Rear tool boxes on caravans

shambells · Member

Rear tool boxes on caravans

kiwijims · Guru

shambells wrote:
Hi guys i have a Jayco 18 foot Westport and I was wondering could I put the tool box on the rear of the caravan I also want to know we have a Waeco fridge freezer car fridge and is that possible to put that on the A frame where the tool box came from any help would be great thank you

G'day shambells, Welcome to the gang, I reckon if a bloke has a bit of know-how and the right tools, he is likely to do anything,

Nothing is impossible, it just takes a bit of thought and probably a few bucks in the pocket always helps.

K.J.

gwb · Senior Member

It may pay to check your weights.
Geoff

Cupie · Guru

Welcome from me too.

I have seen a few on the rear & I suppose that the Engel can be fitted to the A frame. We carry ours in the back of the Patrol. Getting power to it becomes an issue too, but easily overcome. Don't know how all the bumping about will effect it though but then they fit them in camper trailers.

Of course the real issue is the weight. Increase in ball weight by mounting stuff on the A frame & the ability of the rear bumper to take the weight. How big the tool box is & how much you want to put in it is a factor. Any weight on the bumper has an exaggerated effect because of the distance from the wheels.

In addition both items will eat into your rather limited payload weight of 3/400kg (sounds like a lot but it's not - check your compliance plate) that includes all your food, clothes & kitchen stuff as well as any annexe, water in tanks & gas bottles, chairs etc. Most people who care about safety &/or being legal go to great lengths to reduce weight.

Where is your spare tyre carried. Earlier Westports used the rear bumper but around 2000 they changed that to the A frame & moved the gas bottles into the front boot. This might be a factor.

shambells · Member

The spare wheels on the back of the bumper and a gas bottles are inside the boot at the front the fridge freezer we want to put on is a Waeco two door fridge freezer 95 lt it weighs about 35 kilos without food. The rhino box we want to put on the back of the caravan is approximately a 100cm by 36cm that would probably weigh about the same. The van has 2 single beds in the back fridge lining dining room in the middle and kitchen at the front we have no shower or toilet two water containers underneath 90 l at the front 60 l at the back.

SouthernComfort · Guru

I agree with Cupie, payload allowances can be surprisingly limited and you're looking at adding well in excess of 70kg on top of everything else you already have on board.

Also, balancing the weight is very important, so if your tool box and Waeco fridge are similar weights (one front, one back) you should at least remain in balance. The worst thing is adding significantly more tail weight which will potentially create sway issues. Front loading is better from a handling standpoint, so long as you remain within the permitted tow ball download.

The best way to start is by checking the weight specs on your compliance plate i.e. Ball download, ATM, Payload. Worth doing that before you fork out for your extra gear!

shambells · Member

Thanks for all your feedback I will take it onboard

Barboots · Senior Member

Further to the solid previous advice, bear in mind that weight at the ends of the caravan have a negative impact on stability.

Desert Dweller · Guru

On a recent trip to QLD we nearly lost our rear bumper bar which only carries our spare wheel, all factory fitted. Upon arriving at our QLD destination we found that the rear bumper was loose & the weld had broken due to pitching on the highways. Almost lost the lot! Hanging a tool box off the rear may be a bit risky.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

In term of stability, the WORST place to put weight is at the ends of a van.

Cheers,
Peter

TheHeaths · Guru

Just a couple of comments Robert.

1) Agree that weight at either end of van is probably not the best way to go.

2) As said previously, be careful with your loaded weights. If the van is a tandem, you probably have a load allowance of 400 kg. That will go quickly with 150 kg of water, 70 kg of fridge and box, and then whatever you put into them.

3) Elsewhere you talk about a 51 kg ball weight. That would be empty van and water tanks. Suggest you fill van with your stuff, and water tanks, then take a ball weight and van weight, before you go adding bits and pieces at either end. See what you have available.

Gus1949 · Senior Member

If you are new to caravanning the attached article is a must read to help understand the towing dynamics of caravans. Putting tool boxes or any thing extra on the rear of a caravan can lead to them being unstable due to the pendulum effect when a van starts to sway.
caravanandmotorhomebooks.com/caravan-and-tow-vehicle-dynamics/. Copy and past this.

El Gringo · Senior Member

This is another good one to watch about where you add weight to a caravan/trailer.
www.youtube.com/watch

Cheers,

Cupie · Guru

shambells ....

On balance, I'd suggest that unless you REALLY REALLY need to, don't put a tool box on the rear of your van. I'd hate to read about you being yet another victim of caravan roll over.

This is particularly the case if yours is a single axle van.

(18ft is about the max for single axle & the min for duals, but as you said you don't have shower & toilet I suspect it is a single axle van).

Also as suggested earlier, look for a spot in the tug for your back up fridge freezer. If it must go in the van look for a spot over the axle & minimise anything else you want to carry in the van ( your full water tanks take 150 of your allowed 300kg van's payload).

ps The 'tool box' on the back of my 21'6" Westport is one of those small 25x15x15 cm ones that my Son made at high school & sits behind the spare tyre holding my plumbing thingo's ... like bends, connectors, hose joiners, tap fittings, washers & O rings and long nose & vice grip pliers. A few other tools are fixed to the wall of the front boot .. eg. half axe, elec drill, peg pullers, wheel brace, folding trenching tool & wheel bearing spares. A few spanners are in the tug tool kit. A couple of plastic lunch boxes under the bed contain 'consumables' like Tommy, Gaffa, Elec & Plumbers tapes, glues & cable ties. That's all I've needed for 20 years of vanning.

Edit .... Oops forgot the WD40 & Silicon sprays in the 'consumables'.

-- Edited by Cupie on Wednesday 23rd of August 2017 05:24:45 PM

Ron-D · Guru

I have a single axel Van with a ball weight of two hundred kg ,with a single axel Van the nose weight is not supported by two axels so hence they can have a heavier ball weight in most cases compared to bogey wheeled Vans ,so the toolbox won't be a problem.

now some bumper bars only have two support arms that are not made well enough to take the weight. that's enother consideration..

cultana · Senior Member

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
In term of stability, the WORST place to put weight is at the ends of a van.

Cheers,
Peter

What Peter said.

Ron-D · Guru

cultana wrote:
Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
In term of stability, the WORST place to put weight is at the ends of a van.

Cheers,
Peter
What Peter said.

Agreed but think outside the square most vans can and do have tool boxes fitted to the rear quite safely , my Van has a heavy ball weight already and a very robust bumper...no problems at all with the tool box open your eyes and look at the vans with tool boxes fitted if you have the right specs that's a great place to put a tool box in my opinion...

Cupie · Guru

Ron-D wrote:
cultana wrote:
Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
In term of stability, the WORST place to put weight is at the ends of a van.

Cheers,
Peter
What Peter said.
Agreed but think outside the square most vans can and do have tool boxes fitted to the rear quite safely , my Van has a heavy ball weight already and a very robust bumper...no problems at all with the tool box open your eyes and look at the vans with tool boxes fitted if you have the right specs that's a great place to put a tool box in my opinion...

Perhaps we should agree to dis-agree & move on before this gets personal.

popcorn time.