Cargo: Hitch & Basket vs. Roof Rack

Would it even be possible to tow a 2 seater sandrail behind a NB? I know I could build a trailer to have a low toung weight, but I don't know if it can pull that much weight. I kinda hate having to borrow a ride when going to off road parks to get my rail there.

Pugsley said:

Would it even be possible to tow a 2 seater sandrail behind a NB? I know I could build a trailer to have a low toung weight, but I don't know if it can pull that much weight. I kinda hate having to borrow a ride when going to off road parks to get my rail there.

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How much does it weigh?

I dont know, after trailer and rail like 2000 at the most.

Since there is not much weight resting on the vehicle, you could probably do it, but it would really depend on the terrain you are towing it on. Anything with a lot of hills would be a problem, mostly for controlling the load and stopping it.

milehighassassin said:

I will have to post the route I went in the last week. I bought an aluminum rack from harbor freight that weighs 26 lbs. It came with a 2" reciever for it. The 2" reciever will slide out from the rack as well. I got a NEW 2" receiver (so I can still use the original on a truck, etc) and I welded my 1 1/4" receiver hitch to the new 2" receiver, creating an adapter and a 5" riser to get it off the ground. I am pretty impressed with the way it turned out. I also added some reflective tape to the rack and it has two red reflectors mounted to the back. I have been thinking about mounting a lighting kit which would be tail lights, signals and brake lights.

The rack was $60 and has a 500 lb capacity. Which is more than enough.

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It may have a 500 lb capacity but the hitch only has 150 to 200 total. I wouldn't put more than 100 lbs on it if that. A car top carrier I saw today said the load up on top was limited to 75 lbs. Either one works as long as you only have very limited stuff.

Lightflyer1 said:

It may have a 500 lb capacity but the hitch only has 150 to 200 total. I wouldn't put more than 100 lbs on it if that. A car top carrier I saw today said the load up on top was limited to 75 lbs. Either one works as long as you only have very limited stuff.

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Yes, I know I can't put 500 lbs on it. I am simply saying that it is rated for 500. I spent $60 on it at Harbor Freight, I wouldn't load 500 lbs on it. I see NO reason why you can't put 200 lbs on it.

200 lbs and the hitch/basket itself are over the tongue weight for one. The mount acts as a lever as well on the hitch and bears down more. You also have all of this weight as a lever on the very back of the car reducing weight on the front wheels affecting the steering, accelleration and stopping performance of the car.

Lightflyer1 said:

200 lbs and the hitch/basket itself are over the tongue weight for one. The mount acts as a lever as well on the hitch and bears down more. You also have all of this weight as a lever on the very back of the car reducing weight on the front wheels affecting the steering, accelleration and stopping performance of the car.

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The basket weighs <27 lbs. So not it is not even close to being over the tongue weight. I can put 160 lbs in that and be fine. The basket is not much further out. I custom fabricated the mount myself. I welded the steel mount on the basket to my hitch, getting it as close to the bumper as possible without rubbing.

The weight in this basket doesn't effect the car any more/less than a trailer would, other than the car will not have additional the weight of the trailer pushing the car when going downhill.

You know your own car and how it feels so what you are saying is no doubt accurate. I also tried using one of these carriers, three bikes at 45 pds each, with a 35 pd basket in my receiver on Christine ( I think 150 pds is max tongue on the Uhaul hitches, not sure). Even with new rear shocks and only me driving, the car really moved up and down a lot...if I put my kid in back and some suitcases it got positively Dramamine time. I just got back from pulling a 5X8 Uhaul with the same car, and the tongue weight was supposed to be 150 max. At first I settled most of the weight over the axle and the car was relatively level, and I would say maybe 80-100 pounds tongue weight. Other than the occasional tug as I slowed down or speeded up, I felt really little or no bouncing, because I think the trailer itself limited the bouncing up and down by virtue of being hooked to the hitch, and it's weight countered the push up by the suspension.

Now, after a few hard stops, I didn't know it but about 200-300 pounds of rocks slid to the front of the trailer while on one leg of the trip. I noticed even less bounce during this segment, though not sure why, but it was a very pleasant ride. Only when I got out did I realize it was doing a low-rider thing in back, so my only point is I think the countering effect of the trailer did have a lot to do in my situation. The basket was a no-go for me in Christine. If I had Airlifts or something I suspect it would not have been an issue, and I am still researching that, because I would rather have just a basket back there, minimal wind drag losses, no problem backing up other than clearance, etc. Good discussion on these options. My wife wants one of those egg trailers (rolls eyes)...cause they are so cute. Help me!

Well it looks like "Christine" is an A3, which is a lighter car. That might explain part of it. The hitch I have is rated at 200 lbs. of tongue weight. With the basket I really don't think I will have too much weight back there. It is mostly for space. When I go camping, I can put firewood there, chairs, the grill, maybe a couple chairs. My dog if he mis-behaves (I kid). I also plan on using it to transport fuel (race fuel for my snowmobile).

It would all be main highway driving untill the last 4 miles. Then it would be big hilly type stuff untill i got to the off road park. I would not dare drive into the park with it (only main parking lot, after that it gets really nasty) and unload it there and thne drive seperatly to the camp site. if need be i can build it with trailer brakes, but i don't think i will need that for somthing this small. Basicly it will be a modifyed car dolly. Make it longer and add a perch to the front for the front wheels and done.

