Rear cargo box / kitchen

OutbacKamper

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
198
Location
Kelowna, BC, Canada
I have been lusting after an Aluminess or Buckstop style bumper with twin swing away cargo boxes for years. The boxes would be used for an outside kitchen plus storage for a generator, small gas can and a chainsaw. Unfortunately I just can't justify the expense. Plus with Covid, travel from my home, in Canada, to the US has been halted meaning going to a US manufacturer or dealer to pick up a bumper is not an option. So, I decided to come up with a lower cost, simpler option.

Here is my solution. It is a work in progress.

Step 1:
Find a receiver hitch mounted cargo carrier or tire carrier that can be converted to a carry a cargo box . I did some research and decided on the Rigd Megaswing tire carrier with the optional Front Runner folding kitchen table and pull out cutting board.

DSCN0296.jpg

Picture is from a recent camping trip to Suger Lake. The kitchen area is small but usable. I have plans to provide more organization and storage, below:


Step 2:
Find an Aluminum cargo box of the right size to to fit on the tire carrier in place of the spare tire, and fit a 2000W generator, gas can, and chainsaw, plus have some provision for storing a few basic kitchen supplies. After hours of searching I could not find a standard cargo box that was the correct size. I decided the only option was to have a custom box built. My original design turned out to be very expensive, and probably too complex, so i came up with a smaller simpler design. A local company built the box (30" x 30" x 14") from 1/8" aluminum and also built a custom bracket to support the box made from welded 3/16" aluminum with multiple triangular gussets. You can see the end of the bracket in the last photo (it is the black triangle immediately below the cargo box.

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Step 3:
Build a removable box for kitchen supplies that can easily attach to the back of the cargo box and hang above the fold down table. Approx size 24"- 30" wide, 12" tall and 12" deep. I was originally going to have an aluminum kitchen box attached to the main cargo box, but have decided to build it out of plywood and paint it with bed liner in order to keep costs down ....design in progress...to be continued

Step 4:
Folding step(s) to access camper, possibly mounted in the receiver hitch...???...just an idea at this stage, no design work started yet
 
I also have been lusting for a swing mount bumper, Aluminess type box, sadly the F150 is not a candidate. This is the best thing I have seen, ever... ;)
I had not heard of Rigd until I saw your post. Good website and email return, the suggested Model for the F150/ ATC camper is the Ultraswing Megafit .. Do you have pictures of the box supporting brackets before box install ? Also how much room is between the galley box and the camper ? It seems Rigd makes a few pieces that I could integrate, it is hard to tell from the videos as I can only find the hitch with a tire mounted...

Thanks, great job with your project !!

Rock
 
Thanks Rock!

I don't have pictures of the support bracket, but I will be taking everything apart soon for some more modifications, so I will be sure to get some support bracket pics. The support bracket is made from 3/16" aluminum plate bent at a 90 degree angle to form an L shape. The top horizontal side of the bracket meassues 14" x 30" which matches the base of the box. The vertical side of the L shape bracket that mounts onto the Megaswing frame is 6" x 30". There are 4 equally spaced triangular 6"x14" gussets made from 3/16" aluminum that are welded to the L shape bracket for stiffness. I am very please with how rigid it came out. The fabricator talked me out of using 1/4" material and he was right, the 3/16" is plenty strong enough with the gussets. The support bracket is mounted to the Megaswing thru the 6" vertical side with 4, 3/8" stainless steel bolts. 2 of the bolts fit into the lowest 2 holes in the Megaswing main mounting plate, the other 2 bolts needed holes to be drilled in the Megaswing. The bracket is so strong, that I'm sure I could remove the cargo box and carry a spare tire or similar heavy object on top of the bracket if I ever wanted to.

There is a lot of room between the cargo box and the camper, when the swing away is in the closed (driving) position. I think it is slightly over 12" from the top of the box to the camper door. I considered mounting a permanent galley box to take advantage of this space, but I'm now leaning towards a removable galley box that can be hung from the cargo box (above the stove) on 2 aluminum blocks or can be mounted in the camper.

A friend provided me with some scrap 1/2" thick aluminum to make some mounting blocks for the galley box and some 3/32" steel plate to make a backing plate where the 4 bolts hold the cargo box to the Megaswing. He also provided some scrap heavy duty rubber sheet to make isolation gaskets to separate the steel and aluminum assemblies.

Here is a picture of the Megaswing with just the support bracket installed:

IMG-0895.jpg
 
Thank you for the details. I can certainly make good use of the space the kitchen box will provide, messy things that should be out of the living space. The manufacture claims a weight of 65 lbs. for the mega swing w/o accessories. I would also like to install a 2 bike tray on the top of the box, this will no doubt determine the finished sized box.. Making use of the 12 inches between the camper is an interesting thought .. I look forward to your innovation and progress...

thanks

-R
 
Here is a picture of the steel backing plate I used to secure the cargo box to the Megaswing:
IMG-0897.jpg



I looked at lots of different styles of home made kichen boxes on Youtube and also looked at lots of factory built options. I concluded that they were mostly too big and too complicated for my needs. I also decided that my previous idea of hanging the kitchen box on the back of the cargo box was overly complicated. I came up with a very basic box that can work as a open top kitchen storage box when stored in the camper and an open sided shelf when deployed. It is unfinished and could use some handles and a few other finishing touches, but I think I will use it "as is" for now and either modify it, if I see any possible improvements, or finish it the way it is if it works.

The kitchen items are not really very well organized yet, but this will give you a good idea of my intent:

Storage mode:
IMG-0898.jpg


Deployed:
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Hello … can u offer a quick review of your “Powerfist” single burner stove. Why u chose & overall owner satisfaction? I am starting to look for something similar with a nice platform, good heat control & efficient size. Thanks ahead …
 
The Powerfist stove is a cheap ($20 +/-) single burner butane stove that I purchased years ago from Princess Auto, a Canadian store similar to Harbor Freight in the US. I have had no issues with it, but recently purchased a GasOne GS-3400P Dual Fuel stove. I wanted to be able to used butane or propane and it also has electronic ignition that will be a nice upgrade. The size of the 2 stoves is pretty much identical.

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I upgraded from a cheapie butane stove to an Iwatani.

Iwatani 35FW Butane Stove, Medium, Metallic
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00522F2R2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_RC28ZXPNWRT9ACHT2E8F?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

It is more expensive, but worth it. It has a higher BTU output, and the flame is full force all the way to the end of the canisters capacity. So fuel usage is more efficient and you save money on the canisters in the long run.

It has a bit of a built in windscreen, But I definitely recommend a dedicated windscreen when it gets windy.

Gas One Aluminum 10 Plates Windscreen: For Use with Gas One Stove and Other Backpacking Stoves, Camping Stoves, Butane Stoves, Alcohol Stoves with Car
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HH5YEIE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_HNmxOn2lZJXbt
 
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