"Custom" cargo carrier

[tbrady]

Yesterday my buddy helped me weld the bumper reinforcement on and helped with welding on the cargo carrier.  I took a stock cargo carrier from Sportsman Warehouse and cut off about 7" of the steel tube, then welded a baseplate on so that the carrier will sit directly on top of the bumper as much as possible.  And then added a little custom touch on the other end of the tube.

The only other thing I might do is add some sort of aluminum block on each end that way the weight on the ends is transferred directly to the bumper.

Any feedback/concerns are greatly appreciated!

thanks
tim

[GoElectric]

Great addition and will come in real handy!  We love that factory deck extension that came on our 16DBS.  Be careful to offset with an equal amount of weight in front of the axles, as we found out with ours loaded it increased sway considerably.  We cured ours by switching to 2 6V batteries, which we were going to do anyway, and making sure the fresh water is half full or so.

[tbrady]

Great addition and will come in real handy!  We love that factory deck extension that came on our 16DBS.  Be careful to offset with an equal amount of weight in front of the axles, as we found out with ours loaded it increased sway considerably.  We cured ours by switching to 2 6V batteries, which we were going to do anyway, and making sure the fresh water is half full or so.

Thanks!  We already have quite a bit of tongue weight with 3 bicycles and soon to be an additional battery so I'm hoping this will help offset some of the weight.  On our last trip we had to move stuff from the under bed storage to the back to get some of the weight off the tongue!

[nolichuckyjake]

Very interested in your rear carrier mod.  Have you used it yet, and how much weight are you carrying in it?
I'm needing to carry a generator (about 75 lbs.) and spare gas (30-35 lbs.).

I have a neighbor who welds aluminum professionally.

Thanks.

Yesterday my buddy helped me weld the bumper reinforcement on and helped with welding on the cargo carrier.  I took a stock cargo carrier from Sportsman Warehouse and cut off about 7" of the steel tube, then welded a baseplate on so that the carrier will sit directly on top of the bumper as much as possible.  And then added a little custom touch on the other end of the tube.

The only other thing I might do is add some sort of aluminum block on each end that way the weight on the ends is transferred directly to the bumper.

Any feedback/concerns are greatly appreciated!

thanks
tim

[khughes222]

Very interested in your rear carrier mod.  Have you used it yet, and how much weight are you carrying in it?
I'm needing to carry a generator (about 75 lbs.) and spare gas (30-35 lbs.).

I have a neighbor who welds aluminum professionally.

Thanks.

Mine is a 500lb capacity aluminum harbor freight carrier. I drilled 2 holes in the side of the carrier and secure to the bumper with square shaped U bolts from lowes. Then to prevent the torsional twisting on the bumper itself, I shot 2 bolts through the front of the carrier and through the frame of the trailers box. I have definitely carried 100lbs no problem with a small generator, propane tank, gas tank, and misc utility items. I weigh 240 lbs and have gently stood in the carrier with no flex either. My wife has followed me on trips and said there doesn't look like there is anything to be concerned with. Its on there solid.

https://goo.gl/photos/32JTyU6R7k9MGghK9

[tbrady]

Very interested in your rear carrier mod.  Have you used it yet, and how much weight are you carrying in it?
I'm needing to carry a generator (about 75 lbs.) and spare gas (30-35 lbs.).

I have a neighbor who welds aluminum professionally.

Thanks.

We carry a 50lb genny, 25lb stove and 40lbs of fuel plus a few odds and ends and it has worked great.  Leaving for another trip tomorrow to Yellowstone with it!

[Capt J-rod]

I wish I had mad tig welding skills. Very clean install. Something has to change on my bumper this winter. You better file for the patent LOL

[LivinLite AZ]

2nd try.

Hi All.

Our 13QBB came loaded up with almost every option, including both the off road package and the rear deck. Great on paper, but that rear deck has got to go - it drags on everything, making the off road package somewhat useless. I was happy to find the posts on this forum about reinforcing the rear bumper and installing a receiver hitch / basket. I really like the pure beef steel solution from PYG RYDR https://aluminumcamperforum.com/index.php?topic=307.0 and would like to do something like that.

