building a cargo hitch rack...

hey,
i'm going on a trip next month in the prius and decided to build a cargo hitch rack.

first off i am far from a perfectionist, and far from being a "great" welder...but i have yet to have any welds i've done, break.

so anyways i was initially thinking about building one of the small harbor freight trailers (40x48), but then i would have to worry about lights, trailer tires, the trailer light plug kit, etc...

so i decided the cargo hitch rack would be a better idea, no need for lights...no extra bs to worry about.

i just started today, i'm building it with junk i have laying around, the first picture shows the hitch tube and the beginning of the bottom of the frame. the hitch tube is some 1 1/4" square tube i got off of an old gate. the framework is from a bedframe (1/2" angle iron?).

second picture shows the top side with the floor in, and above that is the top section.

third pic shows the bottom side with the bracing i put in.

i need to source some another bed frame or more steel for the sides but when it's finished it'll be 46" wide, 16" long and 16" tall, enclosed box. the top lid, rear panel, and sides will be diamond plate, the front (facing the bumper) will just be thin blah sheetmetal. the rear diamond plate will have stripes of the reflective red tape or something of that nature. and it will not block the tail lights, or license plate at all, or hinder opening the hatch. i'm hoping the whole unit is under 40lb.

 

had time to work on it some more today.

i build the sides and put the top on, i added a support for the frame (though probably un-needed), and i put also added screws to the floor and back panels. i also drilled the holes for the diamond plate and cut the diamond plate, and put the first coat of paint on.

tomorrow morning i'm going to put the second coat of paint on it, and then mount the diamond plate, and start working on a lid.

p.s. the first 2 photo's were just of the top/sides sitting on there...not welded or set in place/leveled.

 

is my topic actually that sucky that no one has any thoughts? even a "you suck" reply would be appreciated! .....feeling lonely here.

heres some more pics of progress....got the sides on, put on a weather stripping from a hyundai sonata trunk....caulked it. painted over the caulk after i took the photo's. also built the lid, installed hinges, and a lock clasp. just gotta do one more coat of paint on a few spots, and put on the reflective tape and it's done.

 

i started with just a cargo rack with the intentions of doing the same thing you did, then i had left over metal and a fully enclosed water tight holder was born. not sure the weight, i am guessing around 40-50lb, i'll weigh it once it's fully completed.

 

heh. putting tile in the house...hence mattress outside. and no my friend owns an impound yard...so i snagged the seal off a junker.

 

well here it is done....as soon as the paint is fully dry i am going to test fit it and will post pics of it on the car.

 

thank you!!

here it is on the car. looks goofy but, anything on the back of a prius is going to look goofy.

 

ballahj: not a bad idea but it is very stable.

why would it fall off? looking at the pathetic factory welds of other units, you could put a motorcycle in it upright and i bet it would hold...i welded everything on both sides, i added structural supports, and a tongue support, along with a safety chain.... i'm not a moron just for reference.

 

had it on the car all day today.... due to the fact that i built it under the plate and between the tail lights....you cannot see it at all in the mirrors/rear window, so it could be bad if forgotten that it's there, otherwise it works wonderfully, and over 72 miles on the freeway i averaged 42mpg (which is what i always get...without the a/c on....my mpg sucks!)

i've also revisioned from one center safety chain, to a mildly tightened chain/turnbuckle on each side of the unit, from the middle frame supports to the hitch which adds to it's stability/strength aswell. i'm pretty sure the car would fail to hold weight in it before the welds would break or it would fall off.

 

finished the turnbuckle/hook addition today, also weighed the box while i had it off, kind of disappointed, as it's 61.4lb, the rated tongue weight of the hitch is 200lb... luckily the stuff i intent to put it in is about 40lb so i should be around 50% tonque weight rating.

i also climbed in it while it was on the car....just because. i'm 180lb, it held me just fine, no bad noises or anything of that nature, and it didn't move side to side at all. overall i'm very happy with the outcome, just a bit unhappy with the units weight but thats my fault for Overbuilding it.

 

i thought about that....my issue however is that (while i love my car), the prius is already considered to be a rather 'gay' car. add a cargo box on the back and it's gay X2, now you add little antenna's to the back of said box....you just hit gay X2.5.... i just don't know that i can handle another .5 increase :-X (while the rating system is obviously fictitious, cosmetics are the actual reason i would rather not add such things)

 

was thinking about one of those wireless ones...i put the new dash in the other day, steam cleaned the carpet (again...since it gets dirty in 5 minutes) again yesterday and i scotchguarded it today...so now it sits drying. i need to find the little speaker cover that goes in the dash...but having no luck and the dealer wants $35 for it (it's just a simple speaker grille!), and i'd really like to get a new steering wheel air bag or even a false cover as i will Not be hooking up the air bag.