeter of the box. Seems to me that I could build my own structural support for the box and it'd be plenty safe for what I need.



There seem to be a handful of things available overseas on alibaba and Australia (damn aussies do this stuff so much better than we do in the states).

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/ ... 59551.html
http://dscustomtoolboxes.com.au/caravan ... age-boxes/

Not sure if these above necessarily have the space for my fridge, though.

Anyone aware of anyone else selling these sorts of boxes?

[saltydawg]

As you said it does need support, which is easy enough to do. Have you tried a fab shop as they are just a box, get one made with a door on hinges to your measurements. Then add you own slides and stuff to do what you want it to do.

[mtbikernate]

As you said it does need support, which is easy enough to do. Have you tried a fab shop as they are just a box, get one made with a door on hinges to your measurements. Then add you own slides and stuff to do what you want it to do.

Yeah, I've been digging around online and the closest simple "tool box" I've found is made for semi trailers and is waaaaayyyy too wide for what I need. I need something between 46" and 60" wide, around 23-24" wide, and about 29-30" tall. That gives enough space around the fridge for the mfr-recommended ventilation. I'd prefer to keep it silver for heat management (and diamond plate if I can get it to match the silver diamond plate already on the trailer).

https://www.protoolboxes.com/Cargo-Boxes-C33.aspx

I haven't yet looked at a fab shop for the job, but it appears that there IS a fab shop relatively nearby that will do exactly this sort of job. Of course, that's going to bump the budget upwards, I'm sure.

https://ogreoutdoors.com/

I have a friend who works for a different fab shop in the area that does custom 4x4 Ford van conversions and I was thinking of him for help with reinforcement. But if this other shop does the whole job, it might be the way to go if I can't find any other satisfactory solutions. I can at least use them to make the box itself and potentially build the necessary reinforcement into the box so I can just bolt it onto the trailer's a-frame tongue.

I'm prodding my camper's manufacturer to see what they think about me using their box if I build reinforcement underneath it. If they still say no to that, then I might approach Ogre to build what I need.

[saltydawg]

You might be surprised what a fab shop would charge you. Esp if you say you are willing to wait up to say a month or 6 weeks. The long delay a lot of times will give a price break as they can work on it when slow, or have a new guy work on it as practice and knowing he would be slower.

FYI a 4x8 sheet of al diamond plate .120 thick just cost me 130 bucks with no real price break. I bet a fab shop would pay around 90 to 100 bucks.

[rjgimp]

Yeah, I've been digging around online and the closest simple "tool box" I've found is made for semi trailers and is waaaaayyyy too wide for what I need. I need something between 46" and 60" wide, around 23-24" wide, and about 29-30" tall.

I spent 25 years in trucking. You should easily be able to find a semi-truck tool box in diamond plate close to those dimensions. I have seen them as small as a 12 pack cooler and as big as an upright piano. You don't identify where you're at but there are truck scrapyards all over the country just like the ones for cars. We have a couple in the Mpls/St Paul area and there is a huge operation in Iowa with multiple locations called Vander Haag's.

[mtbikernate]

Yeah, I've been digging around online and the closest simple "tool box" I've found is made for semi trailers and is waaaaayyyy too wide for what I need. I need something between 46" and 60" wide, around 23-24" wide, and about 29-30" tall.

I spent 25 years in trucking. You should easily be able to find a semi-truck tool box in diamond plate close to those dimensions. I have seen them as small as a 12 pack cooler and as big as an upright piano. You don't identify where you're at but there are truck scrapyards all over the country just like the ones for cars. We have a couple in the Mpls/St Paul area and there is a huge operation in Iowa with multiple locations called Vander Haag's.

I'm in Western NC.

The operative issue with the box is that I need the doors on the ends, side hinge. Not on top. Not in the front. This is a box that basically spans the width of my camper, or a touch less. Which is quite a bit narrower than what trucks are, and it seems similar-style boxes for semis are long enough to span the full width of the truck/trailer. That's way too much for me.

Fridge slideout would go on the passenger side. Battery access would be on the driver's side. Considering putting the electrical components on their own slideout for ease of service. Possibly a shelf with tool storage either above or below the battery. Maybe also on a slideout bin because some of that stuff is loose in my current toolbox.

[aggie79]

Could you keep the fridge in your tow vehicle? It should be a better operating environment - no dust, less temperature extremes, and probably less vibration/movement - than mounted on the tongue.

We always kept our "teardrop" cooler in the truck.

[mtbikernate]

Could you keep the fridge in your tow vehicle? It should be a better operating environment - no dust, less temperature extremes, and probably less vibration/movement - than mounted on the tongue.

