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Generator and fuel storage?
tagurit
Member Posts: 179
For folks that tow with a small car or SUV, if you have a generator, how/where do you carry it? I'm concerned about both safety and tongue weight. Thanks in advance.
Comments
As of tong weight, the T@G outback or now boondock is bult with front storage rack and basket, that one could assume that is made for that.
And tonge weight can always be counter balance by moving weight insode toward the back of the trailer. Like leaving baggage inside the trailer near the back wall.
I tow my 2016 T@G Max with a Subaru Crosstrek. I place most of my supplies in the car since I want to minimize the towed weight as I’m most comfortable staying well below the manufacturer’s stated limit of 1500 pounds. With the battery and propane tank in the tub it maxes out my allowable tongue weight of around 150lbs by about twenty pounds, so I’ve swapped the twenty pound tank for the one pound disposable ones, but food in the refrigerator helps offset that to some degree. I plan on getting a generator/inverter which weighs about 47 pounds. That, plus an empty gas can (I’ll fill it up at my destination, or close to it), is something I will probably place inside the car, though I may place the empty gas can in the tub where the large propane tank would go.
2017 T@G Max
2016 Subaru Crosstrek
Anacortes, WA
I have been hauling my gennie in the back of my car. It seems to be fine there without any noxious odors. I did weight, tongue weight and cargo experiments until I got my totals where I want them. The only variable for me is whether I run with the water tank full or empty. For long hauls I'll dump my fresh water, which add to the tongue weight when the tank is empty. I now know what to shift where when the tank is empty. I keep my tongue weight at around 160.
WilliamA
"When I am in charge, Starburst brand fruit chews will get their own food group....and where are all the freakin laser beams? There should be more laser beams..."
2021 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
2017 T@G XL
Boyceville, Wi.
In The spring of 2015 we mounted our generator to the front of the trailers tongue. We removed the propane tank to help counter some of the added weight. We do have a 2000 lbs vehicle rated towing capacity and a 200 lbs rated tongue weight capacity per the Jeep Wrangler owners guide. Our current weight on the tongue of the t@g with the generator is 160 lbs.
Please see the attached photos.
I forgot to mention that the tonge weight of 160 lbs does not include gas in the generator. I have a rotopax gas can mounted to the Jeep spare tire.
When we boondock we take the generator but if we know we are going to camp at a site with electric then we leave it at home to save some weight.
Tongue weight and staying within the recommended weight is important and keep in mind too that during travel there are a lot of dynamic forces that bend and twist these frames via road travel, bumps, pot holes, etc. This was a topic of conversation down at the factory last summer in Sugarcreek and NüCamp recommends that you pay close attention to it.
Remember too that there was a factory recall on some units and the frames do flex some so it's critical and as tempting as it might be to trick out trailers with generators, boxes, etc. the frames can and will crack via overloading. The guy who owned my reburbished 2015 T@B had s generator and gas cans on the front, tried offsetting the tongue weight by adding weight behind and to the rear of the axle and cracked the frame. NüCamp had to pull the body off the frame and slipped a new frame underneath it. So you can damage these frames and you need to think about the potential for damage as it does happen.
Michigan Mike
Linden, Mi
2019 T@B 400
I designed and made an aluminum tongue box that is vented to store the propane, battery, generator, fuel, and anything else.
Michigan_Mike brings up a valid point! The NuCamp webpage for the T@g shows that the trailer tongue weight with the battery and propane tank (LP) is 170 lbs. If you decide to add anything to your trailer i would stay at 170 lbs or below on the tongue weight.
To ensure a safe trip check your trailer frame for any visible damage or rust before towing. Colder and wet environments mixed with salt on the roads during winter months doesn't help. Moisture leads to rust and then add poorly maintained roads to the mix and a a great trip becomes not so great very quickly.
19Bronco67 that looks great and you definitely have a talent!
>
Nice looking custom box and agree, you are a very talented man! Well done!
Michigan Mike
Linden, Mi
2019 T@B 400
That would mean tha using 2 x 6 volts batteries for the T@G and T@B are a no go according to NuCamp.
I think that means a lot of people are in potentiel deep dodo! And would make me beleive that they are a little short on their frame specs. But I would never though as this bing possible.
Many thing enter into accounts for frame failure. Among them, load, how you drive according to road condition and all things related to manufacturing issues. The Nucamp recall fall on this one and so does inproper initial specification. But NuCamp I'm sure would not fall short on this one.
Food for taughts.
LuckyJ said:
"That would mean tha using 2 x 6 volts batteries for the T@G and T@B are a no go according to NuCamp.
