Well this now ranks as my favorite mod to a G series towable. Finally more storage! Especially on a 21/23/25G… that front outdoor “closet” is horrible. Honestly this should be a factory option on these trailers since they have practically no outdoor storage.
I can’t take full credit for the mod as I got the idea from another thread on here (thanks Paul & Deb for that!).
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/40341-Suggestion-for-storage-on-tongue?highlight=Lund
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It took forever to find one of these boxes in Canada but finally good oil’Amazon.ca got one and I snagged it over the winter.
I’ll take more pictures when I am fully finished. Basically you remove the battery box and relocate the battery (or put it in the box if you want), then install a Lund 74448FM Black Aluminum 48” Diamond plated flush lid box. There is lots of room side to side so you could go with a much larger box than I did but just be carefully of your turning radius of your hitch/truck!
Pretty easy to mount:
Items you will need:
-Black Spray Paint
-White Paint Marker
-Various high speed steel drill bits
-Center punch
-6 x 5/16 x 1 inch Self tapping hex head bolts (good ones)
-6 x 5/16 fender washers
1. Center box on frame.
2. Use a paint marker from below to mark the inside and outside of the frame rails.
3. Remove box, drill a couple (I did six but four should be more than enough, this box is light) of 1/4 inch pilot holes in the middle of the marks you made.
4. Put box back on trailer and re-center.
5. Drill through pilot holes into frame at one location and enlarge to size of your self-tapping metal screws (buy GOOD ones, that is a thick frame). Once box is temp bolted in place, check placement and drill the opposite side and install another bolt.
Note: Install bolts with hand tools only unless you bought high grade bolts, they will snap in that frame in seconds… just look at all the snapped bolts from Grand Design when it was made lol. When drilling the frame it usually is much easier to make a smaller hold and then enlarge it bit by bit with larger bits.
6. Now the box should not move and be ready to drill the remaining holes.
7. Remove the box, clean up all the mess and paint over the area to help rust proof it a little.
8. Reinstall and bolt in with fender washers (I used large fender washers to ensure the bolts spread the load). Good tip to use something like silicone in the screw holes to help rush proof them more.
9. For an added touch, cut a rectangular piece of toolbox rubber for the bottom.
My next mod will be to change the lock handle to a lower profile unit so it’s even easier to open the lid further.
Now enjoy loading all your misc setup junk in that front box!
Cheers
Tim
I can’t take full credit for the mod as I got the idea from another thread on here (thanks Paul & Deb for that!).
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/showthread.php/40341-Suggestion-for-storage-on-tongue?highlight=Lund
—-
It took forever to find one of these boxes in Canada but finally good oil’Amazon.ca got one and I snagged it over the winter.
I’ll take more pictures when I am fully finished. Basically you remove the battery box and relocate the battery (or put it in the box if you want), then install a Lund 74448FM Black Aluminum 48” Diamond plated flush lid box. There is lots of room side to side so you could go with a much larger box than I did but just be carefully of your turning radius of your hitch/truck!
Pretty easy to mount:
Items you will need:
-Black Spray Paint
-White Paint Marker
-Various high speed steel drill bits
-Center punch
-6 x 5/16 x 1 inch Self tapping hex head bolts (good ones)
-6 x 5/16 fender washers
1. Center box on frame.
2. Use a paint marker from below to mark the inside and outside of the frame rails.
3. Remove box, drill a couple (I did six but four should be more than enough, this box is light) of 1/4 inch pilot holes in the middle of the marks you made.
4. Put box back on trailer and re-center.
5. Drill through pilot holes into frame at one location and enlarge to size of your self-tapping metal screws (buy GOOD ones, that is a thick frame). Once box is temp bolted in place, check placement and drill the opposite side and install another bolt.
Note: Install bolts with hand tools only unless you bought high grade bolts, they will snap in that frame in seconds… just look at all the snapped bolts from Grand Design when it was made lol. When drilling the frame it usually is much easier to make a smaller hold and then enlarge it bit by bit with larger bits.
6. Now the box should not move and be ready to drill the remaining holes.
7. Remove the box, clean up all the mess and paint over the area to help rust proof it a little.
8. Reinstall and bolt in with fender washers (I used large fender washers to ensure the bolts spread the load). Good tip to use something like silicone in the screw holes to help rush proof them more.
9. For an added touch, cut a rectangular piece of toolbox rubber for the bottom.
My next mod will be to change the lock handle to a lower profile unit so it’s even easier to open the lid further.
Now enjoy loading all your misc setup junk in that front box!
Cheers
Tim
