Hitch carrier + fishing/beach/utility cart

[fourfive]

My version of a hitch carrier that also functions as a utility cart. The primary purpose was to have a cart I could take on beach or fishing trips that wouldn't take up additional travel space & would actually roll in the sand. The polyurethane balloon wheels seemed gimmicky & weren't cheap but made a huge difference in the sand compared to traditional plastic or pneumatic rubber wheels which made pulling a cart feel like you were dragging a rock across the sand.

I cut out the axle crossmember from my 800lb capacity gorilla cart & attached it with u-bolts to the hitch carrier. This allowed me to retrofit the swivel axle assembly & handle from the gorilla cart. Since the axle bore size on the poly & rubber wheels were different, I made removable axles using threaded galvanized pipe & iron floor flanges to be able to use either wheel. I considered using my larger steel hitch carrier for this project to allow for more travel space but decided to use my smaller aluminum HF carrier to make it lighter to pull in the sand. It was nice to be able to unhook the hitch carrier & immediately roll it to where I needed to unload it. The poly wheels I went with are 12" in diameter & 2 wheels are rated for 240#. I also made removable fishing rod holders so they wouldn't get in the way when strapping things down for travel.

Parts:
Aluminum HF hitch carrier
1/2" id x 8" threaded galvanized steel pipe (qty 4)
1/2" id threaded galvanized iron floor flange (qty 8)
3/4" galvanized iron floor flange (qty 4)
12" poly balloon wheels (qty 4)
4 cotter or hitch pins
Aluminum mesh
*Parts taken/cut from 800lb capacity gorilla cart: front & rear axle assemblies,, swivel handle

 

[mtbtim]

Now that's a Sic Mod! Obviously not meant for wheeling trips due to the severely reduced departure angle, but for your intended purposes, it looks like it will work great.

 

[Romeo1]

Very cool indeed. Great ingenuity there.

 

[theriddler]

What an awesome idea...well done!

 

[gamefreakgc]

Great reminder to go fishing more. I've only been out once this entire year. I bet that makes it a whole lot easier getting a chair or canopy out to the best fishing spots!

 

[shadow247]

Looks great. My only concern is that departure angle on those tires. I feel like you will be scrubbing those tires all over place on mild inclines pulling into garages, etc... Maybe one of those hitch extensions that raises the hitch 4 inches would be a good idea.

 

[fourfive]

Looks great. My only concern is that departure angle on those tires. I feel like you will be scrubbing those tires all over place on mild inclines pulling into garages, etc... Maybe one of those hitch extensions that raises the hitch 4 inches would be a good idea.

Thanks. A hitch extension would be a good idea but the downside would be possible interference with opening the hatch. Driving with the axles/wheels mounted is something to be considered depending on the driving conditions & the vehicle it's mounted to. Since my 4runner has a lot of ground clearance, it wasn't an issue with pavement driving but on my wife's 5th gen, I'd likely unbolt the axles which is held on by 2 u-bolts each. For off pavement driving it would definitely be wise to unbolt the axles.