Spend the extra couple hundred bucks, and put electric brake hubs on the axle. Use a brake controller. Cheap when you consider new rotors are on your TDI, plus the added safety of hitting the trailer brakes if it sways. Ask me, I know.

48 MPG said:

Spend the extra couple hundred bucks, and put electric brake hubs on the axle. Use a brake controller. Cheap when you consider new rotors are on your TDI, plus the added safety of hitting the trailer brakes if it sways. Ask me, I know.

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Rotors for the TDI are cheap. Unless you do a lot of towing and in steep terrain, I think the brakes on the properly sized trailer are overkill.

This company has some good products. I saw a light-duty trailer made by them on I-8 a week or two ago, and it looked very suitable for TDI owners.

http://www.letsgoaero.com/Products.asp

That's the place! My wife wants to get one of those egg-shaped cargo trailers...she saw one at a dog show and how much it disgorged and has been mad to get one ever since. Looks like they may be discontinued, whew.

http://www.letsgoaero.com/ProductDetail.asp?Pid=29

Craigslist and $1000 got me this:

http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=43118&cat=500&ppuser=36337

If you are only needing 100 lbs or so capacity the car top and receiver mount boxes are good and easy to deal with. Anything more than that really should have a small trailer of some sort. Mine is small and easy to tow and handle. It will take anything from 0 to 800 lbs easily.

I found this thread after searching a bit but it has been a good read. While I like the Wisper bars and all, I still would like to be able to use a hitch mount bike carrier as putting them on the roof is probably not the easiest way to transport them & requires additional mounting brackets and such.

The Stoway boxes look to be what I'm in the market for, a basic box will yield 12 cubic feet of lockable space, with a cargo weight of up to 125 pounds. Good for bulky junk the wife cannot seem to not bring along on vacation.

http://www.stowaway2.com/c-1-cargo-carriers.aspx

Does anyone have one of these they can provide feedback on?

Would like this box with their riser mount that gives a 6" lift. It has to be quieter than a roof carrier although it doesn't look as slick. For the 2 or 3 times a year it'll get used, it might be what I'm looking for.

I apologize for bumping this old topic, but I have done quite a bit of research on this, so I want to share my experience...
've used both cargo baskets and a couple different roof boxes, on a couple different vehicles. From my experience, the cargo basket makes more noise (empty) vs. roof box (empty or full, doesn't change wind resistance).

The only benefit that the cargo basket has is the ability to stack random-sized stuff -- duffel bags, cooler, camp chairs, etc. -- that may not fit into a roof box very well. A loaded cargo basket with random stuff tied to it has a lot of wind resistance, which turned into a larger impact on fuel mileage.

The cargo boxes require more careful packing to load them, but they keep the contents dry, secure (lockable box), and a lot less dirty (bugs, dust, etc).

Unless I really needed the space to carry a lot of huge, awkward, random stuff (i.e. like mounting a very large cargo rack across a big vehicle -- like a fullsize Con-ferr rack https://wheelstips.com/best-hitch-cargo-carriers on top of a van), I would go with the largest rocketbox type cargo box that fits. I find them a lot more useful overall.
On YouTube there are a lot of interesting videos on this topic, I will share with you, one of them, hope this will help сомеоне.Good luck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRmZ4rsi7KM

Maueam said:

I apologize for bumping this old topic, but I have done quite a bit of research on this, so I want to share my experience...
've used both cargo baskets and a couple different roof boxes, on a couple different vehicles. From my experience, the cargo basket makes more noise (empty) vs. roof box (empty or full, doesn't change wind resistance).

The only benefit that the cargo basket has is the ability to stack random-sized stuff -- duffel bags, cooler, camp chairs, etc. -- that may not fit into a roof box very well. A loaded cargo basket with random stuff tied to it has a lot of wind resistance, which turned into a larger impact on fuel mileage.

The cargo boxes require more careful packing to load them, but they keep the contents dry, secure (lockable box), and a lot less dirty (bugs, dust, etc).

Unless I really needed the space to carry a lot of huge, awkward, random stuff (i.e. like mounting a very large cargo rack across a big vehicle -- like a fullsize Con-ferr rack https://wheelstips.com/best-hitch-cargo-carriers on top of a van), I would go with the largest rocketbox type cargo box that fits. I find them a lot more useful overall.
On YouTube there are a lot of interesting videos on this topic, I will share with you, one of them, hope this will help сомеоне.Good luck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRmZ4rsi7KM

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Seems you are comparing apples to oranges, though I do appreciate first had experience.

How about enclosed carrier box on hitch vs roof box? Or open hitch basket vs roof basket?

Also, how does hitch carrier impact wind resistance, following in vehicles wake, more than a roof box? You are adding carrier bars and a big box up into the wind vs a basket following in the wake of the car.

Also of note when comparing these is hitch carrier is closer to ground vs having to climb/get ladder/etc. to reach and properly load roof box.

Jason

I have both and both have their uses. The top car top carrier is more sealed so things stay dry. And it is longer. But it is harder to load as it is up high. And it takes more power to drive. And a side wind in the Dakota's is unbearable.

Rear carrier I bolted a plastic storage box on I got for cheap that I could lock. Was nice as I could jump up and sit on it or use as a table. And the hatch cleared it when opening. Didn't take any power to drive with it. Less room though since I have the largest one you can mount on the roof to compare to. Have used in tandem on large trips in the car or separately.

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