Tip up and flip-over backpack class III hitch rack

[andrewwynn]

Been wanting one of these for years but never found one that did all the things I wanted it to do:

➀ work right side up
➁ flip upside down for use as a table or seating
➂ stow vertically when not used
➃ useable in vertical mode (think soft item like tent rolled up)
➄ can stand in front to access cargo area through open window
➅ can open tailgate partially when stowed vertically
➆ no obstruction to tailgate even when loaded
➇ not wobbly loaded or not

I'm sure there are a couple more.

I could not find a piece of 2" square tubing to use for my base so I just bought a 2" trailer ball for $15 on sale at harbor freight.

I already bought the backpack rack also HF for about $60. I've seen on sale for $50.

I spent a solid day doing computer models to determine how I wanted to make the movable connection and about 5-6 hours drilling the few holes and fine tuning how I would assemble it.



Stowed vertically


In the normal use position


Video of me changing from stowed to use mode and back in mere seconds


Close up of the magic connection. Using a pair of off the shelf conduit strut bracket and drilling holes in just the right spot I use 1/2 inch bolts to hold the brackets and a hardened pin to hold the whole thing on.

By precisely locating the two through holes for the horizontal and vertical locations, I can achieve a tight enough fit that the rack will stay vertical with negligible wobble and will work right side up or upside down also with negligible wobble.

To flip upside down requires pulling the ball hitch and flipping the combined unit. To change from go mode to stow mode only requires pulling the 1/2 inch pin, pulling the backpack rack off and re attaching with the pin in the back position.

I have yet to add the hardwood that will convert it into a proper deck / work table, also I can attach my portable vice to the back. I plan to add a removable square extension out the back so the vice won't interrupt the table surface.

Here is the backpack fully utilized: fits all four of my Milwaukee 26" toolboxes. No longer have to put them inside.

If I'm only using two they fit sideways perfectly and clear the tailgate. They actually work well as a raised work platform as the tool boxes are designed to be a pipe-vice for cutting round stock like conduit or pvc pipe.

More photos to follow when I get the next stage done. I'm planning to out threads on the pull pin so I can hand tighten and remove the last bit of wobble.

Anybody wishing to copy me let me know I can post the how to on the tricker parts.


Another view


Last but not least: to remove the wobble that all removable hitches have, I drilled a hole in the side of my receiver and built this threaded rod:



Which I can twist in by hand and it holds the hitch ball absolutely still. No more kathump when going over bumps but more importantly since the rack is 5 feet wide: removes the 1" side to side and nearly 1" up and down wobble of the rack itself. Annoying to say the least but when trying to use as a work bench just awful. With this trick "problem solved"

-awr


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