Stowaway swing away box vs motorcycle trailer?

[Sensfan]

We have a 2011 RT 190 Ranger. We have decided to carry our Saturn inflatable fishing kayak along with battery and electric motor. Total weight will be approximately 100 pounds. From my perspective, a stowaway box and a motorcycle trailer have different advantages and disadvantages. I would appreciate any experience based feedback.
Thanks

[papab]

I think there are very few advantages to a trailer over a box. Get the box unless you need more room. I'd rather put my motorcycle in a hitch rack, or inside, than on a trailer.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Probably not much to chose between the two options cost wise.

The only comment i would make is that in my experience short trailers such as you are considering are more difficult to back up than longer ones! I owned a short luggage trailer at one point and also have owned several travel trailers up to a 31 ft Airtream.

The long trailers were quite easy to back up but teh short one difficult as it tended to jack knife so easily.


On other comment i will add is that with the trailer, you will likely want to unhook it and chain it to a tree or some such at destination. Not difficult to do.

With the Stowaway, you could remove it - but not is simple. On the other hand, we carry together a bike rack and cargo tray on a swinghitch onour van. When I first set it up, I anticipated we would always remove it at destination, but after using this setup now for over a year and a half, not once have we removed it and it is has never been a problem, you might find the same and in that sense, i could be easier.

Edit - a trailer does give you two more tires to worry about!


Brian.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

We have a 2011 RT 190 Ranger. We have decided to carry our Saturn inflatable fishing kayak along with battery and electric motor. Total weight will be approximately 100 pounds. From my perspective, a stowaway box and a motorcycle trailer have different advantages and disadvantages. I would appreciate any experience based feedback.
Thanks

I use a stowaway hitch frame. Made a platform for an ebike that weighs about 65 pounds for a total weight of maybe just less than 100 pounds. It works well, very pleased. The downside is that I have to remove all of it to fill the propane tank, 05/04 190P. I would rarely need to add propane if I fill up first, learned that lesson.

Keep in mind that you can create whatever you like rather than use the box they offer. The weight held by the box is 200 pounds, 250 with the hitch frame only.

[InterBlog]

My answer is "none of the above".

If you know for sure that you want to carry gear X, whatever that gear may be, my recommendation is that you either fabricate or commission a carrier to suit that specific need, with an eye to general flexibility.

Husband and I went round and round on Stowaway vs. the next bad options, and they were all bad - the quality just wasn't going to achieve what we wanted, and the versatility of offered products was also terrible. Especially for the prices, ugh.

So we designed and welded exactly what we needed (husband became a hobby welder). Our carrier most often accepts our Yeti cooler and gas can, or we can unbolt and re-bolt portions of it to reconfigure it to carry our pressure washer, or other large tools, or my folding bicycle. I'm also going to modify it further to accept a modular kayak that I just acquired several weeks ago. Plus there's an open side with strap-down rings for general cargo. When not used for carrying, I refer to that area as my "back porch". It serves as an extra-large step in through the rear door.

This is one of the best mods we ever did. I've enjoyed it immensely, and it works much better for us than anything that is offered in the commercial market.

Blog post series on fabrication here if you are interested.

Pic:

[jrobe]

I wasn't too impressed with that Stowaway storage box. I ended up buying Aluminess rear storage boxes for our van which I use to haul 2 inflatable kayaks and all my tools, grill, etc. etc. I debated as a cheaper alternative buying a metal or galvanized truck storage box and rigging it up on a hitch rack. Something like the boxes in this link. This would have been much sturdier than the Stowaway box.


https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...uck-tool-boxes

The last thing I would ever do is haul around a trailer. That would defeat the whole purpose of a small and compact Class B RV.

[GyroJoe]

If your going to get a trailer you could consider a non-inflatable kayak.

[BillsPaseo]

There is a lot of resistance on here to pulling a trailer, but we have been really happy with this option. Just depends on what you are hauling. We've been pulling a 5x8 enclosed trailer for the last 2 years, and had no difficulty parking it, getting it into remote campsites, etc. We haul two dual sport motorcycles, and while you can get a rack capable of carrying two motorcycles, reality is that most class B vans do not have the rear axle capacity to handle that much weight hanging off the back of the van.

