Rear Storage Box

[VanGoGirl]

Has anyone had experience with something similar to a Rola Hitch-Mounted Adventure System Storage w/Swing-Away Pod? This gives 13.5 cu. ft. of storage w/o, they claim, blocking access to trunk or rear cargo. We have a Pleasure-Way Plateau TS, and we can tell already that we're going to be short on storage.

Is 13.5 cu. ft. worth the expense, the added maneuvering difficulty, and the cost?

 

[markopolo-ClassB]

There is a long (but old) topic here:
http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=379
that has some really good info.

I saw a local online ad today for a hardly used swing away Rola and was tempted.
We have bikes on a bike rack most trips so I didn't follow through.

Might be worth spending extra $$$ on items that are really compact such as chairs or loungers or screen rooms etc. that fold up really small.

I see carriers on the back of Class B's quite often though.

 

[Cherry-ClassB]

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/it ... lack/31810

This is the one I want. 51" L x 23" W x 26" H, 16 cubic feet of storage LOVE IT!

 

[dfriedman]

I have a Stowaway 2 SwingAway rack; I put a Plano XXL storage box on it. The box can come off when needed and has built in wheels. There is room to spare on the rack for a bicycle, camp chairs and all the other junk I probably should leave home. You can open the rear doors when the rack is swung out to the passenger side (it only goes that way), but not much when the rack is in place. Makes it necessary to plan how you load up and where you pack stuff.

 

[Davydd]

There is a long (but old) topic here:
http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=379
that has some really good info.

I saw a local online ad today for a hardly used swing away Rola and was tempted.
We have bikes on a bike rack most trips so I didn't follow through.

Might be worth spending extra $$$ on items that are really compact such as chairs or loungers or screen rooms etc. that fold up really small.

I see carriers on the back of Class B's quite often though.

I contributed a lot in that thread on weight analysis and research. I ended up buying the Let'sGoAero 20 cubic foot box for my Pleasure-way Plateau. It does not swing away but pulls away straight back on rails so you can open your doors. The big plus was the drop down roll away wheels so one person could easily remove the unit and install the unit not only at home but at a camp ground if so desired. It has to be empty in order to do so since the three wheels can be rather tipsy. I also quickly learned despite the tongue capacity rating of the Plateau I was not comfortable driving it with much more than 150 lbs in the carrier. The front end steering felt loose with more weight.

A hitch cargo carrier does change the way you drive and where you go. With a Plateau you can no longer just pull into almost any parking space nose in like at a McDonalds or Starbucks. You can no longer parallel park without sticking over into another space on a city street. You have to always be aware you now are about 25 feet long and not 22. You can't perceive that with your rear view mirrors.

That's real life experience with a hitch cargo carrier and a Pleasure-way Plateau.

 

[puppie96]

I've looked at several threads and still can't figure out whether you stop carrying the spare in order to use the stowaway box. Seems like it but??

 

[dfriedman]

I wouldn't leave the spare at home under any circumstances. The minute you do, you'll need it. I carry a FEMA tarp, just in case.

The old thread has a pic of an RT with both the spare and the box on the back.

I don't find much changes about driving. I put a pair of stick-on Fresnel lenses on the rear windows; I can actually see the rack in the rear view mirror.

 

[markopolo-ClassB]

Solution: With the help of a 7" Hitch Extender, the StowAway2 Max Swingaway Cargo Carrier can sit far enough behind the Roadtrek's Continental Kit to provide proper clearance.

http://www.stowaway2.com/store/p/624-StowAway-Receiver-Hitch-Extender.aspx

 

[dfriedman]

Don't forget this caveat:

Hitch extenders reduce your vehicle's tongue weight capacity by 1/3, so load your carrier accordingly.

The Swingaway weighs 70 lbs empty and claims 200 lbs of gear, but I've never loaded it that much.

 

[puppie96]

I wouldn't leave the spare at home under any circumstances. The minute you do, you'll need it. I carry a FEMA tarp, just in case.

OK, I'm feeling sort of stupid here, but please tell me what is a FEMA tarp and why do you carry one??

TIA (LOL!)

 

[dfriedman]

A 'FEMA tarp' is just an 8x10 blue tarp. The govt was handing them out if you had roof damage after Hurricane Ike. They were all over the place here on the Gulf Coast (and some are still here) and the phrase stuck.

Note - it has to be blue to be a FEMA tarp.

 

[Guest]

I bought a [ LINK DELETED ]RV storage in Vancouver, WA a few months ago. They also provided extra rear box for RV to keep RV tools organized.

 

[Rok]

We looked into "buying" some storage for the rig, but found it was WAY too expensive. The smallest storage units cost more than the RV itself did. I think it was $112 K for a 16 ft X 50 ft unit.

Sure, you wouldn't have to winterize each year, and sure there is a lot of extra space for other stuff (enough even for another class B, if you so chose), but the cost was just too prohibitive.

........Rocky

 

[Guest]

I have bought rear storage box from a storage unit. Earlier we reserved space for [ LINK DELETED ]storage in Manly West, but then we thought to buy rear box for storing our things in organized way.

 

[stanw909]

Did this thread get merged with a thread about storing an RV? Very strange.

 

[markopolo-ClassB]

Those two post were advertising storage - the links have been deleted and users deactivated. Occasionally, something like that slips through - not often thankfully.