Quick hardware question: tool box to cargo carrier

[jat4]

Planning to attach a diamond plate truck box to a cargo carrier to ride in the front hitch on our upcoming trip to MT. Curious to hear what people would use to attach the box to the carrier--simple bolts, u-bolts, etc.? too many options at the hardware store. :E

Trying to maintain watertightness if possible and trying not to have much of anything protrude into the box so packing it stays easy.





thanks in advance.

[hornet28]

Do you have a buddy with a welder? If so see if he will cut off what
you have and make you a new piece to replace the factory insert. That way you can choose just where you want it as far as distance between it and the truck

[jat4]

hornet28 wrote:
I would've thought you'd have heating problems with it that tight to the truck. Either motor or trans

nope, but like I said, the engine has the extra cooling with the plow package, and didn't seem to be an issue.

I did have an 8" hitch extender that I tried, but the receiver didn't allow the extender to go far enough into it to allow the holes to line up. May still use it next season if I drill a couple of new holes.

[hornet28]

I would've thought you'd have heating problems with it that tight to the truck. Either motor or trans

[jat4]

here's the new setup, no problems after 3500 miles

[jat4]

Another followup to a thread this morning. We made the trip to Montana this summer with the cargo box as it appears in the photo above. Unfortunately that extended bar cargo carrier led to so much bounce over 5-6,000 miles that the aftermarket front hitch receiver bend downward over time and slightly bend the bumper on the truck.

The good news was that the truck place that installed the receiver replaced it free of charge under warranty, and the bumper damage was so slight I've just left it alone.

What I did do for our fall trip to Michigan, however, was to take the bent arm portion of the cargo carrier off and mounted the tray directly into the receiver. This only left about 2" (maybe a bit more) between the back of the box and the grill, but I monitored the coolant temp on the trip and it never rose much more than about 5-6 degrees from normal. No bouncing, no more bent receiver.

So something to consider for anyone reading this thread in the future and/or considering a similar set-up for a front-mounted cargo box.

Box was great by the way, for both trips. Really helpful to have a place to store the genny and all the outside campsite kind of stuff--chairs, Coleman stove, dog-related things, etc.

If I can dig out a picture of the new installation I'll try to add it as well.

[billyray50]

4 bolts drilled thru bottom of box, guides attached, and anti rattle bracket installed on my Bodiak front hitch. Coolant temps have been fine some marginal oil temp increase though. Been using this set up for 3 years.

[jat4]

DWeikert wrote:
Looks good. Just a heads up, you're going to see a lot of wobble while driving down the road. To minimize that I ran a set of turnbuckles from the bottom corners of my box to the front tow hooks and snugged them down which helped. I also used a rattle stop (etrailer rattle stops) on the hitch to make that connection rigid.

Good point, I think I'll do that. I have anti-rattle hitch locks front and back, but this rack still has a lot of inherent wobble at the elbow where it's designed to fold up when not in use. thanks.

[DWeikert]

Looks good. Just a heads up, you're going to see a lot of wobble while driving down the road. To minimize that I ran a set of turnbuckles from the bottom corners of my box to the front tow hooks and snugged them down which helped. I also used a rattle stop (etrailer rattle stops) on the hitch to make that connection rigid.

[jat4]

Thanks to everyone for the advice, I used bits and pieces of everyone's input it seems like. here are the pics, the attachments inside are two small clevis pins with fender washers underneath in the factory holes (more for stability than anything else) and a square u-bracket right in the center over the main carrier frame element for strength and to actually anchor the box to the cargo rack. I think this will work out pretty well.

[towpro]

I use 4 clevis pins (one in each corner) with fender washers through the box and mesh.
I install them from bottom up into box, than put the spring cotter pins on inside the box. this way you need to open (unlock) box to remove pins.

[TxGearhead]

1/4" link chain will probably deter the casual thief. If they really want in it, they'll get in.

[DWeikert]

I used one of these from Tractor Supply. I also have a rack but this way it's available for times I don't take the genny without having to unbolt the box.



The piece that slides into the receiver is short, ignore the picture on their site that shows a longer one. I had to use an extension to get it on the Curt front receiver on my Chevy. The extension is only 8" but that helps move the box away for better cooling.



Depending on the thickness of your box (mine is kinda thin) use some healthy fender washers on the inside of the box to distribute the load and avoid stress fractures.

[jat4]

Grit dog wrote:
^Flip the box over, set the rack on it upside down, center it up and drill. Then there’s no holes to line up or layout to do.

That was pretty much my original plan, one problem I realized is the rack isn't exactly flat, there's 1" gap between the box and the rack (or 1/2" on each side of the box resting on the high spot in the center of the rack framing).



So I'm a bit concerned bolts through the bottom may work loose from all the road bouncing. I may loosen the bolts holding the carrier together to see if I can pull it together a bit more square to the box, but I suspect that won't do much.

[Kayteg1]

If you want the box easy for removal, set it on rubber mat, add chain for security and use set of those to hold it down.
Takes me average 10 seconds to cut steel cable with my cordless.
Chain takes over a minute.