Hauling wood on rear hitch

[bigtime_077]

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.

[BurbMan]

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.

[Tvov]

I would be very concerned about the weight of the firewood. Why don't you put the firewood in the bed of the truck, and the bikes on the trailer? Whatever you do, if you put anything on the rear bumper of the trailer make sure it is secure - I have seen some scary bouncing of bikes / grills / totes on the bumpers of trailers going down the highway.

[dodge_guy]

I put my firewood in a couple totes. Stays dry and keeps the mess inside the totes. I have 4 bikes on the rear of the trailer i moved the spare to the front and offset the weight by putting heavier stuff up front.

Keep it simple, keep your bikes in the bed and buy a couple of totes for the wood.

As far as the transfer of firewood well..........!

[myredracer]

From what I've read and can happen, it's not something I would do, but if you really want to, I would weigh some wood similar to what you'd be hauling. Scale it up if needed. A load of wood can get pretty heavy in a hurry. All that weight out back is not good for a number of reasons, and the immediate one of concern would be tongue weight.

I don't know about firewood restrictions between states. Not sure if it's more restrictive than crossing the Canada/US border. You are allowed to go either way across the border with firewood as long as it is mill ends (sawn pieces of scrap 2x4s and 2x6s). Regular split firewood would result in a trip to Guantanamo Bay. We buy already cut mill ends from a pallet recycling place in Wa. and it's pretty inexpensive at $50 for an 8' pickup bed full of it and tightly packed.

[SDcampowneroper]

bugs do not know, care about state lines. do not transport firewood with bark on.
its simple. Infestive bugs live in the cambium. If you wish to bring your own wood, pick out split pieces without any bark.
Bug infesestations are not only due to wood, also as unintentional 'hitchhikers' in trailers.
Gypsy moths are a prime example. The USFS places traps for them in the west in thousands of places, invariably gypsy moths are trapped near camps, nowhere else......
infected campfire wood , Hichhiking in a trailer is the only attributable reason for that .
Do not move suspect wood.

[bigtime_077]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Putting aside the issue of transporting firewood, I think you're asking about the weight on the rear of the camper. Not knowing what kind of camper you have, how long it is, and without doing the math to figure out how much tongue weight you'd loose, its really kind of hard to say what the impact would be.

My new Outback came with the 1 inch? receiver hitch on the back, already installed. Warning labels give a weight limit, which isn't all that much, but is adequate to carry a basket-cage that slides into the receiver. Although I had to get the step-up receiver, from the 1 inch? to the 2 an 1/4?? standard receiver, the carrying cage works pretty well. However!

All that weight hanging on a single post, with the width on both sides, causes the cage to wiggle back and forth, a lot! If you add something like this, for whatever you carry, it will probably have a lot of wiggle back and forth also.

In order to stop the wiggle, I attached 2 2x4 boards bolted to each end of the cage that catches on the top of the square bumper. So, the actual hitch carries the weight, and the 2x4's stop the rocking back and forth. No weight on the bumper, it's just used for balance. Too bad, I don't have a photo.

So, in your consideration of a single receiver hitch, take into account the rocking back and forth, because of the slack in the hitch and the shaft that goes into the receiver. I think that will be a bigger problem than the weight you're loosing on your tongue, especially if your trailer has any length at all.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck .... and please do rethink transporting firewood. In Indiana you can transport and even bring it into the state parks now, but the bark has to be removed and subject to inspection. So the rules are lifting in some places.

Good luck!

Good point about the wiggling back and forth. I actually was thinking about that. I was trying to even figure a way in which I may be able to attach eye bolts to the hitch frame and use ratchet straps to secure it.

Oh and by the way yes I was asking about the effects on the tongue weight. I probably should have posted in the OP but the trailer is a 2013 Dutchmen 265BHS which I believe it is 29'10" but I don't know for sure if that is the length of the box or from bumper to hitch. Like I said before the axles are about 2/3 of the way back from the hitch so the hitch end would still hold the leverage. Not saying it won't effect it at all just saying I don't think it will be to a 1:1 factor.

[bigtime_077]

My basic plan was to use 2 lengths of 2" square tubing with 3/16" wall to span the two I-beams of the trailer frame. I was going to weld some 3"x3"x3/16" angle iron about 4" long on the ends of the square tubing to be able to bolt this to the I-beams. I want to bolt them because my trailer has the polar package and I want to be able to remove the hitch system in case I need to remove the coroplast to get in there. I was then going to weld a length of receiver stock to the two spans of 2" square tubing. Basically I will have two full lengths of support and both will be bolted to the trailer frame. I think that will be more than strong enough.

[DutchmenSport]

Putting aside the issue of transporting firewood, I think you're asking about the weight on the rear of the camper. Not knowing what kind of camper you have, how long it is, and without doing the math to figure out how much tongue weight you'd loose, its really kind of hard to say what the impact would be.

My new Outback came with the 1 inch? receiver hitch on the back, already installed. Warning labels give a weight limit, which isn't all that much, but is adequate to carry a basket-cage that slides into the receiver. Although I had to get the step-up receiver, from the 1 inch? to the 2 an 1/4?? standard receiver, the carrying cage works pretty well. However!

