A New Weapon in the Ongoing War for Cargo Space

[vt_maverick]

As some of you may remember, I bought my VX in April of 2008 when my only anticipated passengers were myself, my girlfriend, and my dog. As luck would have it, we found out Sonya was pregnant just two months later, and ever since I've been in a battle to keep the VX practical from a family transport perspective.

Along the way I bought one of Tone's cargo boxes to allow me to keep both tools and the dog behind the back seat; I bought a Yakima Skybox 16 for rooftop storage; and after reading this thread:

The Ultimate Rear Hitch Cargo Carrier Box for VX’s (http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=9954&highlight=cargo+carrier)

...I looked into picking up a Rola Adventurer System (part #59109) with the SwingAway feature. Not cheap, but I found a sweet sale online that offered a $100 discount + $7 shipping for a 150 lb. carrier. :eek: I installed it a week ago and have been driving around with it since. Works great, no sag to the Tone hitch at all. The carrier did bounce side-to-side a bit, so I had a towing and metal fabrication shop install the bolt you see in the last picture to tighten the mount inside the hitch box. And the light module that Tone included with the hitch didn't have the correct inputs/outputs for the box, so I had to upgrade that as well.

The swingaway option is an absolute must on this unit since the rear door is inaccessible without it. With that option in place, our door swings to the left, while the carrier swings out to the right. Couldn't ask for a more perfect system. We're heading to Wisconsin tomorrow, so I'll let you guys know how it works out on a long trip.

Check it out...

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/IMG00001-20100525-0731.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/IMG00002-20100525-0732.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/IMG00003-20100525-0732.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/IMG00004-20100525-0732.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/IMG00007-20100525-0734.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/IMG00008-20100525-0735.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/IMG00013-20100525-0953.jpg

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/IMG00009-20100525-0806.jpg

[RamAirZ]

That's awesome! I've got 2 little ones so I've been thinking the same thing lol. Any pics of your cargo box inside?

[tom4bren]

Look in page 6 of his gallery.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/6/ppuser/3271

[RamAirZ]

Interesting, that wouldn't work for me and our stroller but I like it. I've been using a small trailer when I need to haul big stuff lol but when we wanna go on a long trip and not use her Camry, this rear cargo carrier looks sweet!

[vt_maverick]

That's awesome! I've got 2 little ones so I've been thinking the same thing lol. Any pics of your cargo box inside?

This has a better explanation:

Taking the pet barrier to the next level... literally (http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=16817&highlight=Tone+box)

[vt_maverick]

Interesting, that wouldn't work for me and our stroller but I like it. I've been using a small trailer when I need to haul big stuff lol but when we wanna go on a long trip and not use her Camry, this rear cargo carrier looks sweet!

What kind of stroller do you have? We have one of those three wheel offroad monsters and I think it would probably fit if you took the back wheels off. Keep in mind that the box lid is concave underneath, meaning you can carry stuff that's an inch or two taller than the box itself.

If I get time to try it out tonight I'll take a picture for you.

[RamAirZ]

We have a graco fold up 4-wheel stroller, it also allows the infant car seat to just plop right in, I had it in there the other day on it's side along with our umbrella stroller and it took up most if not all the rear space lol, was just at the top of the seats, little over with the umbrella one on top

[SuperBoomTurbo]

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/IMG00001-20100525-0731.jpg

Here in Texas, as in most states with some obnoxiously ignorant drivers, the vx has been great for not seeing tailgating, simply because I can't seem them anymore!

However, in the event one of those jokers forgets how to stop (I have nightmares about this constantly!) THIS would be a great 'safer barrier' alternative!
Fill it with water, or hire the neighbor kid to hang out in there and make a peep-hole, so that when an idiot gets too close, bam! Out comes the machine gun-toting 12 year old in full war paint!!:evil2:

[vt_maverick]

Sounds like a good place for the trunk monkey SBT... :D

[ZEUS]

Bah, just go buy a Blazer! ;) Kidding! That's a sweet carrier - I like how it seems to match and extend the cladding out further. Have a good and safe trip!

[Grif]

Thats a sweet looking VX.

Srry, but all that extra baggage makes it look ridiculous. If you really have to travel with that much crap, you got too much crap.

[RamAirZ]

lol so your saying a family of 4 and a dog can all fit in a VX no problem WITH all there crap for a long road trip? Your crazy lol. I learned that just bring the strollers along for just a walk through the local park. I could probably get away with just a roof top carrier but for some long camping trips or what not that extra storage out back would be great

[vt_maverick]

Thats a sweet looking VX.

Srry, but all that extra baggage makes it look ridiculous. If you really have to travel with that much crap, you got too much crap.

