Rear Cargo Carrier, home made, Baja camping, Syncro style

[crazyvwvanman]

Just got back from a 1500 mile Baja trip with this test setup. I built a similar one 15 years ago, then switched to a trailer for 10 years. I have decided to try again with some enhancements. Here is rev-1 of the new design. This one tilts to allow the rear hatch to open as far as desired, even loaded as shown, about 300 lbs. The box contains a 10 hp Honda outboard, full 3 gal tank, anchor, misc boat gear. The package on top is a 11' inflatable boat. I like camping on the Sea of Cortez, Baja. A little South of the Border Engineering?

After seeing how well this trip went I want to make some small changes to the box and finish some details I ran out of time for. I plan to trim the back about 4" and make the boxed in part a little taller instead. I also want to make some detachable handles so it can be raised and lowered by my wife alone if need be. Sand off all the sharp edges of the wood, then some paint would be good for wood and metal. The mounting rails use the three stock bumper holes in each frame rail of the van.

Mark

[The Salt]

Awesome pics. Let's see more!
_________________
88 Wolfsburg Edition Weekender

[7thing3]

In my neck of the woods we would call that "West Virginia" type engineering.
_________________
'73 Thing--Ted
'77 Super Beetle Convertible
'87 Vanagon GL Syncro
'84 Mercedes 280 CE

[Syncroincity]

That's called being a Mexi-CAN. Is the tilt mechanism spring-loaded or something to balance the load? Nice work.
_________________
'86 Syncro CHC Top AAZ Turbodiesel
'04 Passat Variant 4Mo 5MT

Vanagon Build: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=466866&highlight=

[akyrie]

I just started to learn how to weld. I would like to try and manage something like this on my little darling. Would you have any preliminary drawings for it? Thanks.

[crazyvwvanman]

Thanks. The cargo is loaded up with the weight bias toward the front. Namely, the outboard and fuel tank inside it are located as far forward as possible so the balance point is still close enough for easy pivoting. The pivots are heat treated bolts located as far back as possible to allow the tilted box to be clear of the opening hatch while still having the box sit as close to the body as practical. The box does not tilt all the way to the ground as various desert creatures could otherwise use it as a step ladder to the van. The main support metal is thick rectangular tubing slid into the frame rails like VW intended, about 16" deep to enable use of the 3rd bolt hole provided for such mountings. The various metal parts are simple and bolt together with no welding needed. All nuts are the locking kind.

Mark

[singler3360]

Crazy, that's a nice looking setup. Do you have pics of the pivot point on the box? Thanks.

[crazyvwvanman]

I built this thing under the gun to leave for a 2 week camping trip so there was no time to perfect things. Here is a closeup photo of the tilted position. The pivot bolts are heat treated and there is a large fender washer in between the 2 metal sections that acts as a bearing surface and spacer when they move. You can see the round pattern it left behind in the above photo with just the supports on the van.

One thing I will say is the LED trailer light setup on it is a huge improvement over the old type of lights. The leds take a lot less power and thus are not as sensitive to connection issues. I originally planned to have the box only stick out about as far as the main support tubes but that meant a more difficult loading procedure to fit everything I was taking so I made it bigger to get on the road quicker this trip. Later I will trim it down before I use it again. I may even angle the back bottom edge for more clearance off road. I will also consider moving the light mounts to the support tubes. I used 2x3 studs in some places where I really want angle stock 1/8" aluminum. It did everything we needed and exceeded my hopes but I consider this a prototype.

Mark

[jackbombay]

The tilt away is a cool idea!

I did something similar for our Jetta wagon many years ago, works out pretty well, I put mine on heavy duty full extention drawer slides to retain access to the back, with a pin locking mechanism to keep it down, and to keep it up,

_________________

Gas struts to pop your top easily!
Pop Top strut kits now available for late Bay window Westies

Samba ad here.


DIY artificial rain gutters (ARGs)

[JeffRobenolt]

Here is a Rola box I found on Craigslist for $300. I don't have the hitch pin in so it is sitting a little crooked and I'm going to shorten the receiver so it will sit closer to the van.

_________________
--------------------------------------------------------