While in La Paz Mexico (Baja) I had a welding shop come to the campground and remove my existing Bumper and replace it with a new one that I designed and they built. I also had them make a steel box for my Generator.
My goal was to have a place to permanently install my Generator close to the power cord and get it out of the back of my truck. I also wanted to have a place for a storage box. Soon I will be removing the dinette and the couch in the trailer and replacing with a table and chairs and a "Real" Couch that one can actually sit on without requiring the ministrations of a Chiropractor the next day.
This modification will reduce my storage a bit and I needed to add some,thus the bumper.
So here are some pics and some comments on that modification.
Note that I had already calculated that the additional weight would not be a problem and as it turned out it has not adversely affected the handling or ride of the trailer in any way I can detect.
Here is the Frame of the new bumper being readied for install. We tacked it on and the next day I drove to their shop to finish the job as they were afraid they would blow the breakers in the RV park.
Here the crossmembers are being added.
Here is the finished bumper.
As you might notice the crossmembers are offset. This is for two reasons, the main one being to accommodate the mounting bolt hole pattern in the frame of my Generator.
Below you can see the generator in its steel pan base mounted to the new bumper. The box is designed to be simple to make, waterproof, strong and secure. The Generator is bolted through the pan and through the cross members with self locking nuts.
Here is the completed box
The generator will be additionally secured from theft by a locking receiver pin just like the one you use on your hitch. I will drill a clearance hole through the generator frame and the crossmember and insert the pin through and lock on the underside.
This I had to wait to do in the US so I could get a pin of the right size. I will add photos of that later.
I thought about buying a generator box off the shelf, but at more than $800 dollars I decided against it as my generator only cost me $500.
This entire project cost me just a little over $300 dollars including materials and labor paint and hardware. If I had done this in the states it would have been at LEAST $1000 or more.
For those of you interested and curious about how the bumper was mounted. It was welded directly to the trailer frame. My frame is one piece steel I beam. I increased the contact area of the bumper and weld area by over 200% with the trailer frame.
Also I increased the wall thickness of the longitudinal frame members (which are steel box sections) of the bumper from the original parts which were.092 thick to .125.
While I didnt weigh the bumper my educated guess is that it weighs about 80 lbs. The wieght of the original is I would guess about 45lbs. The only piece I kept from the original bumper was the Cross member (bumper). At .092 wall thickness it is plenty strong enough.
I am very happy with this Mod as it makes using my generator and accessing the ladder and storing stuff so much easier than before.
My goal was to have a place to permanently install my Generator close to the power cord and get it out of the back of my truck. I also wanted to have a place for a storage box. Soon I will be removing the dinette and the couch in the trailer and replacing with a table and chairs and a "Real" Couch that one can actually sit on without requiring the ministrations of a Chiropractor the next day.
This modification will reduce my storage a bit and I needed to add some,thus the bumper.
So here are some pics and some comments on that modification.
Note that I had already calculated that the additional weight would not be a problem and as it turned out it has not adversely affected the handling or ride of the trailer in any way I can detect.
Here is the Frame of the new bumper being readied for install. We tacked it on and the next day I drove to their shop to finish the job as they were afraid they would blow the breakers in the RV park.
Here the crossmembers are being added.
Here is the finished bumper.
As you might notice the crossmembers are offset. This is for two reasons, the main one being to accommodate the mounting bolt hole pattern in the frame of my Generator.
Below you can see the generator in its steel pan base mounted to the new bumper. The box is designed to be simple to make, waterproof, strong and secure. The Generator is bolted through the pan and through the cross members with self locking nuts.
Here is the completed box
The generator will be additionally secured from theft by a locking receiver pin just like the one you use on your hitch. I will drill a clearance hole through the generator frame and the crossmember and insert the pin through and lock on the underside.
This I had to wait to do in the US so I could get a pin of the right size. I will add photos of that later.
I thought about buying a generator box off the shelf, but at more than $800 dollars I decided against it as my generator only cost me $500.
This entire project cost me just a little over $300 dollars including materials and labor paint and hardware. If I had done this in the states it would have been at LEAST $1000 or more.
For those of you interested and curious about how the bumper was mounted. It was welded directly to the trailer frame. My frame is one piece steel I beam. I increased the contact area of the bumper and weld area by over 200% with the trailer frame.
Also I increased the wall thickness of the longitudinal frame members (which are steel box sections) of the bumper from the original parts which were.092 thick to .125.
While I didnt weigh the bumper my educated guess is that it weighs about 80 lbs. The wieght of the original is I would guess about 45lbs. The only piece I kept from the original bumper was the Cross member (bumper). At .092 wall thickness it is plenty strong enough.
I am very happy with this Mod as it makes using my generator and accessing the ladder and storing stuff so much easier than before.
