Tweet
i had an old cross-bed pickup truck storage box sitting by the side of my house wasting space, so i decided to build a frame to allow me to mount it in the trailer hitch. I found an ebay seller that sells basically scraps of metal for $3-4 (shipping's the big cost here, but it's still cheaper than if I was to buy locally), but that's all i needed for my little project. I used 2" square, 1/8" wall tubing throughout.
McMaster-Carr has some rubber strips to isolate the box from the frame, as well as 4-conductor cable and assorted hardware that I used.
No picures of the project in progress, but there wasn't much to it- weld the metal into a "T" shape, drill holes, bolt the box to the frame, run some wiring, and mount stop/turn/tail lamps. The trailer pigtail was under the rear seat of the Jeep when I bought it- lucky me
I also had a Maglite mount installed, so it's getting used again, and I also mounted a gooseneck lamp to make it easier to find stuff inside the box in the dark.
I intend to use this box to transport camping gear- throw the tent, sleeping bags, etc in the box and mount it up, then when I get to the campsite, pull the hitch pin and drop the box wherever I'm stopped
On to pics of the completed project!
blingin' with the clear LED tails.
view underneath
slightly different angle
inside the box- note the gooseneck and not-quite-complete wire routing
:
detail of taillamp installation (grommet mounted, but I'm going to run a bead of sealant just to be sure):
STOP!
:
when empty, the whole thing is light enough that I can mount it by myself- of course, it's a little easier with another pair of hands. all wiring is/will be held in place by Goop adhesive. a couple more things I may add is one or two back-up lights on a relay (the trailer pigtail is 7-wire, meaning there is a back-up light lead that can energize the relay) and some tie-down loops so I can lash small, light items to the "roof" of the box.
The only downside is that, when the box is mounted, I can't open the tailgate
McMaster-Carr has some rubber strips to isolate the box from the frame, as well as 4-conductor cable and assorted hardware that I used.
No picures of the project in progress, but there wasn't much to it- weld the metal into a "T" shape, drill holes, bolt the box to the frame, run some wiring, and mount stop/turn/tail lamps. The trailer pigtail was under the rear seat of the Jeep when I bought it- lucky me
I also had a Maglite mount installed, so it's getting used again, and I also mounted a gooseneck lamp to make it easier to find stuff inside the box in the dark.
I intend to use this box to transport camping gear- throw the tent, sleeping bags, etc in the box and mount it up, then when I get to the campsite, pull the hitch pin and drop the box wherever I'm stopped
On to pics of the completed project!
blingin' with the clear LED tails.
view underneath
slightly different angle
inside the box- note the gooseneck and not-quite-complete wire routing
:detail of taillamp installation (grommet mounted, but I'm going to run a bead of sealant just to be sure):
STOP!
:when empty, the whole thing is light enough that I can mount it by myself- of course, it's a little easier with another pair of hands. all wiring is/will be held in place by Goop adhesive. a couple more things I may add is one or two back-up lights on a relay (the trailer pigtail is 7-wire, meaning there is a back-up light lead that can energize the relay) and some tie-down loops so I can lash small, light items to the "roof" of the box.
The only downside is that, when the box is mounted, I can't open the tailgate
[COLOR=blue]Chris[/COLOR]
Comment