Floor anchors or wedged pool noodles

[HereAndThere]

Hello All,

I'm trying to travel with all of my heavy and bulky stuff on the floor above the axles in my 21. To prevent things from shifting around I was thinking of putting in some floor anchors and using straps, though they'd be a bit of an eye sore.

Has anyone done this and is sub-floor plywood that I can screw into?

Or should I just try to box things in between the cabinetry and use carpet/cardboard/pool noodles to keep things tight?

Thank you,

Jacob

[Ron in BC]

Are you talking about cargo, not things normally found in the average trailer?

The floor is plywood over the f.g. shell. You could use very short screws but the holding strength may be too low for your purposes.

An alternative is to bolt right through the floor. You would have to avoid putting the bolts in the grey tank area. There are existing through bolts that attach the shell to the frame but they probably aren't in a usable location for your purposes.

Ron

[Centex]

Originally Posted by HereAndThere

... my heavy and bulky stuff

Can you give examples (how heavy, how bulky?)

Originally Posted by HereAndThere

...is sub-floor plywood that I can screw into?

Yes, it's plywood. All of the cabinets have frames screwed to the floor inside - you can open a base-cabinet door and see them inside, then remove one of those screws to get an idea of safe penetration depth. Table pedestal bases are also screwed into the plywood floor.

One possibility is to install pad eyes on the cabinet face screwed into those cabinet framing members close to the floor. Perhaps less obtrusive than something on the floor itself, but much depends on the tug-and-pull forces and angles involved (the pad eyes are very strong, talking about screw-pull out).

Example of small pad eyes on Amazon (or this shape for webbing straps)



Good Luck, Have Fun!

[HereAndThere]

Things that will likely end up on the floor for travel:

*Camp chef dual burner stove (bulky box of about 30lbs) + 18lbs griddle
*30 + 20lbs propane tanks
*Weber Q1200 propane grill in a box (25lbs)
*Honda 2200i generator (which runs off of propane)
Satellite dish with tripod/etc for Internet (65lbs)

I'll probably wedge some of the camp love seats in there too.

I was thinking of strapping it all together to make a single bulk then strapping that to the floor to keep it away from the cabinets and not slide around.

However I am new to this and have been known to take the more difficult approach to things due to ignorance (when it's not due to stubbornness that is)...

[Centex]

Not my style to have that sort of stuff strapped to the floor in my camper trailer - I want to be able to get in there and use the space when taking travel-breaks, etc. and don't want to have to deal with that stuff when arriving at my destination in bad weather.

So I'd be lightening the load / looking for other space in the trailer cabinets, on the tongue, on the rear bumper, or in the TV.

But folks' preferences vary, no worries, Good Luck and Have Fun!

[HereAndThere]

I'd prefer to keep it clear as well, but we travel with 3 small kids so the stops will be spent watching them run outside before continuing the trip, that and they'll enjoy climbing over it if we need to use the dinette. Once we get a tow vehicle with a larger payload then everything would go there, though the kids I'm sure will miss the obstacle course.

Thanks for the info on anchors and flooring, I'm going to look inside to cabinets more closely.

[gbaglo]

You don't want to transport those propane tanks inside the trailer for safety reasons.

[dfandrews]

I have installed webbing straps (also called footmans loops) with through bolts, fender washers, and nuts, on some of the vertical members under the dinette seating. Occasionally, we have things on the floor, that are then restrained from movement by those straps.

[HereAndThere]

Thanks for the warning on travelling with propane tanks inside the trailer, I didn't realize they vent (I looked up safety issues of propane tanks in trailers after your comment). I'll have to figure something else out for the tanks then.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by HereAndThere

... we travel with 3 small kids ...

Now I know you're Having Fun (and making great memories)!

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

You don't want to transport those propane tanks inside the trailer for safety reasons.

this +100

[Doug2000]

Google Stainless Steel Tie Down Loop or Stainless Steel Tie Down Ring

I would drill through and use stainless steel machine screws and fender washers underneath the trailer.

Personally, I want my trailer empty so I can stop make lunch, coffee or use the washroom. If I couldn't do that, I would go back to a tent trailer. If was easier to own.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

You don't want to transport those propane tanks inside the trailer for safety reasons.

I agree, an accident waiting to happen......

[Donna D.]

Unless you're slamming on the brakes or constantly driving up a 50% grade, that stuff won't move around much... especially if you put it on a rubber backed throw rug.

You don't want to mar the cabinets but are willing to put holes in the floor?? Not me. Maybe look into at least one cargo bar and wedge the products back in the corner of the dinette.

[RBRV]

I carry a camp chef explorer stove in the storage area under the bed on my 19, fits through outside door and is flanked toward the front by milk crates holding misc items and lighter items in the rear. I have not experienced any damage from shifting or bouncing. spare propane or generators and my cast iron griddle go in the bed of my truck.

[Perry Butler]

We simply use our pillows to protect the cabinets. We always bring at least two 2 gallon water containers, a Mr Buddy, and a fairly large cooler holding our outdoor cooking equipment. The Mr Buddy and water containers sit on the raised dinette area and never move, but the cooler sometimes moves so has a dinette pillow (we have four in the dinette area) on each side. When we carry bikes or trikes inside we use the other two dinette area pillows and our sleeping pillows to protect the walls.

We started out carry pool noodles for protection but after a few trips using our pillows we left them home. I'm not going to start screwing anchors in the floor and carry strapping, because for us it's not needed.

Enjoy,

Perry