80litre engel on draw bar

Hi Ken,

I am sure some more knowledgeable folk here will give you more detail than I can but in the meantime I would just make sure that whatever weight you are putting up front does not increase your ball weight to exceed the rating of your vehicle's towbar. Most newer towbars I believe should have this figure plus their maximum load they can be used for stamped on them somewhere. As a rule you should aim to have 10 percent of the total trailer weight as ball weight.

Hope this helps.

This not a direct answer for you Ken but for what it's worth, I try to carry as much of the heavy "extras" in the tow vehicle. As to your weight distribution I think that the information you need is that the towball weight should be 10% of the gross trailer weight ie 750kg trailer should have 75kg down force on the towball. If you get the balance wrong you'll soon know it - too heavy and the nose will be down and too light it will be unstable at speed - swaying. Some people go to much expense fitting anti sway bars when all they need is correct balance.
Cheers

Pecker
I assume that you intend using this rig on dirt roads. That being the case how are you going to vent the fridge. If you put it in a sealed box you will very quickly be eating runny ice cream and drinking hot beer. Fresh air circulation is absolutely necessary to maintain your fridge in good working order. If you vent the box to allow air to circulate you will very soon have a box full of dust and a fridge motor that needs a cleanout. I would suggest you make room in the back of the Lux for the fridge. As far as weight distribution is concerned I agree with what the others have said.

tg

FYI.
Adventure offroad campers produce a trailer that has a 80 litre Waeco fridge mounted in a chequer plate box on the drawer bar.

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i have been looking around at new and 2nd hand campers/camper vans and have wondered how one can do it

campervans:
on some models the wheels are so far back on the trailer i dont beleive the so called 10% weight figure can be adhered too, when the van is loaded with food belongings etc....even if water-tanks are sited at rear of van what happens when they are empty.....

Campers:
the kimberly's etc have so much storage space on the drawbar and including batteries and outboard motor brackets and/or the like, it would be nigh impossible to keep the weight down to 10%.....how and where are you going to store so much in the camper section to counteract the drawbar load...if you cant why have so much storage area up front......

Pecker

I have a Trackabout Safari and have a 60L Trailblaza in a checkerplate box on the draw bar.

Trackabout mounted the box, but I made the following mods...
* inlet vent with Briggs & Stratton lawn mower filter to keep dust out.
* outlet vent with a 12V computer fan to extract air
* insulation to underside of checkerplate lid
* three timber battens to lift fridge off floor - allowing air flow under
* rubber strips on battens to cushion fridge
* 4 tie-down points with turnbuckles to secure fridge in box.

With a tribe of kids, I had no other options and have found it works well. I'd prefer less tow-ball weight, but there's always a trade-off!

When i pull up for a spell and open the box, there's no noticeable heat build up. I leave the lid open until ready to move on again.

Regards

Spliney