truck bed box

Thanks everyone for the input/info I will be taking the trailer out of storage soon ( I hope ) and check which mounting method will work best .......

Joe

Most of the ones I sold years ago, Delta, etc, just bolted through the bed with short nuts and bolts.

You could make a "sub-frame" of angle iron and bolt or weld it to the original battery support angle iron so the bottom of the box would sit directly on it. Some wood could work also as long as not pressure-treated.

You could weld on a length of angle iron to the top of the A-frame on each side and attach the box to that.

You could consider a "trailer tongue storage" box like this one as an alternative. They are available in a dimension to fit the angle of the A-frame and it could sit directly on top of the original battery support angle iron. tongue box I bought one for our last TT and it was taller than needed and I was going to cut the aluminum and reduce the overall height plus I was going to let it hang down a few inches below the A-frame. Bought a new TT and didn't get around to installing it. Not as wide as the one you are thinking of but it is taller...

Those long U-bolts would work too. If you are putting batteries in the box, I think I would use 2 per side.

Whatever you do, I would not bolt steel (even stainless) directly to aluminum. If you go to Ace Hardware, they have a selection of nylon step washers you can use to isolate the metal.

I mounted a truck box on the tongue of a flat bed utility trailer I had. The box was the heavy-duty ABS kind, not the diamond plate so it needed full support underneath. I used two 5' pieces of 12-gauge 1-5/8" Unistrut channel from Lowes/Home Depot. The channel was bolted to the tongue with square u-bolts. The nuts were in the up position and concealed inside the channel. The box then bolted to the channel through the box bottom and I used the unistrut capture nuts. All the hardware was concealed nicely. The tool box stayed with the trailer when I sold it a year later (for a tidy profit!). The new owners of the trailer love having the box; they use the trailer for a snowmobile and the box houses their support gear for it.

X2 on NOT drilling thru the frame!! TT makers do everything they can to reduce weight, this includes using a frame that is bear minimum. Any drilling thru the frame will weaken it. chances are you'd never have an issue, but it only take once.

Here's mine

I too am not a big fan of drilling holes in the tongue frame if I don't have to.

These square U-BOLT are perfect for mounting the diamond plated boxes to the tongue frames.

I have seen them mounted both ways with the nuts on the inside of the box or under the trailer frame cross bracket



My choice for the tool box is one of those truck side mount boxes like this one. The 48-inch box will hold 4 each GC2 6V Deep cycle batteries from COSTCO.


They look great on the trailer tongue mounted between the front TT wall and the propane tanks


The LIP area of the box is perfect for mounting round vents from LOWES for venting the batteries... The LIP area is also perfect for routing and securing your battery cables for a nice professional look and adding the BLUE SEA Battery switches..


My friend used sink drains (LOWES) for the battery vents which I thought was a great idea..

Photos from GILLDAWG79

food for thought
Roy Ken

When you put those truck diamond plated boxes in the back of your pick-up, they are usually installed with a J bolt. The bottom of the J fits under the frame lip of the bed rail and the top of the J goes through a hole in the box, the part that actually sits on the rails. You then put a nut on the top of the threaded J bolt and tighten it down. This keeps the box from moving, and prevents anyone from lifting it out. If you close the lid and lock it, its almost impossible to get the box out.

Rather than drilling a hole through the frame, is there a way you can drill a hole in the bottom of the box and then use a J bolt to catch under the frame, instead of through a hole? The only problem is, you can see the bolt and a pair of bolt cutters could probably snap it pretty quick, depending upon how concealed it would be. You might also be able to get a large U bolt, one wide enough to go completely around the frame.

I don't think drilling a hole in the frame will hurt anything. But at least, here's an alternative idea you might consider.

Go for it!