In a few of our previous posts where we talked about upgrading our solar system, we also mentioned that we were going to repurpose the tongue of our trailer to try to get a little bit more storage there. We finally finished that project. We didn’t end up doing exactly what we originally had in mind, but we still did want to share what we came up with because we had mentioned it. And I know there are a few of you that also would like to get a little bit more storage space on the tongue of your trailer.
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How We Made Space on the Tongue
So when we switched to lithium batteries, we moved our batteries inside the trailer. And when we did that, we then had a space on the tongue of our trailer that was just unused. We took the batteries off and there was nothing else there. So to us, it made sense to try and add some storage there.
Our Storage Goals
We were hoping to get a few sewer items out of the pass through area and onto the tongue instead. That way the sewer items wouldn’t be around all of our other gear.
The Problem with Adding Tongue Storage
The challenge that we ran into was just the size of the space that we were working with. The front of the trailer curves quite a bit. So that really limited what we could put there. Anything that opened up from the top was going to start to hit that curve. Which meant we couldn’t put anything too tall, or it would have to be very narrow to be able to pass that curve.
The other issue about adding something to that area is we have the brackets for our weight distribution hitch. They hook right in the tongue in the same location. So there’s less space because those do go inside of the tongue just a little bit. We wouldn’t be able to put something on top of those or in front of those.
The Secure Storage Option
Now we did find a really nice box that would fit there. The box was meant to secure batteries on the tongue. And of course we didn’t have batteries there that needed to be secure, but it was the perfect size because it was meant for that. It was called an RV lock box.
The problem was is cost over $300. And though that would definitely be worthwhile if we actually wanted to secure something in there, we just wanted to store some cheap sewer stuff. And it just didn’t make sense to spend $300 to put a couple of items on the tongue.
One of the nice things about that box though, is the top of it slid open from the side. So that would allow us to have a little bit of a taller box in there because there isn’t going to be a top that opens up towards the curve of the trailer. It slides off the side.
So I did think that that was really nice, but again, it just was more than we were looking for.
The Cheap and Easy Storage Option
What we ended up doing was buying just a standard toolbox. We actually picked one up at Harbor Freight. It was only $25 and it fits into the spot on the tongue, perfectly! It goes right down into the existing brackets that were there for the batteries. It’s just the right width to fit snug on those brackets to secure it.
Securing the Toolbox to the Tongue
To secure the toolbox to the tongue of the trailer, we added four bolts to the bottom of the toolbox. Then we added some large washers and put them underneath the existing battery brackets. That way it was able to be secured right on the existing structure of the tongue.
The existing latches seemed pretty secure. We did also add a little carabiner hook as an extra precaution.
We could have added a lock, but honestly, we’re just not too worried about security on these items. It’s a pretty cheap toolbox. If somebody wanted to get into it, they could probably break through the area that holds the lock. If we were worried about security, we would’ve gone with that more expensive lock box.
Conclusion
So far we’ve traveled over 1,500 miles with this toolbox on the tongue and it has held up great. We haven’t had to tighten anything. Everything’s worked out really well.
It’s nice to have that extra space. It isn’t a ton of extra space. But the toolbox was cheap, it was an easy project, and it let us get a big plastic tote out from the pass through storage. So even though it isn’t a ton of space, it did free up a lot of space just because we did have to store these items in a separate bin because they are sewer related. So it’s nice just to have another spot to put those items.
