cargo carrier for OMW rear bumper

[Makwell]

Our 17' Casita has the OMW rear bumper/spare tire carrier. Would like to plug in a cargo carrier, that is higher than the bumper, to carry a Coleman stove/Small weber grill and some other not too heavy items. Coming straight out from the hitch might, I think, lead to dragging the carrier. Would be neat if the carrier was high enough to use for cooking with the Coleman on it when boondocking.

Thoughts and ideas? I'd like to see what others might be using for hauling extra stuff on the rear of their rigs.

[Casita Greg]

This is what I use on the back of mine. It's made by Stow-Away. It's roto-molded, has lights, and it locks. The goose-neck mount angles upward from the receiver hitch too.

https://www.stowaway2.com/standard-cargo-box-black (Apparently the white ones are currently out of stock at this time.)
https://www.stowaway2.com/fixed-hitch-frame

[IMEd]

All you need is to raise the hitch with a hitch adapter.
Like one of these.

https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=...ries_and_Parts

[ACHINBAC]

We mounted our receiver above the stock bumper on a Scamp 13 for additional ground clearance - tho it took a bit of structural reinforcement underneath....

[ACHINBAC]

We also added a strut to the sides of the carrier that rests on the top of the stock bumper - keeps the carrier from rocking.....

[ACHINBAC]

We replaced the stock thin wall arm with ¼" aluminum box & tigged on a post to receive a removable bike rack. The arm locks down with bolts threaded into the top of the receiver.....

[ACHINBAC]

Also made a bracket that attaches to the belly band & ties to the bike carrier - makes the entire assembly very stable...

[ACHINBAC]

We carry the spare in the TV now.

[GatorCasita]

I also have a 17 Casita. One of the issues with Casitas is the very limited storage space in the little compartment on the lower right side. Some additional storage on the rear would be very useful.

However, I have read numerous comments in the past that said that the Casita Bumper is not at all strong enough to carry additional weight.

Just what is an OMW bumper tire carrier with hitch? I Googled it and did not find anything. Any lead to something that can carry the spare tire (or allow it to remain on the back of the Casita) and that would be strong enough to carry a rear-bumper hitch and cargo carrier would be greatly appreciated.

[ACHINBAC]

The issue at hand is the vertical rotational force applied on the bumper with an extended load (leverage) inserted into the receiver.... It is hundreds of pounds on a bad bump... Static loads are not as problematic. We had an option from the factory for a receiver but declined & instead Fabbed our own - the transverse member in the pic.... - it along with anchoring the top of the bike rack mitigates the force...May the Force be With You...

[mary and bob]

[QUOTE=GatorCasita;731101]

Just what is an OMW bumper tire carrier with hitch? I Googled it and did not find anything.

Orbital Machine Works makes a receiver hitch for Casitas. It bolts to the frame and looks to be very well made. Made just like one for a truck or other tow vehicle. I made my own as I had the material and tools to do it.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by GatorCasita

I also have a 17 Casita. One of the issues with Casitas is the very limited storage space in the little compartment on the lower right side. Some additional storage on the rear would be very useful.

However, I have read numerous comments in the past that said that the Casita Bumper is not at all strong enough to carry additional weight.

Just what is an OMW bumper tire carrier with hitch? I Googled it and did not find anything. Any lead to something that can carry the spare tire (or allow it to remain on the back of the Casita) and that would be strong enough to carry a rear-bumper hitch and cargo carrier would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, the rear factory installed "tin foil" sewer hose bumper on Casita trailers are not very substantially made. It is designed to only hold the sewer hose, and the factory even recommends not using it to support other loads. Despite the fact that many places sell those bolt-on receiver hitches which fit those 4" square bumpers, the problem is not with the construction of those hitches. It's all about the inability of the bumper tubing itself. They are weak and most will collapse and buckle when used, unsupported, to carry extra weight. I have seen several of those units which have had a "catastrophic failure" resulting in dragging expensive items, such as bicycle racks with expensive bikes, that were half abraded away from grinding on the street behind the unsuspecting trailer tower until he stops somewhere.

I too, fabricated and welded my own new bumper and receiver hitch, I did this mod long before OMW, (aka Orbital Machine Works,) ever came out with their frame mount bolt-on receiver hitch. The unit they make is well made and I would recommend it if you are serious about having any rear towing capacity for a storage rack. Be advised that it will only fit the 17 footers. It will not work on the 13 and 16 foot Casitas.

Casita Hitch Receiver (Incidentally, they also make a drop-in receiver hitch mount spare tire carrier that still has another receiver tube outlet as well. Check them out on their website.)

