Storage Box Mod - Add a bike rack

wincrasher · 01-03-2015, 09:48 PM

After my recent trip, I decided it would be much easier to have the bike outside the van, instead of inside. Inside is more secure, but if you stop over for a nite enroute, what do you do with the bike?

So I ordered a receiver hitch to bolt to my Stowaway2 swing-away box.

Now I've taken a bit of grief over this box from some members. As you can see in the pics below, not only can you see it in the camera, it holds a lot of stuff! Where you guys put all this stuff in your vans is beyond me.

I found this receiver hitch for RV bumpers on Amazon for $35. I thought it would work because it has steel plates both top and bottom.
I would only do this because it straddles a steel beam. Just bolting it to a plastic box would be dangerous and stupid. This is plenty strong enough to carry a bike rack - but that is all I would dare attach!

I did need to add some washers so I could tighten it down all the way.

It fit perfectly for one bike. If I want to carry two, I could put in my receiver extender and push the bike out a bit further.
With the bike on, the rack and hardware it adds 80lbs to my box. It doesn't sag, and still swings out without issue. My electric bike is heavy - 50lbs, so a regular bike is about 25lbs lighter.

I don't think it sticks out too far. Overall 46" inches, but you can still see everything in the camera.

obgraham · 01-03-2015, 10:38 PM

Answer: Less "Stuff"!!

markopolo · 01-03-2015, 11:49 PM

That's very interesting.

I've never seen anyone do that with Stow-away. It looks like you're attaching to roughly the same point as Stow-away does with their bike rack but you're retaining the use of the cargo box by shifting the bike further back. Effective weight would be greater but I think you understand all that.

Are the bike wheels high enough off the ground so they don't ever drag?

You'll have to keep us up-to-date on how this works out. People have asked the question of how to carry a box AND a bike or bikes. The only answer so far has been DIY or the Nicova http://nicova.ca/en/ which is around $1,800 I think.

I did something similar here: http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/vi...hp?f=12&t=2616 - slide not swing - but it was a lot of DIY involved.

I'd prefer swing-away like you have for clear access to the rear of the van.

I could fit what's in my box in my van but the stuff is so much easier to get to in the box.

wincrasher · 01-04-2015, 12:15 AM

It's hard to tell in the pics, but the bottom of the bike rack is still at the level of the bottom of the box. So that puts it a foot or so off the ground. I don't expect any dragging. I mulled quite a bit to figure out what to do about the bike. Considered ordering the Fiamma door mounted rack that Winnebago is offering, but it's quite expensive, and I think it may interfere with my Stowaway2.

I found on my 2 week trip, that I liked to put up the bed each day and use that floor space for a dressing area, etc. It's also easier to get to the rear upper cabinets. On an extended trip, I expect to not only have my inflatable kayak in the cargo area, but maybe my provisions in a tote as well as some water bottles and my fold-up solar panel. So keeping that area clear of bikes and the outside gear is important to me.

markopolo · 01-04-2015, 01:12 AM

I figured if I had your model van I'd flip the bed up and get dressed there too. Right next to the bathroom etc. My van's kinda tight inside - must be nice to have shoulder room.

I like your idea with the bike rack.

wincrasher · 02-07-2015, 09:11 PM

Well, after some more pondering, I decided I wasn't quite happy with the hitch reciever I mounted on my Stowaway2.

So I took it completely apart and started over. I found this Curt bolt-on type reciever made for a 2" x 4" bumper.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The instructions on Amazon said 2" x 2", so I passed it buy. But there were some comments in the reviews that no, it was for a 4x2. And they were right.

Fits snuggly

I also ended up putting some spacers on the mounting points instead of cutting the box to accommodate the height of the hitch. The material is tough stuff, but I didn't want to push my luck as start cutting on it.

Plenty of clearance off the ground. The bike is more than 17" off the ground.

The receiver is the lowest point - around 11"

I have a lighter bike rack on order - one made of aluminum that also holds the bike from the upper portion of the wheels. The bike will end up sitting a few inches higher than on this old rack. But thank you UPS, you screwed up my shipment. Next week!

markopolo · 02-08-2015, 01:45 PM

Looks pretty strong.

You're giving me ideas

I might use that Curt part (or 4"x4") to offset a storage box on my van so that it only blocks one door.

wincrasher · 02-08-2015, 01:56 PM

Yes, it's strong. I jumped on the bike rack a few times to ensure it would hold up. I weigh a tad under 200.

I thought about adding a few beads of weld to make it permanent, but I'm going to hold off on that and see how it goes. If I ever sold this box, I'd probably want to remove the receiver for fear someone would think they could tow a trailer from there.

Folks reading this - all this may look very stout, but it is certainly not heavy enough to tow even the lightest of utility trailers! It's for a bike rack only. Two bikes would be pushing it, but I think OK.

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