Our trailer tucks in really nicely behind the van, is slightly narrower at the axles, and with the long rear overhang of the van, it tracks almost perfectly behind it - if the van's rear axle clears something, the trailer axle will clear it as well. The trailer weighs 800 lbs empty (all aluminum frame), has its own brakes to stop the load, and when loaded up to about 1800 lbs with our bikes, riding gear, tools, etc, only drops our gas mileage by about 1.5 MPG.

[South]

Have the Stowaway II w Swing Arm

Have used it twice. Stored in garage so in excellent condition.

Will sell for half price of new

Bill G
New Bern, NC
southridge72@gmail.com

[Sensfan]

Thanks. We will try the Stowaway Max. The total weight of the kayak and equipment will be approximately 150 pounds; 75 will go in the Stowaway and the balance between the axles inside the RV itself and the exterior side storage compartment. The Ranger upper body design is aerodynamically efficient and has good ground effect. We also have Bilstein shocks that do a good job of smoothing out the bumps and the Michelins are pressured with nitrogen. The loaded rear axle weight will be measured; I am optimistic that we will not be overloaded as we do travel light anyway.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Well, I don't have any horse in this race - I have a cargo rack and a bike rack I use together and they work for me, but I would have no qualms either about towing a small trailer - or a car for that matter.

I only wanted to comment that I think saying "The last thing I would do" can tend to be a bit inflammatory on forums. Maybe best to just say what one prefers! Everyone's views are fine and deserve respect.


Maybe I take certain phrases in ways that were never intended, but as they say, perception is reality!

It's the same when someone starts a statement with "Look" or "Listen" as I sometimes see. That puts me on the defensive right away and makes me feel I am being talked down to!

Off topic I guess, and also just my opinion for what little it may
be worth! ....... sorry!

[booster]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

Thanks. We will try the Stowaway Max. The total weight of the kayak and equipment will be approximately 150 pounds; 75 will go in the Stowaway and the balance between the axles inside the RV itself and the exterior side storage compartment. The Ranger upper body design is aerodynamically efficient and has good ground effect. We also have Bilstein shocks that do a good job of smoothing out the bumps and the Michelins are pressured with nitrogen. The loaded rear axle weight will be measured; I am optimistic that we will not be overloaded as we do travel light anyway.

I think all the Rangers were made on the 2500 chassis unless you got a very early one before they started doing that, so you may have lower capacity than a regular 190. I think the stock setup was a 4.8L on a 2500 chassis with 8600# gross weight capacity.

[Sensfan]

Ours is a 2011/2012 Chevy 3500 190-Ranger. It was a company demo that we bought through a local dealer in September 2012. It may have been the first Ranger sold in Canada. Its equipment reflects that of a same year loaded RT 190 Poplar 3500 chevy one ton. The only difference was the lack of a trailer hitch, which we added in 2013.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

Ours is a 2011/2012 Chevy 3500 190-Ranger. It was a company demo that we bought through a local dealer in September 2012. It may have been the first Ranger sold in Canada. Its equipment reflects that of a same year loaded RT 190 Poplar 3500 chevy one ton. The only difference was the lack of a trailer hitch, which we added in 2013.

Did you wind up with 190 sidepods and and underbody larger propane tank also?

[Sensfan]

Yes we have the 190 sidepods, underbody, and horizontal propane tank behind the rear axle.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

Yes we have the 190 sidepods, underbody, and horizontal propane tank behind the rear axle.

If you got that at the Ranger price, it would be a good deal for sure.

[Sensfan]

Yes sir. RT Rangers first went on sale in the USA. We called the factory in late summer 2012, asking about when the Ranger would be released for sale in Canada. It was then we were informed of the demo. We thought we were getting the 2500 3/4 ton chassis. Only after its arrival at the dealer did we figure out how lucky we were, and are.