Luggage weight

2speed

Senior Member
Planning on doing some long trips, and want to add a storage box on the back of a '31 Tudor. Probably going to move the tire somewhere else. What's the theoretical weight limit? Bumper brackets don't seem that stout. Couple hundred pounds? Box is probably going to be 30-40 pounds, plus the cargo....
 
My Fordor has a heavy trunk with heavy tools and parts. It has added brackets to support the weight and I run more pressure in the rear tires. If your tires are new they can run with more pressure than the recommend value, but do so at your own risk. I plan on a long trip in June and will pack the back seat with additional tools and clothes. I will protect the upholstery with a seat cover and put the stuff in a large box. Back in the day the back seat in sedans was used to carry stuff.
 
That Zip it rack looks really neat, although the video isn't so great. Not attached to the car, not full frame. It looks like it just bolts to the bumper brackets.



I'm going to have someone in the back seat, so cargo can't go there. Springs and tires I'm not worried about, it's the bumper brackets themselves that I question.


This the sort of box I'm thinking about.


Using angle iron from the bumper brackets up, and making a new cross piece to fit, with re-enforcement to the spare tire holes. Then thinking of putting the spare tire either on the back on it, or underneath.
 

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.....
Actually bolts to the frame using the bumper brackets.
How much weight do you plan to load in the strong box?
I would guess a complete motor would be 400 pounds plus.
 
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Ours is mounted on the common aftermarket rack behind the spare. I've had about 120 pounds of parts in it with no problem. My only concern is if I get a flat it will be a real PIA to get to the spare.
 

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Here is the structure under my Kari Keen Trunk. It is hard to see but there is a plate bolted to where the spare tire would normally go and a structural tube that goes from one side to the other. The brackets for the bumper have been replaced by other structural members and the bumpers moved to the rear. The spare tire is mounted at the rear of the trunk which folds down. The folded down configuration is really a small pickup bed and a bale of hay or several milk jugs can be carried back there. It came with a cover so that you could load up the folded down trunk and keep the stuff inside dry. I had to make a cover for mine as it was missing. A good paper on the trunk and structure is at http://www.plucks329s.org/pdf/studies/THE KARI KEEN TRUNK ASSEMBLY.pdf
 

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That Kari-Keen is a sweet set up, and that's probably what I'm going to try to fab up with some modern box.
 
I had a Kari Keen and sold it with the car.


am sorry I did that to this day. Have seen the trunks for sale, but always missing all of the brackets. Whomever invented it- was the cats meow!
 
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