I had already purchased a receiver basket and a large rubbermaid storage bin for this, but will need some fab to reinforce the soon to be relocated rear bumper and rework the receiver mount tubing to be as vertical as possible over the bumper. I will be working on some variation of this after I remove that deck. It looks to be a bit of a PITA cutting and welding around the wiring for all those glorious LEDs, but it must be done just for driveability's sake.

Since pennies are tight presently, I'm considering popping some rivets and getting busy with the sawzall to at least temporarily remount the bumper near its standard position to give me some departure angle. I would then do it properly when I can afford some professional fab work to support the receiver basket later.

My thought for temporary relief is to cut the deck off so that I leave 6-8 inches of frame protruding from both the bumper and trailer side and just temporarily U bolt or otherwise clamp the cut off bumper back on top of the protruding cut off frame rails/bumper tubing and cap off the openings somehow. Any suggestions regarding how much rear deck frame to leave/cut off so I don't hinder the future fab work?

Has anyone else tackled this issue who had the rear deck option?

Thanks!

[PYG RYDR]

LLAZ,
Any way you could mount some dolley wheels on the bottom of your rear deck and make it work for you?  Hate to think of you cutting that extended frame off.
Galen

[LivinLite AZ]

LLAZ,
Any way you could mount some dolley wheels on the bottom of your rear deck and make it work for you?  Hate to think of you cutting that extended frame off.
Galen

Hi Galen. Great suggestion. I have considered some sort of caster setup for this over the last few weeks, but they would only add to the departure angle deficit on the deck. I'd love that deck if it were 2 feet higher, but it is like dragging a boat anchor for the kinds of trails we want to go down. I'd rather remove it now than mangle it along with the bumper. I've already popped off both of the bumper corner lights crossing very shallow ditches, and we haven't even tried anything close to the trails we'd take our popup camper down yet.

While I do have the BFG off road package, even without the deck, the CL is too low for my needs. I am considering an additional 3" axle lift as it is (then I could go up a couple tire sizes when the BFGs wear out). I have been thinking of adding casters somehow to the outboard ends of my stabilizing jacks at each corner of the CL in the spirit of your suggestion. The jacks are semi-scrificial relative the body corners IMO.

I'm also thinking of a way to articulate the black and gray water drain apparatus to swivel in and up under the frame rail when in transit. There is plenty of room under the floor to accommodate this, but it might be too whacky to pull off successfully. I might start a thread on this because that plumbing is vulnerable on most RVs, especially non lifted ones. My expedition habits may be a little on the extreme side, but there may be others who would be interested in added protection here. Alternately i've been pondering fabbing a hinged skid plate with quick release pins to cover the whole apparatus.

: ) S

[Jim T]

 My expedition habits may be a little on the extreme side, but there may be others who would be interested in added protection here. Alternately i've been pondering fabbing a hinged skid plate with quick release pins to cover the whole apparatus.

: ) S
[/quote]

LivinLite AZ

Expedition Extreme , I'll say for sure. LOL

Now I do not know a lot about your camper and the off road package  and I'm only going by images I see.
Compared to ours yours looks lower than our 16TBS and it doesn't have a off road package of any kind. Our 2016 16TBS is single axle and sits fairly high off the ground. From the picture of yours ours sits.
higher. Not sure why that is. Just seems funny to me they consider yours to be off road and ours not yet ours sits higher.

What am I missing here? Some sort of model  or year change ? 
It could also just be the the way the images look to me .

Just found it kind of strange observation is all.

[LivinLite AZ]

My expedition habits may be a little on the extreme side, but there may be others who would be interested in added protection here. Alternately i've been pondering fabbing a hinged skid plate with quick release pins to cover the whole apparatus.

