Forum Discussion

bigtime_077's avatar
bigtime_077
Explorer
Apr 11, 2014

Hauling wood on rear hitch

Hey all,

Trying to compare my notes to last year camping when we had our hybrid. We now have a travel trailer and I am looking at doing some modifications to make hauling things a little easier. In the past we hauled our bikes in the camper and wood in the bed of the truck along with my folding bbq grill.

With the 5.5' bed I am a little concerned with the ability to haul the bikes and wood in there at the same time. Not sure if putting the bikes in the camper is an option because with the slide in there isn't really any floor space.

I always thought about it with the hybrid but there really wasn't anything to the rear frame so I scratched it but I am thinking about putting a hitch on the rear of the TT. This has an I-beam frame all the way back. I was going to weld together an actual receiver, not bumper mount, and bolt this to the frame of the trailer. I was going to drill a hole in the bottom of the receiver and weld a nut in there to be able to use a bolt to tighten down on the hitch carrier. So that was my plan was to use my hitch carrier that goes into a 2" receiver to haul my firewood on the back of the camper.

Now I know without a doubt that the actual welded hitch receiver bolted to the I-beam frame will support the weight of the wood.

My only concern is as you add weight to the rear of the camper it will essentially remove tongue weight from the trailer dependent on the position of the trailer axles in relation to the rest of the trailer, how much leverage the weight has. My axles are at a position in which approximately two-thirds of the trailer is in front of the axles. So what I am thinking is you put for sake of argument if I had 300# on the rear that it would essentially remove 100# of tongue weight all other things being equal. Reason I am looking to do the firewood is because I want to be able to lock the bikes under the tonneau cover and not be hauling wood in the bed of the truck if we go sight seeing.

So my thoughts to combat the effects of the weight on the back was to add a link to my weight distribution bars if I am hauling the wood on the back or just loading more supplies to the front of the camper to counter the weight.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2014
    Sounds like you have the metal working figured out.

    I'd suggest to keep your eyes out for new construction sites in your area, residential sites are the easiest to get close to. Stop and ask someone if you can pick up some scrap. Most crews are OK with it as long as you aren't in the way or doing gymnastics in the dumpster. Some guys want you to remove scrap as it is weight that they pay to dispose. It used to be that 15% of wood delivered to a typical home build gets cycled into a dumpster. That figure has dropped some but it's still a lot of waste. Lumber that has been kiln dried (everything from a construction site) can be legally transported and burned. Steer clear of treated or painted wood, it is not that wonderful for campfires.
  • myredracer's avatar
    myredracer
    Explorer II
    Apr 11, 2014
    If you want to see how to really do it, take a look at what Nash does on their TTs. VERY skookum and impressive. But their frames are built-in house and are heavy duty/off road. Still, might give a person some ideas.

    Good luck and don't forget to post pics of what you do. :)

    bigtime_077 wrote:
    Yes I agree. Whatever I put back there will be attached to a hitch that will be secured to the I-beam frame of the travel trailer, not the bumper.
  • bigtime_077's avatar
    bigtime_077
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2014
    Yes I agree. Whatever I put back there will be attached to a hitch that will be secured to the I-beam frame of the travel trailer, not the bumper.
  • myredracer's avatar
    myredracer
    Explorer II
    Apr 11, 2014
    If you can see the rear of the TT bob up and down in your mirror while travelling, if adding a bike rack at the rear, you might want to consider adding shocks to the trailer. We had shocks installed on ours and now the trailer hardly moves up and down and is almost a steady flatline. I've about about bikes being thrown clear off a rack at the rear...

    There are still cautionary notes on a rear bike rack. Suggest a little googling. It depends a lot on how it is attached. Just to the bumper is not good as the bumpers have been known to break right off.

    Not trying to be negative, just being the messenger of things I've read on forums. ;)

    BurbMan wrote:
    BigTime, I was at 14% tongue weight too, so I didn't think that a little added weight in the back would hurt. I mainly wanted a "trunk" to keep the generator out of the weather and a place for the blocks, cords, hoses, etc. I need to get re-weighed at some point and see how the weight re-distributed.

    If you are going to haul the bikes on the back of the TT, make sure you have a sturdy structure attached to the frame and not just the bumper. It's not the weight of the bikes per se but the bouncing effect going down the road. If you ever sat in the last row of the school bus on a bumpy road you klnow what I'm talking about.
  • BurbMan's avatar
    BurbMan
    Explorer II
    Apr 11, 2014
    BigTime, I was at 14% tongue weight too, so I didn't think that a little added weight in the back would hurt. I mainly wanted a "trunk" to keep the generator out of the weather and a place for the blocks, cords, hoses, etc. I need to get re-weighed at some point and see how the weight re-distributed.

    If you are going to haul the bikes on the back of the TT, make sure you have a sturdy structure attached to the frame and not just the bumper. It's not the weight of the bikes per se but the bouncing effect going down the road. If you ever sat in the last row of the school bus on a bumpy road you klnow what I'm talking about.
  • bigtime_077's avatar
    bigtime_077
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2014
    Well after reading your responses maybe I should look at putting the wood in the bed of the truck and the bikes on the back. Or maybe I need to look at just buying the wood at the campground too. We use to do that when we had our trailblazer. Just looking at a way to maybe make hauling it easier but maybe the easiest is seeing what I can fit in the truck bed.
  • boosTT's avatar
    boosTT
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2014
    I wouldn't carry wood in plain view... Its frowned upon (even where legal).

    Most campgrounds are accommodating and don't gauge you on wood prices.
  • jaycocreek's avatar
    jaycocreek
    Explorer II
    Apr 11, 2014
    I would just put the wood and bikes in the truck.I have a 5.5 bed and don't worry about weight.I have more faith in my truck and carrying weight than I do the trailer rear.

    If you have a ladder rack on the rear, put the bikes on that....Seen quite a few rear haulers welded to the trailer frame bent from bouncing with more weight there than should be.Home grown units, not factory.
  • bigtime_077's avatar
    bigtime_077
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2014
    BurbMan wrote:
    Hi there, good points on firewood. I know IN doesn't allow firewood in from other states. But back on topic, assuming you wanted to add storage to the back of your TT.

    Here's how I added storage to the back of my trailer.

    Regarding the weight transfer, your math is a little off. The "moment" or the force exterted, is equal to the weight x the distance to the fulcrum. In your case the fulcrum is the axles. You say your axles are 2/3 of the way back on the trailer....so the distance from the axles forward to the tongue is twice the distance from the axles back to the bumper. That means that 300 lbs added to the back will reduce tongue weight by 150 lbs, NOT 100.


    Thanks for the link. Also very nice job on the platform. I had a suspicion that my math was a little off but nevertheless I did figure I had to take that weight in effect for reduction of tongue weight. As the camper sits right now after weighing the tongue weight I am at 14% tongue weight so I thought if I gave up even 150# of tongue weight I would still be at almost 12%. I think 300# is an exageration because I really don't haul that much fire wood.
  • BurbMan's avatar
    BurbMan
    Explorer II
    Apr 11, 2014
    Hi there, good points on firewood. I know IN doesn't allow firewood in from other states. But back on topic, assuming you wanted to add storage to the back of your TT.

    Here's how I added storage to the back of my trailer.

    Regarding the weight transfer, your math is a little off. The "moment" or the force exterted, is equal to the weight x the distance to the fulcrum. In your case the fulcrum is the axles. You say your axles are 2/3 of the way back on the trailer....so the distance from the axles forward to the tongue is twice the distance from the axles back to the bumper. That means that 300 lbs added to the back will reduce tongue weight by 150 lbs, NOT 100.

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