exterior storage

Do you really have to put up the TM to get at the storage areas? I would like to put a few Roadside Emergency tools in an easily accessable area on my 2720SL. A Bottle Jack, Lug Wrench, Tire inflator, etc... Has anyone attempted this? Where did you put these items. I'm wondering if a small tool box could be mounted to a spare tire assembly on the bumper equa-distance from the Spare tire. I know wieght is an issue, but I think we are talking about maybe twenty lbs. of gear.
My TV- 2008 TrailBlazer 5400 Tow Capacity 400lb. hitch capacity
MY TT- 2002 TrailManor 2720SL 392 Tongue weight.
My Tow Gear- Equalizer 1000/10,000 Prodigy Controller

I read twelve pages of threads and didn't see this topic covered. The inside of the TV is not an option.

We have an old ice chest that we store all those things in, grease, chocks, lynx levelers... emergency tools, old rag, etc. and keep it in the back of our SUV (we have 3 dogs who are in the back of the vehicle and their beds and water and that's it). When we get to our campsite we store the ice chest behind the TM. You can store a few things in the bumper compartment of the TM and still access it with the TM being in the closed position.

If you can't store a few things inside your TV, have you considered a rooftop carrier?

Some good stuff here. Haven't tried them myself, yet...

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...rage#post18239

Our boxers take up the whole area in the back. Kayaks are on the roof of the TV. mgoblue911 offered a good link to a thread I didn't find on my search.
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ge# post18239[/URL]

I store those things in my truck, which you can not do. I keep a lug wrench, tools, jumper cables and tow strap under the seat. However, I have never used these items in three years of camping. So easy access is not a requirement for me.

Things that I carry all the time that I never use always get buried.

My wheel chocks and leveling boards, which are used every trip, are stored where I keep the BBQ, Generator, ice chests, tables, chairs and other large items. Either in the TM or the back of the truck.

I am curios why you find it important to have quick access to roadside emergency items and I do not. The only items I need quick access to are the things to set up camp in the dark on a Friday night: flashlights, leveling blocks, level and wheel chocks. These are the only items that ever get used prior to opening the TM. Plus one chair for DW to sit in while I set up camp.

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

Things that I carry all the time that I never use always get buried.

This is why I want to place them outside the TM and have easy access.

My wheel chocks and leveling boards, which are used every trip, are stored where I keep the BBQ, Generator, ice chests, tables, chairs and other large items. Either in the TM or the back of the truck.

So you unhitch yor TV from the TM, put up your TM, take out the wheel chocks and leveling boards, put your Tm back down, Hitch your TV, level and chock, unhitch and put the TM back up???? Your DW must need that chair to keep from falling down laughing.

I am curios why you find it important to have quick access to roadside emergency items and I do not. The only items I need quick access to are the things to set up camp in the dark on a Friday night: flashlights, leveling blocks, level and wheel chocks. These are the only items that ever get used prior to opening the TM. Plus one chair for DW to sit in while I set up camp.

I am a former eagle scout " Be Prepared"

Being a to TTing. I there are certain realities I hope to avoid.

[B_and_D]

We've been in the position to want these things easily retrievable too...sadly to say..

It's not fun being on the side of the fwy with a blown tire and having to figure out how to get everything out that you need.

We keep some blocks in the bed of the truck, the jack(s) inside the truck under the seats, (actually DH usually puts the floor jack in the truck bed, and every time we park, I put it inside and lock it up) and the wheel chocks inside the truck bed too. They're somewhere where we can reach them easily, but it would be nicer to have them in one place.

Sometimes it just takes too long to wait for your roadside assistance to come to help, or you might be somewhere where you can't call someone (oh please, let us go somewhere like that this summer ) so we don't want to depend on them unless things are really beyond our fix-it resources.

We've been OK so far since the blowout, but it would be nice to have a nice, neat box on the front of the TM with those items handily available.

I have been doing some additional reading on the TrailManor,specifically on changing a flat tire. It appears that in order to remove the tire you must remove the wheel well covers (duh). And in order to remove the wheel well covers you need to unlatch and raise both the front and rear of the unit. Once the front of my unit is raised there is an area behind the trailer tongue where the propane tanks reside (when the unit is fully deployed). I have decided that this is a good area to place my battery charger, battery jumper/tire inflator, roadside emergeny kit, tools, and jack. I have purchased a cargo box that fits that opening. And now my roadside gear is secure, accessable, and my other storage areas are available for other gear.

Originally Posted by Azcamper69

I have been doing some additional reading on the TrailManor,specifically on changing a flat tire. It appears that in order to remove the tire you must remove the wheel well covers (duh). And in order to remove the wheel well covers you need to unlatch and raise both the front and rear of the unit. Once the front of my unit is raised there is an area behind the trailer tongue where the propane tanks reside (when the unit is fully deployed). I have decided that this is a good area to place my battery charger, battery jumper/tire inflator, roadside emergeny kit, tools, and jack. I have purchased a cargo box that fits that opening. And now my roadside gear is secure, accessable, and my other storage areas are available for other gear.

I have considered doing the same. I even considered mounting my Honda 2000 generator on the tongue.

However, since I have the swing away tongue I don't see how to make it work. Also, putting too much heavy stuff on the tongue might make it too heavy. I already know that if I add 120 pounds to the axle weight then I will be at the axle limit. I have never weighed the tongue.

Besides solving your TV space problem, another advantage is that your storage box is permanently mounted. I have to keep moving my storage box every time we move. I keep it in front of the TM when stored in the garage and just throw it in the back of the truck when we leave home. At camp I store it under the left front corner of the TM. So far, no one has stolen it .

I keep battery cables, tow strap and a set of tools under the back seat in my truck. These are small flat items. It is the wheel chocks, Lego blocks, LARGE flashlight that are bulky for me, plus a few odds and ends.