So we bought a new 6.0 and love it. I knew we would have to solve the challenge of putting 4 bikes on somehow and wanted to avoid putting them on the roof of the car. We made sure, as many people on here suggested, to get the rear deck and knew we would make something work.
So I built a storage box, a great way to organize and store camp kitchen gear, water and propane (we often camp in bear country so all food is stored in the car). We made it about counter height (bit taller since we are tall people) and low enough to not be in the way of the snaps. I just made it out of plywood and trimmed it with aluminum pieces I got at the hardware store and put a key lock on there so everything is safe and secure. I added a small shelf and mini bungees to the left door so we can store the side table that came with the trailer. We don't have an awning on our trailer, we find it so small it doesn't really do much, instead we hang a larger 10'x16 tarp that covers the front and side so we have a dry place to cook etc.
Then I added two support posts to act as the main anchors for a bike rack. I got some metal clips that are meant to attach racks to truck caps and secured them to the rear 2x6 supports as well as a few scrap pieces of board for the front supports and glued carpet to the bottoms to protect the tonneau cover. I added two eye hooks to the main frame support so I could run a ratchet strap to secure everything down (had to wrap the ratchet in a rag so it didn't scratch the trailer body when driving). When we arrive at a campground we quickly unload the bikes, loosen the strap and the two rack points at the back (few twists of the knobs) and with two of us it is easy to set it aside.
We're really happy with the camp kitchen - so much usable space for storage and cooking. I've never been this organized before. The bike rack works OK but its not ideal, taking it on and off adds a few minutes to the setup and it only really works if you are camping where you want to bike, which most of the times works but once we wanted to hit the main trails that were 20 minute drive away and could not take the bikes since we would have to pack up the entire trailer to do so. I may end up putting them up on the roof anyways just for that sole reason.
I need to do some finishing touches to the painting/chalking and rewire the license plate light to the new location but here are some pics.
(http://designforgood.ca/temp/keep/01.jpg)
(http://designforgood.ca/temp/keep/02.jpg)
(http://designforgood.ca/temp/keep/03.jpg)
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(http://designforgood.ca/temp/keep/05.jpg"%20style=")
(http://designforgood.ca/temp/keep/06.jpg)
(http://designforgood.ca/temp/keep/07.jpg"%20style="max-width:100%;)
(http://designforgood.ca/temp/keep/08.jpg)
Nice work!
Very nice. There is nothing better than a custom setup
Impressive. Functional and attractive.
Wow that's a really nice solution
Really cool!!!
Nice!
Hi! I saw pictures on Google of this mod. Your mod was an inspiration to me when I designed and built a kitchen unit for my 10.0. I needed to make it a drawer type unit- this drsign of yours works so well for the 6.0!
Very nice, you are making me think about projects for my 6.0 over the winter. Again, that is a great mod for the 6.0.
Michael
very nicely done!!!