cargo carrier for OMW rear bumper

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by GatorCasita

I am just curious why you mention the Casita frame strength. I have looked at many, many threads about Casitas, and I have yet to find anyone who had problems due to a Casita frame not being strong enough (unless they had a wreck or ran off the road into a ditch).

Maybe if one were to tow the trailer over very rough unpaved roads it might matter. However, adding a generator (50 lb) to the tongue is very common. Adding a box with 30 lb in the back would pretty much balance the added tongue weight from the generator. Is there some frame problem that we do not know about???

Well Randy, This is just my take on the frame's construction. I agree that adding something that weighs roughly 50 Lbs isn't going to wreak havoc with anything, even on these 3" mild steel "C" channel frames, but I have seen instances where some people have really gone overboard adding additional loads like a 50 Lb. platform mounted over the propane tanks and then putting an unnecessarily large 110 Lb. 3000 watt generator on that, plus an electric tongue jack, spare fuel cans, etc. There's a limit as to how much is too much. And, as you mentioned, many people do take their trailers off-road, so the additional bouncing also sets up a lot of flexing and stress. Casita frames are just barely adequate for their intended use, and adding too much "extras" on it compromises the minimal strength inherent with their design. If I ever had to replace my frame, it would be at least 4" thick-walled "C" channel, not the 3" that it comes with. There's a correlation between building a more robust, but heavier, trailer or keeping things at a bare minimum to keep the weight down. It's all a compromise in design, function, and what they can get away with for the least cost to produce. They certainly aren't built for strength, and when they do crack, break and collapse, its usually right where the frame rails are bent inward, just at the front of the trailer shell, to form the "A" frame up front. Those bends really weaken the rail considerably, and there have been many structural failures caused by repeated flexing and metal fatigue. Just my 2 cents on it.

[Makwell]

Installed the ATV cargo rack and aluminum box to the rear of the casita the other day. $39 for the rack from Harbor Freight and just short of $200 for the aluminum box. Box is attached with u-bolts and has plenty of room for our old Coleman stove, Weber charcoal grill, charcoal and lighter, as well fuel for the stove. In fact, there's more room than we really need. This addition should work out well. Would post a pic but haven't a clue how to do it.

[Raspy]

John,

I'd like to see some pix.

Below the bottom of the field where you write your comment, find "go advanced" and click it. Then find "choose file" and click that. Then select a file (picture) that you have previously saved to your desktop. These files will show up in a pop up window. Click the file name you want to upload. That will highlight it. Then select "choose" . Now you see the file listed below the reply window and click "submit reply". Done.

[Makwell]

Going to try to post a couple of pics of the cargo carrier

This aint working!!!!

sorry

[Timwiltshire]

I built something last year that fits in with your description. I've posted another thread with the photos and info. I'm taking the trailer to the scales tonight to have a look at the curb weight of the trailer and the tongue weight after the installation of my addition. I've been planning on securing the whole set up with 3 bumper hitches instead of the 1 I have currently. I don't fancy the idea of the box torquing on the center of the bumper too much.