Here's some pics of my home-made replacement 3" X 3/16" thick square tube bumper and hitch I built and welded on to replace the stock factory bumper. With the OMW kit, there's no need to replace the existing bumper since it bolts only to the main frame rails underneath. I opted not to carry my spare on the rear of the trailer, just my choice, so I welded up a vertical spare tire bracket from some left-over shop scraps, that rides in the corner of my pickup bed. It sits nicely on the side behind the wheel well and doesn't take up a lot of space, but is handy to get to if I should need it.

[GatorCasita]

Thank you both for telling me what the OMW is. However, I don't see great benefit in adding a rear hitch receiver for a cargo box ...If I then would have to carry the spare in my truck. The little extra I would get with the cargo box would largely be offset by the space taken up in the truck bed by the spare. I use my truck for my non-towing vehicle on a daily basis, and would not want to have the spare in the bed at all times.

Does anyone know of a bumper mod that will allow both the spare to be carried on it and still have a hitch receiver that would allow a light-weight cargo box to be use a receiver on that bumper mod?

Thanks

[GatorCasita]

Originally Posted by GatorCasita

Thank you both for telling me what the OMW is. However, I don't see great benefit in adding a rear hitch receiver for a cargo box ...If I then would have to carry the spare in my truck. The little extra I would get with the cargo box would largely be offset by the space taken up in the truck bed by the spare. I use my truck for my non-towing vehicle on a daily basis, and would not want to have the spare in the bed at all times.

Does anyone know of a bumper mod that will allow both the spare to be carried on it and still have a hitch receiver that would allow a light-weight cargo box to be use a receiver on that bumper mod?

Thanks

I wrote that before I looked at the OMW receiver. Now I see that it allows the spare to remain mounted in its original position, and could then allow a cargo carrier or bike rack to be added behind the spare.

Now my question is whether there is any information or experience that would allow me to estimate just how much weight could be carried on a typical added cargo carrier. The weight applied with the leverage so far behind the axle would reduce the tongue weight and could in that way be a problem. Maybe that could be offset by using something like the OMW platform over the gas tanks and carrying weight like a generator there?

Thanks again,

[Makwell]

The fellow I bought my Casita from lived in Houston and he, and the owner previous to him, had lots of mods done to the trailer by LHC. We have the OMW tank cover and platform. The plan is to use it and a rear cargo carrier to fine tune the trailer's balance and tongue weight, hopefully eliminating the need for a WDH or sway control set up. May or may not be a viable plan but it makes sense to me.

[Casita Greg]

It's never a good thing to add more weight just to balance out a trailer. Keep in mind that these Casita trailer frames are marginal in strength to begin with, and adding more and more weight just adds more stress to an already not-too-substantial 3" mild steel "C" channel, which isn't very thick either.

[Makwell]

We are only talking about 50 lbs or so. An old Coleman 2 burner stove and a small Weber grill plus some charcoal and sometimes a couple of 2.5 gal fuel cans. No generator. The heaviest things are the two propane tanks on the front end and the spare tire on the rear.

[Eddie Longest]

I had an aluminum truck tool box set up and used like you are talking about. I had to add taillights to the box for better visibility. It worked great except for every time I got things set up I needed something out of the box. I'm sure better planning would have solved that problem. I used this narrow box from Lowes that did not take up too much space. I don't know if it is wide enough for the newer gas grills.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-70-i...ol-Box/1097365
Eddie

[Casita Greg]

I don't think you'll have any issues with whatever you put on the back of a 17 foot Casita, as far as making your front end too light. The 17's, (unlike the 13's or 16's,) have more than adequate tongue weight because the axle is set further back on the 17's than on the other models, which have their axles pretty much centered under the trailer like a teeter totter. The 17 footers are actually known to be "tongue heavy" as it is.

To prove a point, I "downsized" my front propane tanks, (because we don't use a lot,) from the standard 5 gallon ones to two 2.5 gallon ones. In addition to the Stow-Away box and all the crap I carry in it, plus the rear hitch, I use the top of the Stow-Away box to stand on when I wash the back portion of the trailer roof. I'm not a little guy, (6'2"/265 Lbs,) and I had my neighbor, who is also a pretty big guy, try to lift my trailer tongue off the ground with the Stow-Away box, receiver hitch, all the crap in it, and me standing on it, and guess what? He couldn't budge it off the ground!

So, FWIW, I wouldn't worry a whole bunch about lightening the tongue weight on a 17 footer by adding a gear carrier on the back.

[GatorCasita]

[QUOTE=Casita Greg;731375]It's never a good thing to add more weight just to balance out a trailer. Keep in mind that these Casita trailer frames are marginal in strength to begin with, and adding more and more weight just adds more stress to an already not-too-substantial 3" mild steel "C" channel, which isn't very thick either.[/QUOTE

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???