Expo Hitch Rack Ideas

[tx_shooter]

So after dragging Tex's hitch rack around BBRSP a few years ago I have been thinking about a better expo hitch rack. I liked having the extra storage space but did not like tearing up the rack/ trail with it.

I decided a good expo hitch rack would need to:

1- maintain a good departure angle
2- stay tight to the body so as to not reduce turning radius in tight areas
3- have a decent sized cargo area for multiple fuel cans, firewood, or other expo essentials
4- allow access to the tailgate/ rear cargo area without having to remove the hitch rack

The rack I came up with the materials I had available with a 36" x 24" cargo rack that slides out 16" and is 8" above the hitch. The lower part is built with 11 gauge 2"x 2" tube but I plan to redesign the current piece for better support. The slide part is two 2" pieces of angle welded to the cargo rack so as to trap the top part of the hitch mount between the pieces of angle. This time I used a grade 8 bolt to keep the cargo rack secured to the hitch mount and limit the overall travel.

The materials list for this build was what I had on hand: 2"x 2" 11 gauge tube, 2"x 1" 11 gauge tube, 1"x 1" 14 gauge tube, a lot of 1/2" square tube, some 3/4" angle, and some 1" flat bar. I will try to get a better layout drawn up for future reference. I did buy the waterproof LED light bar off Amazon because I wanted something better than the standard reflective tape. Link

And now some pics... .

I am open to other ideas and will post some up as they come to me. I have thought about adding a small vertical thing to the front so as to allow for shovel/ ax mounting.

 

[Mauzer]

What stops it from sliding while driving? Do you just tighten the bolt? Seems like that would be a headache to have to access & un-tighten everytime you want to open the hatch

 

[TacoXpo]

I know people use these and I like what you've done. My problem is that I know I would cause some damage with something hanging off the back of my truck unless it could hold the wt of the truck.

I would make sure you have more than one bolt for the slot for when that one shears you have another to try to stop the tray from sliding off.

 

[tx_shooter]

What stops it from sliding while driving? Do you just tighten the bolt? Seems like that would be a headache to have to access & un-tighten everytime you want to open the hatch

I have a pin with clip for holding it in a forward position. A nice part of this design is that the hitch mount can be removed and stored inside the basket making the whole thing much more compact for storage than regular hitch racks.

I know people use these and I like what you've done. My problem is that I know I would cause some damage with something hanging off the back of my truck unless it could hold the wt of the truck.

I would make sure you have more than one bolt for the slot for when that one shears you have another to try to stop the tray from sliding off.

That is one of the reasons I am changing the hitch mount part. The 11 gauge 2" x 2" tube should be okay; but I plan to upgrade it when I get back with a stronger piece of metal.

 

[tx_shooter]

Another issue I need to address. I setup a mock load on the rack and immediately covered up the license plate. Not even a little bit of the plate could be seen.

 

[Anathollo]

Another issue I need to address. I setup a mock load on the rack and immediately covered up the license plate. Not even a little bit of the plate could be seen.

View attachment 7211

You'll have to take it off and ziptie it to the rack then. At night, you could use a magnetic pocket light to use or an old headlamp screwed to the rack to light it up. No need to spend a lot of money and wiring to light up the plate. You'll just have to remember to turn it on at night

When I went to Europe a few weeks back, I saw a ton of these and by law, they have to order another licence plate along with road lights to put on the rack to be able to drive with it.

 

[Oswego]

brutalguyracing hangs his Suzuki dr650 off the hitch of his 4runner. Looks sketchy as heck, but he hasn't lost a bike yet.

he does back it into things though so maybe one or two of those plow markers would help until you "learn/get used to" how far back it sits.

 

[TacoXpo]

I haven't had a license plate light for 7-8 years. I have yet to be hassled other than the two times that I forgot that I can't roll with the 'gate down. The last time I was thanked by our local police for carrying.

 

[TacoXpo]

brutalguyracing hangs his Suzuki dr650 off the hitch of his 4runner. Looks sketchy as heck, but he hasn't lost a bike yet.

he does back it into things though so maybe one or two of those plow markers would help until you "learn/get used to" how far back it sits.

I need those on my new-to-me car for my front bumper and those stupied rebars sticking out of the top. Ripped my bumper cover off the other week.

 

[tx_shooter]

You'll have to take it off and ziptie it to the rack then. At night, you could use a magnetic pocket light to use or an old headlamp screwed to the rack to light it up. No need to spend a lot of money and wiring to light up the plate. You'll just have to remember to turn it on at night

When I went to Europe a few weeks back, I saw a ton of these and by law, they have to order another licence plate along with road lights to put on the rack to be able to drive with it.

Since all of my driving will be daylight driving this weekend I think I am going to just either play dumb until pulled over or go ahead an move it and then hope it works okay.

 

[TacoXpo]

Oh yeah, what I forgot to mention and I meant to, was that the 3M reflective material on today's license plates are so reflective that you would probably only be pulled over if you had a certain weave to your driving.

 

[Oswego]

I need those on my new-to-me car for my front bumper and those stupied rebars sticking out of the top. Ripped my bumper cover off the other week.

Almost ripped off my Subaru hood a few times until I got used to it. Subaru cars have great driver vision and that means you can't see anything else. My hood just drops down infront with know way of knowing how far it sticks out. With he Tacoma I didn't really care because the front bumper was steel.

 

[Oswego]

Oh yeah, what I forgot to mention and I meant to, was that the 3M reflective material on today's license plates are so reflective that you would probably only be pulled over if you had a certain weave to your driving.

That stuffs mandatory in some countries (Most of Africa). Drivers must have it on their bumpers.

 

[TacoXpo]

I have been hassled coming across the border by a lady that was pissed off because she had to get off her ass and get out of her booth since it was out of reach of the reader.

 

[tx_shooter]

After working wityh this rack loading today I am designing 2.0 in my head already.

 

[Anathollo]

I haven't had a license plate light for 7-8 years. I have yet to be hassled other than the two times that I forgot that I can't roll with the 'gate down. The last time I was thanked by our local police for carrying.

I have one very dim OEM bulb on mine. It's the original bulb so a decade old at this point.

 

[TacoXpo]

After working wityh this rack loading today I am designing 2.0 in my head already.

Just like software, roof racks and women, you have to build the first one and throw it away so that you get get rid of the flaws!

 

[tx_shooter]

Well the expo hitch rack took some hits, drags, and a was used a few different ways. I did decide that a single slide/ contact point is a bad idea so I am going to redesign around the same idea but with two slide/ contact points about 12-16" apart.

 

[tx_shooter]

I talked to two Tx DPS officers this morning about the license plate issue. They told me that hitch mounted items are the exception to the rule with license plates. Texas allows for hitch rack cargo, hitch mounted wheel chair carriers, and similar items to obscure the license plate. The plate needs to be visible once the officer gets closer for inspection. They were quick to point out this is Texas only - other states may have other rules in regards to this.


But at least I know I am good for Texas travel without getting pulled over for a simple license plate issue.

 

[Silverback]

Just add a provision to temp mount the licence plate to the rack with some (a) light on it.