Custom bumper assembly

j-d wrote:
Have you weighed this coach? Four corner weights are best, but at least the Front and Rear axles? What's the Wheelbase? Tiny is right - IF the coach is already Front Light/Rear Heavy, or the Wheelbase isn't at least 55% of Length, handling will suffer.

I guess that's what I'll have to do. On Monday or Tuesday I'll take it out to get weighed with the tanks half filled. It's already a bit squirrelly, so it will be interesting to see what kind of leeway I have.

I understood there would be ramifications with more weight back there, which is why I was looking for some specifics. I didn't think the equivalent of a 200lb man laying on the rear bed was going to render the rig undrivable, but I'll see what the numbers say.

j-d wrote:
Are you making a new "bumper" from the Frame out, or adding to an existing square-thinwall-tubing bumper? We've had cases where a spare tire, mounted to the bumper, has torn the bumper at the bracket welds.

It's a replacement bumper that bolts to the frame using the four original bumper bolts. You can see that in the first illustration above.

I have to take this gear with us somehow. The alternative I have considered is bolting a couple of 2in steel angles to the bottom of the cabover loft on each side of the cab and using them to hold gear just in front of the loft, over the cab. But it would be difficult to haul the gear down and put it back up for every trip. And it still doesn't help with the firewood.