Rear Cargo Racks

[Jennago]

Has anyone had any great advice on cargo racks? I'm going to take my van on a long road trip-probably 20,000 miles from AK across Ca and the US. Im looking for a good one to attach to my hitch, and there are a lot out there but the main problems seem to be rusting, bent frames, heavy.

 

[Wasillaguy]

I had a pretty small one on the back of my 21' Toyota RV.
They wobble quite a bit. They make a little u-bolt clamp that cuts down some on the slop at the receiver.
They do like to rust.
Won't hold a lot of weight. I think it was rated for around 45lb. but wouldn't swear to that.
I used it to haul bundles of firewood and/or fish cooler.

 

[DutchmenSport]

I purchased a cargo carrier from Tractor Supply Company (TSC) several years ago. It held up well, in all weather. I used it on 2 different travel trailers. It was designed to slid into a single receiver. BUT! It had a lot of "slop" (as stated above).

I ended up making a frame under it with supports that went and rested "under" my rear bumper. I had legit receivers on both trailers, welded to the frame, factory.

Once I added those extra "supports" that were designed only to keep the thing from rocking back and forth, it worked very, very well. The problem was, with all that lumber I had to add, it made the carrier pretty heavy. So, the only thing I ended up carrying on it was a plastic simulated steamer trunk I used for my sewer hoses and my garden hoses for water hook up. When we had to break camp in rain, it came in real handy to lay the yard mat on (rolled up of course), so it could drip, or get rained on more, and not make the inside of the trailer compartments wet.

Then our current fifth wheel also has a factory receiver hitch and the carrier fits perfectly fine. But the problem is, if "anything" is on the carrier, it blocks the rear compartment storage door, and that is where I keep all my landing gear, boards, electric wires, chocks, everything for initially setting up the camper.

With the carrier there, I'd have to remove everything off the carrier, then remove the carrier to access all that stuff first, before even remotely setting up (like blocks under the tires and such). Nope, with the current fifth wheel, it was just too much hassle. It now sits in a shed a home and hasn't been used in 5 years now.

That is going to be your biggest challenge .... getting the severe rocking, back and forth under control.

If you are installing a hitch, get a double receiver, one one each side and get a carrier that has 2 slide in's.

Like this one:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/51/54/65/515465c195fd72859681f8e1f4317a2d.jpg

 

[Bob C.]

My son and I built one using two-inch 1/4 wall tube steel and an old angle iron bed fame. everything was bolted together, then for the "floor" we used expanded metal. Two coats of rostellum primer and three coasts of black paint and it has lasted ten years. My other son took it on a trip to Alaska from Michigan and back, it is still going strong. Mostly built from scrap metal I had.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Im looking for a good one to attach to my hitch, and there are a lot out there but the main problems seem to be rusting, bent frames, heavy.

Light is usually the trade off for durable. I have been looking at bike carriers lately and failures tend to be associated with aluminum carriers and I would presume the same for racks. I actually have a hybrid rack in the yard as a repair project. Steel receiver mount and aluminum cage/basket.

The biggest issue is side to side wobble. I think there would be ways to tape wrap the shaft to tighten the fit. I have seen guys strap/bungee the ends of the basket but that doesn't help much because the movement at the ends is vertical.

eTrailer seems to have a large variety of carriers and lots of customer reviews.

 

[Jennago]

I purchased a cargo carrier from Tractor Supply Company (TSC) several years ago. It held up well, in all weather. I used it on 2 different travel trailers. It was designed to slid into a single receiver. BUT! It had a lot of "slop" (as stated above).

I ended up making a frame under it with supports that went and rested "under" my rear bumper. I had legit receivers on both trailers, welded to the frame, factory.

Once I added those extra "supports" that were designed only to keep the thing from rocking back and forth, it worked very, very well. The problem was, with all that lumber I had to add, it made the carrier pretty heavy. So, the only thing I ended up carrying on it was a plastic simulated steamer trunk I used for my sewer hoses and my garden hoses for water hook up. When we had to break camp in rain, it came in real handy to lay the yard mat on (rolled up of course), so it could drip, or get rained on more, and not make the inside of the trailer compartments wet.

Then our current fifth wheel also has a factory receiver hitch and the carrier fits perfectly fine. But the problem is, if "anything" is on the carrier, it blocks the rear compartment storage door, and that is where I keep all my landing gear, boards, electric wires, chocks, everything for initially setting up the camper.

With the carrier there, I'd have to remove everything off the carrier, then remove the carrier to access all that stuff first, before even remotely setting up (like blocks under the tires and such). Nope, with the current fifth wheel, it was just too much hassle. It now sits in a shed a home and hasn't been used in 5 years now.

That is going to be your biggest challenge .... getting the severe rocking, back and forth under control.

If you are installing a hitch, get a double receiver, one one each side and get a carrier that has 2 slide in's.

Like this one:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/51/54/65/515465c195fd72859681f8e1f4317a2d.jpg

Wow, that's nice. Not sure I want to go to the expense tho. I'm concerned that if I had the carrier, I couldn't open the back of the van, and having to unload just to plug it in.

 

[CharlesinGA]

The large Stowaway2 Max swing away cargo carrier is probably the best choice for storing items out of sight and out of the weather. These same swing away mounts can be fitted with open platforms instead of the containers.

StowAway Cargo Carriers - Versatility in Action.

This shows how it swings away to allow opening of rear doors or hatches.

 

[Len and Jo]

Big Aluminis storage box and tire rack.

 

[Len and Jo]

Has anyone had any great advice on cargo racks? I'm going to take my van on a long road trip-probably 20,000 miles from AK across Ca and the US. Im looking for a good one to attach to my hitch, and there are a lot out there but the main problems seem to be rusting, bent frames, heavy.

My wife and I went to Alaska in ~1983 on a Chev Express Extended Cargo Van and had two small home made storage boxes on the back. We felt we had adequate storage. Today we have a Pleasure Way Ontour 2.2 and we installed a relatively small storage box on the back. Also a spare wheel since the RV did not come with one. Bigger is not always better. Watch the weight and do not take the kitchen sink.