Seeking space utilization advice

[RedPillRover]

Hiyas.  Thought I'd stop by and ask for a little advice.

After much deliberation, i decided to go with a 26 foot goose neck cargo trailer build.  I've bought it and started the work already, but while insulating the ceiling I have come to the reconsider my plan to use the "neck" part of the trailer as the bedroom.  The reasons are 1) a pain to climb up their every night (I'm old) and 2) not nearly enough space between ceiling and deck for comfort (I'm not overly claustrophobic, but would like to be able to sit up in bed.  In summary, a mistake... but not one I can undo, so time to rethink my design.

So, i'm trying to decide how to best use the space?  I'm seriously thinking using it for my fresh water tank (probably 60 gallons or so).  I do have an access panel in the neck section so I don't think filling the tank will be too awkward as I can do it while standing in bed of pull truck.  The tank wouldn't take up the entire space, as I would put cabinetry in the aft 4 feet area.

I'm probably overthinking it, but I don't want to make a second mistake in this regard though, so thought I'd beg fer an opinion or two here.

What would you do with that 8 foot neck space aside from storage? 

thanks in advance!

 

[highdesertranger]

so how do you stand in the bed with the goose attached?
do you crawl under the goose to get to the front of the bed?
who turns the water on and off once you are there?

I am not saying don't put the tank there but I think some type of fill that you don't need to climb up and under every time would be needed. you would still need to keep the big hose gravity feed to disinfect once in a while. I do mine once a year.

highdesertranger

 

[ckelly78z]

Adding 60 gallons of water, and a good sized tank in the nose of your trailer will add 500# of tongue weight to your 5th wheel pin (on top of what the pin weight already is). If you have a dually truck, this may not be a deal breaker, but a single axle 3/4 ton truck may be overloaded with that much extra weight bearing down on the middle of your truck bed.

 

[Doubleone]

^+1 I'm with ckelly78z here... I'd highly recommend to put only very lightweight items into the overhang so as to not overload the rear axle of the tow vehicle. The idea with trailers is to have a nominal tongue/goose weight, and place the bulk of your heavy loads centered over the trailer axles. In other words, put heaviest items directly over the trailer axles. The farther you move away from the axles (front or aft) should be lighter and lighter items, with the lightest items at the extreme front and rear of the trailer. This has to do with moments of interia, trailer frame design, and tow vehicle axle loading. Think of the trailer axles like the center pivot on a see-saw (aka teeter totter). With heavy items at both ends you will have some slow but persistent movement because of the weight. This could translate into porpoising and uncontrolled loading and unloading of the tow vehicle rear axle (think jackknife and crash). With lighter items at the extremes, the whole trailer simply moves up and down and the tow vehicle is more stable.

 

[maki2]

I would suggest you look at some long pull out tray options for storage up top. The kinds of setups they use in the beds of pickup trucks or in the back of vans and in the cargo bays under the big class A RVs. Then organize your gear into stow bin boxes that rest on those full extension slides.

Do carry a lightweight aluminum step stool to make it easier to get the stow bin boxes up and down.

Of course you can't have upper cabinets that get in the way of the slide outs.

 

[highest_vision]

If you are doing a full build, could you add a high top like these? Maybe use a camper shell from a pickup? Turn it into a dome car? Maybe look at that thread with wonky pics for ideas? Maybe don't listen to me...

 

[MrNoodly]

If it were me, I'd use the gooseneck area to store off-season stuff, the stuff I keep for "just in case" but hope never to need, and all the stuff I thought I'd need/want but never use and have hangups about getting rid of.

But who knows, by the time you figure out where all the necessities go on the main level you might not need the gooseneck area for anything. No rule says you have to fill every space.

 

[maki2]

Nice place to store an inflatable kayak or folding bike or even an e-bike. Make it your toy locker!

 

[RedPillRover]

So glad I stopped by here to ask this question!  I went from 80 percent convinced of putting the tanks on high to zero percent convinced.

Decided to go with the forward half for storage of seldom used stuff and the back half for light cabinetry.

 

[RedPillRover]

I'd have to use a collapsible step ladder (which I intend to carry regardless), but it would be awkward.  I do plan to live full time in this and, yeah it would probably get old fast.

 

[ckelly78z]

Nice place to store an inflatable kayak or folding bike or even an e-bike. Make it your toy locker!

Totally agree, my inflatable paddle board stays inflated most of the Summer, and is 10' long, 3' wide, and about 6" thick.....maybe only 10# weight. My 29" MTB Ebike is about 52# with the battery (battery weighs 8#), so both rigs could be stored up there, and not get too heavy.   This would also be an ideal (weather proof, and theft proof) solution for bring along those big items.

 

[MrNoodly]

...folding bike or even an e-bike. Make it your toy locker!

I'm picturing how much room it would take to maneuver something like a folding bike from the door, down the "hallway" and up into the gooseneck -- then the other way around to return it to storage. Lifting, side shuffling, making sure not to knock anything over or ding things... Seems like that would soon get old.

 

[highdesertranger]

"Seems like that would soon get old."

especially if it was muddy.

highdesertranger

 

[eDJ_]

I want to put this information before you mainly because you mentioned your age.  It is just a "heads up".

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Ladder injuries per year[/font]

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]According to the World Health Organization, the United States leads the world in ladder deaths. Each year, there are more than 164,000 emergency room-treated injuries and 300 deaths in the U.S. that are caused by falls from ladders. Most ladder deaths are from falls of 10 feet or less.[/font]

No matter the situation (exterior or interior ladders)  please exercise caution when your design involves the use of ladders.  Older folks, their bone density, and ladders or stools could yield misfortunes.  I agree light weight stuff in plastic bins.  Towels, bed linen, folding camp chairs, hammocks, plastic tarp's, and other light weight stuff may be best stowed in that area.  If using a ladder consider having a place on the shelf of the goose neck where you can use a piece of rope to tie the upper part of the ladder so it may not slip out from under you as you tug on something heavier to pull it off the shelf. (especially if the steps of the ladder are facing the sides of the trailer instead of the front of it.....such that the lateral thrust could upset the ladder's stability)

OK,  enough said.

 

[maki2]

I'd have to use a collapsible step ladder (which I intend to carry regardless), but it would be awkward.  I do plan to live full time in this and, yeah it would probably get old fast.

If you go into a project with an attitude set against it, meaning you statement that it will probably get old fast ...
Then every small inconvenience will be blown out of proportion and you will be miserable.
If you go into it with the attitude that the inconveniences are worth the trade off and that after a while they will be part of the normal routine housekeeping chores that comes with EVERY kind of dwelling then you will quickly feel at home and comfortable.

It does not matter where I live I still don't like doing housework. But a small space sure has a lot less of it to do than a big house. Many fewer feet less of surfaces to wipe down in the kitchen, bath and laundry areas. Only a few feet of floor space to vacuum and/or mop. Only a few minutes to clean out the fridge. Vastly fewer square feet of windows to clean. Plus no yardwork to do unless you want to pickup after the people who used that spot before you that were too lazy to do their own chores such as pack it in and pack it out. You are not remembering the advantages, you are just thinking about the inconveniences.