All that weight hanging on a single post, with the width on both sides, causes the cage to wiggle back and forth, a lot! If you add something like this, for whatever you carry, it will probably have a lot of wiggle back and forth also.

In order to stop the wiggle, I attached 2 2x4 boards bolted to each end of the cage that catches on the top of the square bumper. So, the actual hitch carries the weight, and the 2x4's stop the rocking back and forth. No weight on the bumper, it's just used for balance. Too bad, I don't have a photo.

So, in your consideration of a single receiver hitch, take into account the rocking back and forth, because of the slack in the hitch and the shaft that goes into the receiver. I think that will be a bigger problem than the weight you're loosing on your tongue, especially if your trailer has any length at all.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck .... and please do rethink transporting firewood. In Indiana you can transport and even bring it into the state parks now, but the bark has to be removed and subject to inspection. So the rules are lifting in some places.

Good luck!

EDIT:

We went to the Indianapolis, Indiana RV show in 2010. I snapped these photos of a North Country camper. I really liked the way the installed the bicycle carrier. This carrier could carry anything. Notice, it uses the concept of two receivers instead of a single one.

I STRONGLY suggest you do something similar, if you're going to carry anything on the end of your camper. This will eliminate all the wiggle!

[bigtime_077]

Good post Fred. That is I guess what I was looking for in the thread was to whether or not the fabrication would work and how badly the weight in the rear would affect the tongue weight.

My camper frame uses an I-beam as the rails for the frame but I really like your idea on use of the black pipe on the square tubing.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

As long as you are going to all that trouble to fabricate something, why not make it really strong? Weld or otherwise attach a 2" receiver to each of your trailer frames, and then build something to go between them. It can slide out and in as needed. You could even use one of them as a bike rack carrier and the other for something like cargo carrier, or have a wider rack that can carry both bikes and cargo.

With all this talk about firewood, you might want that in the truck and bikes on the back?

Also use care in the weight distribution. If you add to much weight behind the axle, you might take away weight to much from the hitch. Anyway a hundred pounds of bikes will not matter to much.

My pickup truck had a extension hitch for when the camper was on board. It was fabricated by using 1/4" plate steel, with 2.5" square tubing welded to it, and bolted to the truck chassis. 2" square tubing slide into the 2.5" tubing on the truck, and the sliding bumper bolted onto both of these 2" square tubes. I drilled holes for the "normal" and 18" out positions.

If you have something like 2" X 6" tall tubing for a trailer frame, then you can bolt something on to it. However as you tighten the bolts, it will crush the tubing, thus never stay tight. So by using 2.5" long 1/2" steel pipe, drill a 7/8" hole in one side of the 2X6" tubing, then insert the pipe to bolt down the hitch, once tight, weld the insert into place. They will prevent any pressure across the 2X6" tubing while you can still apply 120 foot pounds of torque to the 1/2" diameter grade 8 bolts.


Fred.

[loulou57]

Just in case anyone camps in Ontario....carrying wood from area to area is also not allowed. Firewood can be bought at Provincial parks for around $7 a bag. I do not know about private campgrounds prices.

[Peg_Leg]

I welded a length of 2" ID square tubing to the bottom of my frame on my last TT for 18yrs and now have the same on my 5er. With a receiver on each side you eliminate a lot of movement but you have to custom make everything. I have a 18" wide expanded metal tray with a 1" square tubing rail across the back. I used to stand on the 1" tubing to wash the rear top of the TT. I have a trailer ball that fits mine when not using the tray and I want to take the fishing boat along.

You have to make sure every thing is in alignment or you'll never get any accessories mounted back there. Don't forget the center the hole for the pin.

[korbe]

Geeze. The firewood posts are getting more attention then the firearms posts.

[Need-A-Vacation]

JJensen79 wrote:
I think the state parks in Michigan still have some of the restrictions on them. You would have to double check if you are in a quarantined area. Most private campgrounds don't really care.
BTW I haul my fire wood on the back of the trailer. The rear bumper pulls out about 3' and I mount a large plastic bin on it and put my fire wood in that. This way it stays dry. I can fit enough for a couple of fires.

I think concerning state parks it is "local wood" that is allowed in, not hauled 2+hrs down the road.

As for the private campgrounds, the ones I have either stayed at or looked into do not allow outside firewood.

When we take firewood I also haul it in a large rubbermaud tub in the bed of the truck. Depending on how much wood you would be taking it may be better to haul it in the bed and haul the bikes on the back of the trailer. Depending on how much the bikes weigh obviously.

[camperforlife]

We put our wood in a tote as well. If you do leave the state you really do need to check regulations were you are going and the states that you are passing through. We literally live on the Indiana/Ohio border and there are pretty stiff fines if we cross the state line in either direction with wood that does not have an inspection seal. It seems pretty silly when you can spit across the line but can't carry wood across. I know they do have to draw the line somewhere to stop the spread of invasive species.