Under floor storage ideas?

[Andrew]

Hello folks,

I am going to purchase the TD kit soon, and like so many others have been planning much beforehand.

One main issue I wanted to address was cabin storage. Having trawled the forum I’ve found some great ideas and advice. This internal storage (http://teardropforum.com/forums/topic/cabin-storage/) is definitely something I will add.

The reason for this post was to ask for any opinions and assistance on the idea of under floor storage. I’ve seen the drawer box added by Waterlust and others which looks great but concerns me about the increased height of the galley. So I wondered if it would be possible to add storage space under the floor and make it accessible through panels in the cabin floor?

The diagram below gives the idea of what I mean, though only illustrates one storage box, I would create probably two and their location would be dictated by the gaps in the trailer. I was thinking they could be made out of the same ply as the cabin and use epoxy, filets and fibreglass as elsewhere.

Clearance from the ground is a concern and I wondered if anybody who has the CLC trailer could possibly let me know the distance from the underside of the cabin floor to the ground. I’ve read about different wheel sizes and also about mounting the wheel above or below the suspension so if you could also say how the trailer is configured that would be really helpful too.

I’m also a bit concerned about the harsh environment under the trailer and close to the road but hoped that yatch varnish would be good enough to withstand that. Cutting big holes in the floor is a worry too!

Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Andrew

[western_flyer]

I’m in the process of sealing my TD to the Northern Tool trailer and eventually covering and sealing up the underside of the trailer. For access hatches I am installing Attwood marine hatches. http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/product/hatches. If you look around the internet they can be found at an attractive price. In sea kayak fashion I will also install 6 inch deck plates opposite the Attwoods to facilitate proper storage and retrieval of items. The deck plates are available on the CLC store page.

[ArtisticAdam]

That is a future upgrade for mine as well and I plan to do something similar to Wester_Flyer. You may want to try searching for a marine drop-in storage box like this https://www.boatoutfitters.com/drop-in-storage-tub-11×15

 

[Andrew]

Thanks western_flyer and ArtisticAdam, they are both really good suggestions. I hadn’t thought of making the hatch smaller than the storage space as with the marine hatches. That makes me much more comfortable about doing it because I’m not cutting such a big hole in the floor and weakening it. I really appreciate your posts, thanks.

[Boardwalk]

I installed 2 boxes under the floor.  I reinforced the cutouts with hard maple and sandwiched the floor and the frame with two additional frames to form the box and then the cover.

[PopeyeTheTrailerMan]

From the bottom of the trailer to the ground – 23 inches.

From the bottom of the frame to the ground – 18 1/2 inches

Have fun

• This reply was modified 5 years, 7 months ago by PopeyeTheTrailerMan.

[Andrew]

Thanks very much for the measurements PopeyeTheTrailerMan, after all this feedback I feel much happier about doing this, it has been a real help to me.

Boardwalk; your floor and hatches look really great. Do you mind me asking how much clearance you left between the bottom of your boxes and the ground and has it proved to be enough?

Thanks again for all the comments & photos.

[Andrew]

Hi,

I just thought I’d update this post now that my TD is complete. I did put the under floor storage very similar tot he designs I posted above. I made the access hatch smaller than the storage space itself and carefully cut the holes so that I could use the cut-outs for the hatch covers. After a couple of trips now the space has proved really useful and I’m really glad I did it. I don’t have a storage box on the front so all storage space is at a premium.

Thanks for your help along the way. Seeing what other people have done and getting ideas from you all has been a great help.

Andrew

[Helibuff]

Hi that is so cool, I think I will do the same thing to mine.  Could you give me the size of your opening and the size of the inside of your storage box.

Thank you in advance

Regards

 

[Andrew]

Hi Helibuff,

The openings are: 20 x 36 cm
Inside the storage box is: 40 x 56 x 17 cm

The dimensions of the were controlled for me by the space I had between the metal bars of the trailer. I wanted to keep the openings relatively small so as not to weaken the floor too much. The boxes were constructed using the same epoxy fillet and taping approach as the rest of the trailer and attached to the underside of the trailer using fillets and tape on the outside only. It was too tricky to apply fillets on the inside of the box where it joined the teardrop floor.

Hope this helps.

 

[Helibuff]

Yes it helps a lot ,

 

thank you Andrew

 

 

[PatandRay]

We made an opening in the floor of the td to access the battery compartment. The battery compartment was built into the trailer between torsion axle wheels along with two storage compartments that ran from side to side.

That being said, we have had technical difficulty with the trailer and are searching for alternatives.

We really needed the storage as we have done two long journeys, one of 99 days and one of 115 days on the second.  We used a memory foam mattress that did a very good job of filling the floor space.  If we REALLY had to get to the battery, we could have done it. It would not be easy. For that reason, underfloor storage really is not an option for items that we will want to use with any regularity.

Whatever you decide, keep your bedding selection in mind.

[Author]

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