Pakmule Cargo Carrier

[Corey]

Just bought the lower profile one so I can swing open my rear door.
I bought this so I can haul firewood to a campsite to have a good supply for close to a week.
Barely had room in the FJ last year for even one bundle


Kind of pricey, but no assembly required, light weight aluminum, and made in the USA, not imported crap that is going to rattle itself loose.
https://pakmule.com/
The model I bought.
https://pakmule.com/product/pakmule-sway-back/

 

[Airmapper]

I did not know if one was so determined it was even possible to spend $700+ on a basic hitch carrier..... now I know.

 

[Corey]

I refuse to buy cheap Chinese **** that is going to rust on me within a year, and assembles with a multitude of bolts, nuts, and lockwashers which will rattle like.crazy.
And not to mention probably built by child labor.

I would rather spend more on an American made product to support them, and know that I am getting a quality product that I can pass onto my son's when I croak.

I have had too much on overseas products that have failed me in the past.
Spend a little more, and know you are getting a great product, and supporting an American company.

 

[Corey]

I'm with you in that I prefer to buy quality and pay for more it, but my experience of buying "top of the line American products", specifically metal ones, has been one that I'm not getting anywhere near the quality I expect for the money paid. For the most part, quality of the work has been inline with the ****tier end of mass-produced, Chinese products (items included a $1000 USD dog crate, drawer slides, suspension components from two different, big-name companies, roof rack, cargo box, and smaller products like flag pole brackets).

I saw an article on them awhile back in 4WD Toyota Owner magazine, and it looked good.

It shipped yesterday a few hours after my order was placed, it should arrive early next week.

I am hoping the build quality is there, and they want pics of it after I install it, and to tag them on Instagram.
Will do a thorough review of it sometime.

They have a deal going on too, getting some free straps to cinch the firewood in.
I have a ton of straps, but I will take a free pair.

 

[Corey]

The fact that they want you to review it sounds promising. Wanting publicity can be an indicator of a good product!

If you are on Instagram, check other their feed at pakmulegear, tons of pics there.

 

[Rezarf <><]

Looks nice, aluminum is a nice choice for that application and I have used one to haul firewood before too. We get to camp and bring the whole loaded rack near the fire pit and unload as needed. I pulled mine out of the dumpster, welded up a few broken welds (it was a cheap HF import I am sure) gave it a heavy coat of rustoleum and it has been in faithful service for about 7 years now. They are really handy to have when need to expand your storage and or haul messy or bloody cargo home.

 

[Corey]

Thanks Drew, it arrived today, and it is nice.
Only problem it does not fit.
I think it is an easy fix though.
See the attached pic.

When you insert the shaft into the receiver, it does not go in far enough for the holes to lie up.
Cannot drill out the shafts hole, as it is threaded.
Really do not want to elongate the holes in the ARB receiver, I think the best bet is to hack off around 1/2” of the aluminum of the shaft.

I wonder if a common hacksaw can do the job, as I have no way to take it to a shop, way to big to throw into my rig.
Other than that, it looks pretty nice,rear doors opens with it in place, and it may even still open after firewood is added to it.

 

[Corey]

Quick update, the owner called me back, they are use to putting these on receivers that are open in the back, and the ARB bumper for the FJ Cruiser uses a bolt on hitch, and of course it bottoms out at the face of the bumper.
He said it will be OK to shave of 3/4 to 1" of alloy if needed, I only hope my hacksaw can stand up to the task
Not going to buy a chopsaw if I do not have to.

If all goes well, I will have it on Saturday sometime, and will update my build thread, and link it to this thread as well.

 

[Corey]

Here are a few pics from my Android NVIDIA tablet from Wednesday after cutting off 3/4" of solid 2" aluminum.
It took me close to 40 minutes non stop with a new hacksaw I picked up after Christmas.
It fits great, is rock solid, and if shoving the shaft all the way in, it goes about 1/4" past the hole.
I could have got away with maybe taking off 1/2" or so.

I have some "free" straps showing up today from them from a promotion going on, and I will test fit some firewood tomorrow to see if the back door opens or not with wood loaded into the rack.

 

[old .45]

Cargo carrier......

No $700 rear hitch cargo basket for me... I have had a "Hitch hauler" for 7 years and on numerous trips (did not have to assemble it) the longest being 2 round trips to Radison in Canada (James Bay region) on the "James bay" road and also out the "Trans Tiaga" road east many miles and bad paved and gravel roads. 4 5 gallon gas cans and other stuff on the rear of a Ford Ranger. no problems what so ever. It has a hinge which I could un pin so it would swing up a bit if departure/aproach angle dictated it...... $700 eeeew! $200 or so much better. I would say look around and do lots of comparing before any purchase. My .02 worth..... well more than .02.... however.:elkgrin:

 

[Corey]

EDIT: Oh, you're already done. Didn't see that post!

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On another note, has anyone found a hitch cargo carrier that can a) fold up vertically when not being used, and/or b) collapse into a transport-friendly package, of some sort? (EDIT: Oh, there are plenty of folding carriers on Amazon.)

Yep, got 'er done, and my Fitbit tracker recorded about 2,200 extra steps in that 40 minutes of non stop sawing away at it.
I had looked at a lot of the hitch cargo carriers on Amazon, and a lot just got bad reviews of rusting and rattling, hence why I ended up buying the PakMule one.
I could not be any happier with it.

 

[Corey]

Got a few more pics this morning, and test fitted two bundles of firewood.
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...erland-amp-daily-driver?p=2452469#post2452469

It will hold eight bundles of store bought wood with ease, although I only had two bundles on hand.
Will be buying a few extra bundles each time I hit the grocery store.

 

[Skitrash]

A hacksaw will work just fine. Ensure you can clamp down the carrier so it doesn't move around, and I suggest clamping some sort of straight "guide" right beside your cut line, so that it limits the side-to-side movements of your saw. Start with a few gentle strokes to get the cut going, go slow, and use some cutting/drilling oil to keep your saw's blade cool and moving. And use a new blade, if you can. A file will come in handy to clean up any burrs/uneven spots.

It is also quite simple to drill a hole and cut a new thread in it with any commonly available tap & die kit. Really, nothing to it.

EDIT: Oh, you're already done. Didn't see that post!

--

On another note, has anyone found a hitch cargo carrier that can a) fold up vertically when not being used, and/or b) collapse into a transport-friendly package, of some sort? (EDIT: Oh, there are plenty of folding carriers on Amazon.)

For quality try 1up. They make bike racks and cargo carriers. USA made!

 

[rnArmy]

From Harbor Freight - aluminum and $79.00: https://www.harborfreight.com/500-l...-carrier-92655.html?_br_psugg_q=hitch+carrier

Their steel ones are even cheaper. I'll concede a slight loss of quality of this HF one over the Pakmule carrier, but at about a $700 difference and if they both do the same job well... I'd go the HF route. That $700 difference could be used elsewhere.

When we were going on a trip with the wife, two kids and two large dogs in a KIA Sorento, we used one of these type carriers to carry the luggage in a vinyl bag (designed for the hitch carrier). It worked great on the highway. I don't know how much I would like the long overhand if going off-pavement with one of these (no matter what brand I had).

 

[mikeyb1976]

If you want to buy American and support local businesses, a local hitch shop/fab shop could build one for somewhere in the middle of price point. And you could get it built to your exact size needed.