: ) S

LivinLite AZ

Expedition Extreme , I'll say for sure. LOL

Now I do not know a lot about your camper and the off road package  and I'm only going by images I see.
Compared to ours yours looks lower than our 16TBS and it doesn't have a off road package of any kind. Our 2016 16TBS is single axle and sits fairly high off the ground. From the picture of yours ours sits.
higher. Not sure why that is. Just seems funny to me they consider yours to be off road and ours not yet ours sits higher.

What am I missing here? Some sort of model  or year change ? 
It could also just be the the way the images look to me .

Just found it kind of strange observation is all.
[/quote]

Yes, I noticed that the CL 13s sit low relative to the larger CLs. I just assumed that all the bigger CLs I saw had the off road package, and that they were higher to retain approach and departure angles to match the shorter CLs. At any rate, I just spoke with CL support and Dan said I could add another 3" of lift with a bespoke kit or a just by welding in another aluminum 2"x3" section above the current Dexter mounting brackets. Theoretically, I would then be able to go up a tire size or two when the installed BFG KOs wear out, if the wheel wells permit.

Thanks for you observation about the height discrepancy.

: ) S

[Jim T]

LivinLite AZ

You are welcome ,but not sure I did anything. I really thought it was just how the images looked to me.

Glad it helped you though.

Sounds very much like you have it well under control to add that 3 inches of height.

Hope you report back once you have done it.

[LivinLite AZ]

My expedition habits may be a little on the extreme side, but there may be others who would be interested in added protection here. Alternately i've been pondering fabbing a hinged skid plate with quick release pins to cover the whole apparatus.

: ) S

LivinLite AZ

Sound like, maybe, little more ground clearance is in order. There are lift kits available for the Dexter axles. Or, swap out the existing axle for one with more agressive angle.

Expedition Extreme , I'll say for sure. LOL

Now I do not know a lot about your camper and the off road package  and I'm only going by images I see.
Compared to ours yours looks lower than our 16TBS and it doesn't have a off road package of any kind. Our 2016 16TBS is single axle and sits fairly high off the ground. From the picture of yours ours sits.
higher. Not sure why that is. Just seems funny to me they consider yours to be off road and ours not yet ours sits higher.

What am I missing here? Some sort of model  or year change ? 
It could also just be the the way the images look to me .

Just found it kind of strange observation is all.

Hi Jim T. In addressing your height observation, here is a copy of my post elsewhere regarding trailer height:

Amen to more GC. I already have the factory off road package. Mine came with the 22º down angle Dexter axle. But as Jim T noted, the CL 13 factory lift is way lower than the standard height of his 16TBS https://aluminumcamperforum.com/index.php?topic=460.0 .

I was looking at Scouts post on the Orbital Machine Works 3.5" Lift Kit https://aluminumcamperforum.com/index.php?topic=103.msg575#msg575 - and will contact OWM regarding availability, as their site only lists the one for Casita trailers (maybe it's the same one Scout used?).



I spoke with Dan at CL support yesterday and he unofficially suggested just welding in another section of 3" x "2 AL square tube above the existing Dexter axle mounting brackets to gain 3".

I like the idea of the OMW's powder coated bolt on steel solution, since I could do it myself without any fab support. Eeny, meeny...

: ) S

Any body else here who resorted to a third party single axle lift solution (including Dexter's here https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Dexter-Axle/K71-707-01.html  ) or fabbed one of their own? Although Dexter's kit only adds 2 5/8" lift, and if I'm going through the hassle, I want at least 3" of lift.

Thanks!

[LivinLite AZ]

Hi There.

Ultimately, I wanted my bumper to attach on top of the extended framerail rather than being on the same plane. Then I would gusset and reinforce it carry 100ish pounds without failing on bumps and whoops. I would also take the suggestion change the tube angle on the receiver basket to be vertical over the bumper, or even leaned in towards the trailer a bit to keep the weight as much over the bumper as possible. Yet since I don't see a need to remove the basket once its on there, maybe I'll do away with the receiver down tube altogether and end up with something like this (photoshop liberties taken with tbrady's photo):

: ) S