We always kept our "teardrop" cooler in the truck.

Nope.

I have an open bed pickup truck, and I have plenty of reasons for keeping it that way. I live and camp in areas with food storage restrictions due to bears, and anything in an open bed would need to be bear resistant on its own. The Dometic is not (my cooler is). Also, the power system on my camper is robust enough for the fridge (100Ah LiPo battery with some solar capacity), but on my truck it is unsuitable (power system shuts down after the engine has been off for ~20min).

[mtbikernate]

for anyone following along, the tongue box Hiker sells (really, they usually provide it as an option for new builds, less so for add-ons years after the fact) would cost $1,100 for just the box (not the slide). Plus I'd still have to reinforce the base (trivial at this point, but still relevant as I'd still have to decide how I was going to attach the reinforcement, powder coat it, etc). And then the work of relocating all the electrical components from the old box to the new (battery, wiring, emergency trailer brake control device, etc). All that said, this existing box is just a hair narrow for my fridge and the slide that would accommodate it.

The fab shop I found nearby quoted me $125/hr as their shop rate, most of which would be spent on the design side of the box. If I went this route, I could at least get the underside reinforcement built into the box. But it also doesn't include the slide or any of the other details. They COULD do the full install for me, also, though, if I was willing to pay for that, too. Still, though I'm sure it would be absolutely pro, I think that's a bit rich for my blood.

I'm changing tack on the project a bit. After poking around inside my trailer, it looks like it will be INFINITELY easier to just move a shelf in the galley. It appears that all of the screws holding it on are accessible, and I can raise it enough to both accommodate the fridge AND still keep the same items on top of it that I do now. Wiring will also be much easier, as there is a 12v junction box just inches from where the plug on the fridge would be located.

It WOULD mess with how I store things on the bottom shelf. It's a very deep, cavernous space where I often put long items. Capacity for long items will be reduced, and accessing the space behind the fridge will be a bit of a pain. BUT, the reduction in cost is pretty huge. It basically chops $1,100 off the cost. My slide options appear to be fewer and marginally more expensive than the cheaper lengthwise slide options. But if I can get the parts quickly enough, I could have the fridge on a slide in time for my next trip at the end of the month. At minimum, I should at least be able to install the new wiring and move the shelf in time, though.

[Shadow Catcher]

One of the things I have never been able to understand, refrigerators need ventilation why would you put it in a confined space. They are in essence a heat pump, taking heat out of the interior. I went so far as to wrap our in Reflectix.

[mtbikernate]

One of the things I have never been able to understand, refrigerators need ventilation why would you put it in a confined space. They are in essence a heat pump, taking heat out of the interior. I went so far as to wrap our in Reflectix.

Well, except for a limited number of models, they're not made to be left outside all the time and be protected. Namely, I'm talking about time during transport where there might be windblown rain, rocks tossed up, etc.

But also, a big reason why I'm not transporting mine in my open bed pickup truck is because of bears. I live/camp in areas that have food storage requirements due to bears, and I don't know of any fridges that are approved bear resistant containers. Mine certainly isn't. Keeping the fridge inside something else that locks DOES meet food storage requirements.

I tweaked the shelves in my camper to make room for the fridge yesterday. My sliders won't be delivered until late in the week, possibly not until I'm even back from my trip. So I made room just to set the fridge in the back. My electrical parts should be delivered within the next day or two, so I can plug it in and use it.


1024201512 by Nate, on Flickr

Relative to the thermal issues surrounding fridges, the galley location has a lot more space than a tongue box. The fridge specs don't call for active ventilation. Just space. I'll probably put an insulating cover on it eventually. Especially by next summer when heat will be a greater consideration. I'll be dry camping at around 4000 - 4500ft or so and especially overnight, it'll be chilly. And from the looks of it, pretty wet. Heat isn't going to be a problem. For that matter, even in the summertime, my camper stays pretty dang cool inside.

[Tom&Shelly]

Keeping the fridge inside something else that locks DOES meet food storage requirements.

Makes sense to me. Never knew a bear who could pick a lock!

Sorry, couldn't resist!

Tom

[Kim Armstrong]

How about getting a box close to what you need and cut the end out and put a cargo door in with slides?

[mtbikernate]

How about getting a box close to what you need and cut the end out and put a cargo door in with slides?

Galley method is still a lot cheaper, and simpler to wire up. Which is the method I'm committed to at this point.

[rjgimp]

Makes sense to me. Never knew a bear who could pick a lock!

Sorry, couldn't resist!

Tom

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