I think that means a lot of people are in potentiel deep dodo! And would make me beleive that they are a little short on their frame specs. But I would never though as this being possible."
This is one of the main reasons I hesitated as long as I did before getting a T@G. My Little Guy has a smaller height frame, but it was a full boxed affair, which is probably at least as strong as the much taller, but open T@G frame. On my T@G to-do list is to box the frame from the hitch back to just behind the axle mount. The work is easy as welding on some pre-cut plates. Doing it without burning the trailer down will require some disassembly and care. For my money, it needs to be done. I'll get the pieces cut from my metal guys and take it up to the shop for a serious upgrade sometime in the spring.
In the meantime, so long as folks don't get nuts with tongue weight or gross weight, I'm sure it (the stock frame) will be okay. The cardinal rule of having your frame live long and prosper is to NOT drill holes in it. If there are holes in the frame (either unused factory or self-inflicted by owner) it's important and easy to just get a bolt, put it in the hole with flat washers on each side and tighten it up. 95% of frame cracks originate at frame holes. It's a simple matter to just plug them with a bolt, a couple of washers and a nut. That will relieve much of the potential stress at the hole and prevent most minor cracks from getting bored and going for a wander.
Also, keep in mind that while tongue weight is critical, the frame can also be overloaded even if the tongue weight is good. If you carry your stash in such a way that it's balanced, but overly heavy, the frame must have enough longitudinal rigidity to withstand the inertial forces as it rocks up and down, back and forth. The farther the weight is from the pivot point (axle) the worse it is. Center your load as much as possible in the trailer and if you must bring it, put your anvil collection in your tow vehicle, preferably ahead of the tow vehicle's rear axle so it spreads the weight out over both axles instead of one. 100 lbs of weight centered over the axle will be 110 lbs or more if you put it out behind the axle. The effect depends upon your tow vehicle's wheelbase and how much rear overhang it has.
Okay, everyone can relax. I put my soapbox away.... (for now....)
WilliamA
"When I am in charge, Starburst brand fruit chews will get their own food group....and where are all the freakin laser beams? There should be more laser beams..."
2021 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
2017 T@G XL
Boyceville, Wi.
Hello Mike
Remember a little over a year ago my new tag max had a cracked frame. With working with the factory at that time it was caused by the way it was strapped to the trailer when shipped. All was repaired and no more problems. I did mount a group 71 deep cycle battery on the toung of the trailer. I also have a honda generator that I carry in the back of grand charokee jeep. This summer did 13500 mile trip with no problems with the frame. Always checking just to make sure. Love the tag, had a great trip. As for weight we carry almost everything in the back of the jeep or on top of jeep.
OK said enough
Boyd
Woops the new larger battery I installed is a group 31 deep cycle. Not a 71 sorry, Old age kicking in.
Note also removed the original group 24.
Holes increase strength and rigidity. Putting a nut,bolt and flat washers will not strengthen any hole. The proper way to stop a crack from getting longer is to drill a small hole at each of the ends of the crack. WilliamA is spot on with managing your cargo. You can get away with overloading etc. until you’re put in a situation that causes trailer whipping or loss of control. I try to limit tongue weight to around 100#. And I almost forgot..as WilliamA stated never drill a hole into a frame. Especially vehicle frames.
Fort Myers FL.
2015 T@G Max
Just so you know, Nucamp d drill holes in the frames when they install the aluminium front rack on the outback/boondock models.
It all depend where, how many and what kind of holes you are drilling.
Vehicule frame are way more tricky and even illigal. So e state and province alow frame work, other not.
But in the end, it all depend on how, and that is not for everyone.
Just a tought.
"She said I like to argue
But I disagree"
Cam Waters
Vehicle and trailer frames generally (hopefully anyway) are made of high-tensile steel. Drilling a hole in any metal is an invasive process that heats the metal unevenly and also creates tiny tears around its circumference. While not visible, these tears can migrate over time through stressed steel until they become problematic. As @Willi says, drilling a small hole at the terminus of a crack will often stop its migration. But...
Any frame hole can be made less susceptible to cracking by putting a fastener in it. The shear-torque of the flat washer will compress the metal around the hole, spreading, and thus relieving, induced stress caused by drilling. The best fastener to plug a hole with is a hot rivet. The rivet flattens out and fills the hole completely and the residual heat transfers into the parent metal annealing the heated metal around the hole. Now I don't hot-rivet my components for technical reasons that should be obvious. I'd need rivets, a torch or rivet forge and an array of rivet peens to do the job. Second to that, a bolt and flat washers will suffice. It's not ideal, but it does help prevent cracks from forming or migrating. Chamfering any hole will also go a long way toward preventing cracks. Just take a drill bit a few sizes bigger than the hole and lightly drill on the edges of the hole to clean it up and cut away metal slivers. Then plug it with a fastener.
