Storage options for A124?

[mcphee]

Greetings from SC.
We are picking up a 2012 A124 on Friday. I will be pulling with a 4Runner but would like additional storage. Is it possible to use a dual hitch with a rack or box extending back over the tongue? Any advice for a newbie here would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[handbuilder]

Congrats on the new purchase, McPhee! I think in order to answer your question, youd prob want to know what tongue weight your rig could handle. Have you considered utilizin the roof rack on your 4Runner to carry extra stuff?

Here is another option for carrying cargo: http://www.strombergcarlson.com/stor...e=Trailer+Tray

[wrvond]

Anything extending from the hitch to over the tongue runs the risk of being crushed between the camper and TV body in a turn.
There is a bit of space behind the battery (usually) that is far enough back that it won't cause an interference problem.
Attaching pipes and such underneath the TT is a very common storage modification.

[Pooneil]

A box of any sort attached to the hitch would be a disaster waiting to happen when a tight turn pushed it into the propane tank.

Depending on what you want to carry, there is a surprising amount of space inside the camper. The floor space on a 124 is pretty good and the area on top of the stowed dinette is quite sizable. You can stow all your clothing and coolers inside the camper while you travel, leaving plenty of space inside your TV.

With the 122s, I load the camper and not my TV. And if you need some gear from the camper, it only takes a few seconds to reach it. You don't necessarily even need to raise the side wall.

[mcphee]

Many thanks to all who replied.
I can use my Thule cargo carrier on top of the 4Runner but something lower would be more accessible for my wife. We don't have the forward cargo space that the A124S has. My thought was to use a dual hitch with an 18" extender off the bottom which would put the ball about two feet farther out. The top of the receiver would be for the rack and box. I have a 5000lb towing capacity and I should be able to carry about 200lb on the hitch rack. I was hoping someone had already done that so that I am not on some fruitless experiment.

[jlroadmaster]

You can check out the mods I mad on my A128 2012

[mcphee]

Thanks jlroadmaster,
I like your modifications much better. I wonder if I should be concerned about warranties being voided if not dealer installed.

[jlroadmaster]

Well if you do anything other than wash and general maintenance your warranty is void . The only thing that was problem on my unit was the bumper weld cracked when I step on it to clean window so I re welded it . Then I put my tool box on the front and added a new battery box on the back bumper for my solar

[Pooneil]

Have you weighed your actual tongue weight? It may be more than you think. My 122S has a tongue weight of over 400#, the point where my scale maxes out. Your camper may not be that high but it likely to be in excess of 300# when loaded for camping. That may not give you as much leeway as you want, to carry gear in a tray or box, without going over your hitch weight rating.

In addition the longer extension from the hitch needed for the box to clear the propane tanks serves as a lever to amplify the effects of the tongue weight on the TV. This is not to say that your ideas are unworkable, but my thinking is that there is a need to get some real world information about this including tongue weight, axle ratings and actual weights before making major, non-returnable purchases.

You can only make an informed decision how far to push your engineering of this system with actual numbers. It will also give you some perspective on how comfortable you are with your intuitive understanding relative to your knowledge of TV safety.

Getting weights need not be expensive, I have used a nearby seller of landscaping rock who was happy to let me play around on their scales for a while when they were not busy.

[handbuilder]

Dry tongue weight listed on a 2012 A124 is 253 lbs....you didnt say what year your 4Runner is, but I would guess if you can only tow 5000 lbs, you have a V6 and a max tongue load of 400-500 lbs.

Dont count on that dry hitch weight as the actual weight you will be carrying....Tongue weight adds up pretty once the battery and propane are tacked on...You might consider a weight distributor if you add additional weight to the tongue if using a dual hitch to carry more stuff.

As Tom pointed out, there is plenty of room inside the trailer. The available space to carry inside is deceiving but once it gets packed up, you'll discover the pleasant surprise in how much stuff you are able to bring along.

[Pooneil]

My default suggestion to everyone that is new to towing is this. Find yourself a professional hitch and trailer shop. Not only can they inspect and work on your trailer faster than the dealer normally can, they are more skilled in understanding how to setup a TV for towing.

Go and ask for their experienced advice before trying something this "radical" and put it into the mix of your planning.