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Hitch mounted cargo box

2162 Views 20 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  Snowy MT
I’m leaning toward a hitch mounted cargo box, perhaps the stowaway, swing away standard box.
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Would like to hear from those who currently use any brand of hitch mounted boxes and your experiences with them.
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Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions. I've been giving this swing away hitch/box combo a lot of thought and even came across someone at a gas station who had one on his Subaru outback who was happy to spend some time talking and showing be how it works. The box mounts very near the vehicle, I would say about 12", the swing away is very secure and only takes a couple minutes to unscrew, release and swing away to get access to vehicle. Quite nice if it can be made a practical travel solution for the sienna. Unfortunately, the box blocks the backup camera.

I'm in the process of converting my van to a camper, currently both second and third row seats are removed. To date, I've fabricated/installed flooring and a convertible sofa bed removing more weight than installed. In the vans current state, I measure 13 3/4" from bottom of rear bumper to ground so installing a Torklift Ecohitch with a 2" receiver should put the bottom of the hitch receiver about 11 3/4" from ground (See pic, tape measure case adds 3"). I also hope to get a 3" lift installed which should bring the receiver height to a minimum of 14 3/4"

The van will only carry two, just me and my wife traveling but I do plan to add water and power to the van, otherwise just carrying a couple weeks clothes and camping items.

Anyone with a stock height sienna have an Ecohitch and use a cargo carrier? What was your experience. still to low?
How about with a 2 or 3" lifted sienna?




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I have a swing away hitch mounted carrier on my 2013 FWD, with this box on the carrier:
amazon.com/gp/product/B001O0661M

I also have a lift kit, which adds 3-1/2 inches overall height and clearance to the vehicle.

I just completed an 18,000 mile trip to Alaska and the Canadian arctic (all the way to the ocean), then east to Nova Scotia and a lot of points in between. We camped all the way. Included in that was 200 to 300 miles of gravel roads and a lot of poor highways holes and jeep trails. I also had Goodrich T/A KO2 tires, which added another 1/2”, and air bags in the rear coil springs, but I really don’t think that they added anything except a bit of cushioning against bounce.

The system worked flawlessly and I never dragged once, anywhere on the vehicle including the hitch or the box, except in some snow in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula earlier this month. The box swing at 90 degrees was enough to be able to open the rear hatch, and we often used the top of the box as a table when cooking.

The lift kit worked great, the box and hitch rack worked great. Highly recommended.
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18k trip, this must have been a fantastic experience that I am sure you have many stories and advice for other van travelers to learn from, is your van converted to a camper or did you tent camp? Have you written your trip up anyplace or perhaps you're on YouTube?
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