Standard Cargo Carrier with SwingAway Frame for 2" Hitch- Black

Just got back from a 3 week vacation out west from Dayton Ohio to Custer State Park -> Grand Tetons -> Yellowstone -> Glacier -> Theodore Roosevelt -> and back to Dayton Ohio (but mistakingly drove through the Chicago area on the way back). In total we drove almost exactly 5,000 miles at speeds as high as 85 mph, at high elevations and through mountain passes, in heavy traffic, off-roading on some very bumpy and/or gravely roads and through heavy rain (although we only encountered two days where it rained). The whole time our StowAway barely let us know that it was back there; it held up great and looks and operates after the trip as if it is still brand new!! Nothing inside of the box got wet. We drove a 2011 Ford Flex, the exhaust pipes do point straight out but the bottom of the StowAway plastic cargo box sat up about 8 inches above the pipes and about a foot out and we had no problems with exhaust pipe heat melting the box. We did bring with us a Thermo-Tec adhesive backed heat shield just in case but never had to use it on the box. My favorite features about the StowAway product is the fact that a U-bolt style clamp is used at the insert to secure the unit along with the hitch pin. I was concerned before we bought the product that it would be held only by the hitch pin which would make the box rattle or be easily stolen, but thankfully the designers used the U-bolt concept that held the main bracket solid and harder to steal. Another great feature is the redundancy in the design of the swing away arm, I was concerned about the arm coming loose and swinging out on the road but thankfully there are 3 mechanisms in place to keep that from happening which included the spring loaded latching mechanism, the joint pin, and the heavy duty bolt that one could hand tighten to keep it secured. Some people might consider these redundancies annoying to have to undo each time, but actually it takes less than 15 seconds to undo them to swing the box out and another 15 seconds or less to secure it back in place. The locking mechanism on the box itself worked great the whole trip as did the tail lights, and license plate light. I have no complaints about this product but there was one observation or area of improvement I might suggest. After driving for a while, especially over bumpy roads, the heavy duty hand tighten bolt would start to loosen up and you could hear it start to rattle a bit. We really only started to notice this toward the end of the trip, it appears there was some kind of grease on the bolt threads at the start of the trip that seemed to keep the bolt in place at all times over any kind of terrain but as the grease wore away or washed off the bolt threads it would start to loosen more often. The first time it happened was in Glacier which was towards the end of our trip and it happened 2 more times after that (each time we tried to crank as much as we could by hand on the bolt). It was no big deal, you could just pull over tighten it back up and be good to go for a while before it would loosen up again. One thought for an improvement is to maybe have some kind of a torsion spring that you could engage once you tighten the bolt to keep it from loosening up or possibly another pin you could insert. Because of the bolt design even if it loosened all the way out it would be impossible for it to fall out and you still had two other mechanisms keeping the arm in place so it really wasn't a concern other than we could hear the slight rattle. Otherwise we love the product!! and it is well worth the money paid for it because of how much thought and care went into the overall design of the product :)

Purchased for a Class B RV. This provides much more space than I was anticipating. It was easy to hook up the lights, but the unit is very heavy and was a bear to install with two of us. It is NOT something I will take off on a whim. It is installed for the duration of my ownership of the RV. I am quite comfortable it will not swing out on it's own because of the 3 safety locks. The paint on the support bar is starting to wear from the box rubbing on it whenever the box is swung out away from the doors. I had to use the outer hole on the hitch in order to clear the RV ladder. It was nice the vendor includes a stabilizing lock and I did not feel any shimmy or shake in the 2200 mile journey. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase. It's much easier to access than the luggage rack on top of the RV.

I started car camping a few months ago. I realized I needed extra room because it was becoming cumbersome to fill up my car at home and then take everything out when I got to my destination so I could sleep in the back of my car. Having this cargo box was a total game changer! I really did a lot of searching before I chose this particular cargo box. I like the fact that it has a swing away function from my car and that it has locking mechanisms and connects to your wiring for brakes and turn signals. The description says it holds 200 pounds of stuff, but I couldn’t even fill it up that much. It was nice and roomy held all my camp stuff and essentials for a few days of camping. I do recommend a rechargeable light to put inside of cargo box for nighttime ease of finding things. The other thing I would like to mention is the cargo box is not seen in my rearview mirror so you have to remember. It’s on the back of your vehicle when parking or driving at accelerated speeds because I hit the brake all your stuff will shift in the cargo box and you will definitely hear it Lol!

Highly recommend if you need extra space, especially water tight and secure. The lights and license plate holder just add to the well thought out design. Yes it is on the higher price end of these products but after seeing other contraptions rolling down the road we felt pretty good about our purchase. Plan on having it attached the entire time you travel, it is not easy on easy off especially if you use the hitch tightener.

I basically bought this for the ability to pivot out of the way of my tailgate. I have used it on the back of my truck and the back of my trailer. It's great for giving a little extra storage without blocking doors and tailgates. My main issue came when I realized every time I wanted to take it on and off I had to swap my license plate and bolt on the hitch receiver tightener. It doesn't seem like much but it gets old. On the trailer it doesn't obscure anything so there is no need.

Great product

UPDATE 3/14/2020: I would give a 5 star if I had known about the "plunger pin" impeding the door from opening and had I purchased the white carrier instead of the black one. I call it my garage. I am aware that I can purchase a $99.00 drop adapter for the hitch which would solve the issue with the left barn door not being able to open past the plunger pin. I may do so in the future but I will have to factor in the need to pay someone to do it for me. I am unable to do it myself. Oh and one other thing that I think is important... I have a RAM Promaster van that is a camper van and is why I purchased the Stowaway. I am concerned about the need to exist the van from the rear barn doors in case of an emergency. I would not be able to open the doors at all from the inside while a Stowaway carrier is mounted on the back. That is just a personal concern. Most people will not likely have that concern. 2 complaints: After having the Stowaway frame and cargo carrier put together by a professional, a design flaw was discovered wherein the "Plunger pin" impedes the back left barn door of the van from opening more than 3 or 4 inches. The pin is too high above the frame. My 2nd complaint is that anything that is placed into the cargo box is heated due to the black color of the box. HOT, HOT, HOT inside the carrier!!! It was after I had paid $400. + to have the Swing Away frame and cargo carrier assembled onto the van that I learned about the design flaw. I couldn't put it on myself so I went to a hitch professional. Expensive and regrettable!

I'm in the telecom business by profession,and do a lot of amateur video work as a hobby. My Toyota FJ Cruiser has plenty of cargo space, but not when other passengers were riding with me. After looking for quite some time, I ran across the Stowaway. It assembled easy, is made well, and doesn't leak. The swing out knuckle works great. The only problem I encountered is that there seems to have been a miscommunication somewhere, and the distance between the receiver pin and box was a little too short. It swung out well, but the top wouldn't open, since it bumped into my spare tire. I ordered a receiver hitch extension which solved the problem quite well. Otherwise, it's awesome. If you do need an extension tube, be sure to order a second hitch stabilizer (the system comes with one...it's simply a U bolt and offset plat that secures the hitch to the receiver, and prevents wobble/play).