Can I mount a tongue box to this type of trailer?

[bryan1650t]

I'm no expert on trailers, but I'm trying my best to see what is out there!

I have a lead on a barely used 5x8 trailer, but my sticking point is the tongue. It is straight bar like this one: http://www.carry-ontrailer.com/product/4x6WM_OT.htm The one I'm looking at, I believe, was built by Carry-on but has no floor or sides.

How would I mount a tongue box to this trailer? Can it be done easily? I'm not a welder. Should I hold out for a (for a lack of a better term) V shaped tongue design?

I've been lurking in this forum for about two years now. I'm finally getting up the nerve to start building.

Thank you,
Evan

[ssrjim]

If your not a welder I would think that you could bolt a couple beams to the bottom of the trailer and hang them out the front.

[madjack]

...that is a good trailer to use BUT it does seem to have some problems...read this thread... http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=22538
madjack

p.s. FYI, I know the TractorSupplyCo trailer and I believe the NorthernTools trailer are all made by Carry On..........MJ

[SmokeyBob]

Read this thread http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=23919

If you do deside to buy this type of trailer, measure the length of all the cross members to see if they are the same length. On my trailer the center cross members were shorter resulting in the sides of the frame being bowed in a 1/4 inch on each side. Depending on how you build your walls they could be bowed. If the cross members are not the same length, don't buy it.

The trailer in the thread that MadJack referred to is mine. It cost me $68 to have the welding done and another $30 to have a jack welding to the tongue. Jacks can be bolted on if you want to do it yourself.

I do like the trailer. The price was affordable, the axle is moved back and the axel is mounted above the springs making the trailer frame lower to the ground.

[brian_bp]

I think that's a great trailer... except that every piece of it has a potential problem or is not quite right for the purpose. You can make it work, but by the time the tongue is fixed and made to accommodate a tongue box, you'll have a completely different tongue, and I don't see the point of buying the original one.

I still don't understand why these things appeal to people here as a base for a teardrop or tiny travel trailer.

[sid]

Over 5,000 miles logged so far this year and no problems, no modification, no repairs..... 5x8 Carry-On.

Stock from Northern Tool.

[TPMcGinty]

I had some angle iron welded on mine so I could mount a tongue box. I think it costed me a whole $30.

[DougH]

I bolted down my tongue box with a pair of U bolts thru the floor over the tongue, then braced the sides with some "L" brackets. The main weight is the battey and its centered over the tongue with the U bolts thru both the battery box and the tongue box. It's not going anywhere. Just used a Rubbermaid storage box from Wally World Auto department

[brian_bp]

Over 5,000 miles logged so far this year and no problems, no modification, no repairs..... 5x8 Carry-On.

Stock from Northern Tool.

That's a nice tear, and it's good that the base trailer worked out... but it doesn't have a tongue box, which is the whole point of the topic.

An A-frame trailer would hold the tongue box without modification of the trailer.

[sid]

I think that's a great trailer... except that every piece of it has a potential problem or is not quite right for the purpose. You can make it work, but by the time the tongue is fixed and made to accommodate a tongue box, you'll have a completely different tongue, and I don't see the point of buying the original one.

I still don't understand why these things appeal to people here as a base for a teardrop or tiny travel trailer.

That's a nice tear, and it's good that the base trailer worked out... but it doesn't have a tongue box, which is the whole point of the topic.

An A-frame trailer would hold the tongue box without modification of the trailer.

Well Brian,

You were the one that stated "every piece of it has a potential problem or is not quite right for the purpose" and "I still don't understand why these things appeal to people here as a base for a teardrop or tiny travel trailer"

Maybe what you don't understand is that there is a very useful purpose for these trailers. I see others have adapted a tongue box without modifications. Myself, I don't need a tongue box.

Just adding that these trailers will serve the purpose for a teardrop. No need to get slammin here......

[brian_bp]

... I see others have adapted a tongue box without modifications...

Who was that? Both posts in this thread describing tongue boxes on the straight tongue include added bracketry.

The first (from TPMcGinty) involves welding on angle iron... certainly a modification.

The other (from DougH) has miminal additions and seems to be all bolt-on, but also involves balancing a specific load over the tongue, so while it may well be an entirely suitable solution in that case, it's hardly a general solution to the problem of mounting a box on the tongue.

Any tongue box will aggravate the structural situation which has led some owners of this type of trailer to resort to modifications such as that described and discussed in 5x8 trailer tongue upgrade.
Note that in that upgrade, complete replacement of the original tongue by a simple A-frame would have been lighter and just as strong, providing the same effect as buying (or building) a better-suited trailer in the first place.

I'm not trying to "slam" anything here, just trying to get a grip on why this design would be used, especially in designs (such as those with a tongue box) for which is it not intended or well suited. I think that in the end it's just the cheapest way to buy the running gear and some metal for the frame.

I would consider using the basic frame box, but bolting on a 50-degree A-frame tongue and coupler (with the tongue box simply bolted down on top of it), and recycling the original straight tongue tube and coupler for some other purpose.

[brian_bp]

Should I hold out for a (for a lack of a better term) V shaped tongue design?

I think you've got a good handle on the situation. The usual term is "A-frame", which of course is just the "V" shape upside down.

[BobR]

I mounted mine with two u-bolts. The tongue is 3x3 and I have had no problems. The box is alum covered 3/4 ply.

[tinksdad]

Two U-bolts, 2 1/2" square tongue, army surplus ammo can re-painted. I've had it off and on several times so far during the build.

[Lgboro]

I and many others have used this same trailer for their tears. Heres how I beefed up mine - there is another thread somewhere showing other examples..



I added 11 inches of length at the same time for a little more space for a petcool and more galley space.