Me + my wife + a 15 month old + a dog X 3000 mile round trip X 2 weeks in Wisconsin = a lot of stuff. Believe me, if it was possible to carry less we would. The baby is definitely the differentiating factor though - without her the three of us really don't need but one carrier if that.

[Ldub]

Now to complete the look...:naughty:

http://images2.boxwish.com/profile_images/blog/3270/blog_auto_of_the_week_cadillac_escapade_from_zombi eland.jpg

[SuperBoomTurbo]

Now to complete the look...:naughty:

http://images2.boxwish.com/profile_images/blog/3270/blog_auto_of_the_week_cadillac_escapade_from_zombi eland.jpg

I feel an evil grin coming on!

Vt mav- I forgot about trunk monkey!!

If y'all haven't seen those commercials, do a YouTube and make sure you're not holding a cup of hot coffee or something valuable. Saved those on the hard drive a few years back and they STILL crack me up (then again, I'm a looney toon) :rotate:

[vt_maverick]

So just got back from Wisconsin yesterday evening, and wow what a drive! 20 hours of pure driving time, let alone stops to change and feed the baby. Good thing she's a great traveler - I bet she cried less than 20-30 minutes during the 50 hour round trip.

As far as the cargo box is concerned, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the box was super convenient and completely waterproof, which was important as we drove through two solid days of rain on the way home. The bad news is that the Tone hitch did start to lean down (maybe five degrees or so) once I filled the box with some pretty heavy stuff (two Borbet CW3 rims that I picked up in Detroit on my way to Wisconsin, plus clothes, toys, and dog food). As far as I can tell, the box can probably only hold 50-100 lbs. of additional weight without leaning. Considering the platform and box together weigh about 150 lbs, I figure that's about 250 lbs total, which is kind of disappointing.

It seems to me that something could be done to increase the tongue weight rating of Tone's hitch. If I remember correctly, the two steel plates that bolt to the last crossmember are only about 6 inches wide, and use class 8 bolts to attach. What if those plates were increased to the entire width of the cross member, then welded to the frame rails at each end? Essentially you'd have the strength of a Dylan/Curt tow bar style hitch, while hiding the bar inside the rear cladding. I'm not the most mechanically inclined person, so I thought I'd throw it out there for you guys to chew on.

In the meantime, here a few pics from the trip:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/DSC00420.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/DSC00407.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3265/IMG00014-20100603-2009.jpg

[RamAirZ]

Looking good! I like my Reese hitch on mine, and I can take it off for wheeling purposes if need be.

[blacksambo]

Like your wheels what are they? And, are those weathertech wind deflectors?

[RamAirZ]

The wheels he has are Borbet CW3's

[blacksambo]

Thx. Do they make a 16"?

[RamAirZ]

They do/did make them in 16", not sure where to find them though. I have some 18" ones for sale.

[vt_maverick]

Check out Navistar's gallery, I believe his were made by "Spirit" (see last pic) but may have been OEM'd by Borbet. In any event, they sure look like 16" CW3's. Maybe he can point you in the right direction?

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showgallery.php?thumbsonly=0&perpage=90&cat=500&ppuser=2733&thumbcheck=0&page=1&sortby=&sorttime=&way=&date=

[RamAirZ]

There was someone in the rims/tires thread also with 16" versions, pretty sure it wasn't navistar, let me look.

Edit: I was wrong lol, I thought there was another set but they were 18's too, just looked small with 35's on them

[djvx]

Me + my wife + a 15 month old + a dog X 3000 mile round trip X 2 weeks in Wisconsin = a lot of stuff. Believe me, if it was possible to carry less we would. The baby is definitely the differentiating factor though - without her the three of us really don't need but one carrier if that.

WISCONSIN and you don't visit me? Be nice to see another VX around here!

[VCrossfan]

Great Idea's Maverick...And your VX looks GREAT ! ! !

[blacksambo]

Thanks. Any ideas about those wind deflectors they look somehow different.

[vt_maverick]

WISCONSIN and you don't visit me? Be nice to see another VX around here!

Too bad I didn't think about it, we were actually in Green Bay on Tuesday touring Lambeau field. Unfortunately we drove her Dad's crew cab truck (we were a seat shy in the VX) so you wouldn't have seen it anyway. Unless of course you were willing to drive the 3 1/2 hours to Boyd.


Thanks. Any ideas about those wind deflectors they look somehow different.

I'm pretty sure they're WeatherTech, not sure of the model number though. I'll take a look at lunch and let you know.

[vt_maverick]

Great Idea's Maverick...And your VX looks GREAT ! ! !

Thanks!!! :D