Better yet....I don't drill holes in my frame...ever....between the hitch and the axle mount point. If I just had to have something on my frame between the hitch and axle, I'd weld on a tab, or have it done. As LuckyJ said, the Boondock has a sackful of extra frame holes. I can't control the factory, but I CAN mitigate my own destructive tendency to add stuff. That land between hitch and axle mount, on my rig anyway, is sacred ground.
This is good stuff. Food for thought...
WilliamA
"When I am in charge, Starburst brand fruit chews will get their own food group....and where are all the freakin laser beams? There should be more laser beams..."
2021 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
2017 T@G XL
Boyceville, Wi.
Crow, love the Rotopax setup. Have you looked into possibly another mounting location for the Rotopax that may be on the trailer itself? I was consideing finding a way to mount one can on each side of the propane/battery container.
Oh, and ai also remembered that the nucamp fix for the trailer frame is to............drill more holes to i stall reinforcement brackets at the frane bent.
But Like Will have said and I keep saying, this should not be swiss cheese.
Love my rotopax jug. Occasionally one finds a product that just works as advertised. Rotopax is one of them.. Nuff said...
WilliamA
"When I am in charge, Starburst brand fruit chews will get their own food group....and where are all the freakin laser beams? There should be more laser beams..."
2021 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
2017 T@G XL
Boyceville, Wi.
I bought and returned, both a 1,600 watt generator and 1 gallon gas can. The generator weighed too much (46 lbs.), and the gas can had to be California compliant, which eliminates a cap and instead includes a Carb compliant spout. Never used either and returned both and now I own a Baja (BAi911LP) generator from Home Depot ($239), which runs on 1lb or 20lb propane. Eliminate the need to carry gas. The generator runs AC and Nordcold just fine. Also good to top off battery with charger and run projector for movies. I refill my 1lb canisters with no problems (always weight to assure not over or under filled - .50 cents worth of propane). Not running the AC, I can get 3-4 hours of use out of a 1lb. canister. I also bought a 5 foot hose, so I can run off of the T@B 20lb tank. With the 20lb tank, I could likely get 50-60 hours of full time AC usage along with the Norcold and other accessories. The Baja generator weighs 26 lbs. FYI the Baja is identical to the Ryobi (RYi911LP) generator which Home Depot also sells for $299. The only difference is one has 2 year. verses 3 year warranty. Home Depot Protection plan (2 additional years) costs $35. -
On a regular basis, I do go camping with some friends who carry in their vehicle a 1.5 gall gas can for their generator. We secure it so it can not tip during the 4.5 hour drive, but we do get the occasional smell of gas. It's not mine, I'm not driving, and I don't complain (just don't smoke).
So, based on your postings about how your Baja generator ran the AC in the camper I tested mine with my 1000 watt Sportsman inverter generator to see if I got similar results. Once I fired up the AC it immediately killed the generator and when I restarted the generator afterwards it was pluming out white smoke. I turned it off as quickly as I could but after that the pull cord locked up. lol. So it appears you have made me kill my small inverter generator.
MikeLucky,
Sorry to learn that your Sportsman inverter generator had a meltdown. I hope it occurred within the one-year warranty period.
A generator rated at 1,000 watts should have no problems running the standard Air Conditioner within a TAB trailer. This is assuming that it is the standard 5,000 BTU (Buh) Danby installed. I believe the Model Number is AC050BAUWDB. This is on the side of the air conditioning unit and should also indicate the amp draw of 4.0A (See photo) {Note: To determine the wattage, use a simple multiplication formula. The ampere (or amps) is the amount of electricity used. Voltage measures the force or pressure of the electricity. The number of watts is equal to amps multiplied by volts.} In this case you can think of 120 volts x 4.0 amps = 480 watts.
The issue you described with the generator may be attributed to the oil level being too high. I suggest you check the level. I have seen this smoking issue within one-star reviews (<13%) of the Sportsman 1,000-Watt Inverter Generator. I hope things work out. I truly believe that the load of air conditioner did not play into the fact that the generator was killed. Either way I am sorry for your misfortune. - -
Well we have the T@G XL, but I did just fill up the oil on my generator and could have very easily over filled it. I'll have to look into that.