Can I safely or will it kill my Rodeo ?

[moondancer5]

I have an Isuzu Rodeo and no money to change that. Interior room behind front seats is 48 inches wide x 58 inches long x 36 inches high. Not much room for myself and my 12lb dog  Willow and everything that we have in the world.  So, my question is If I use a roof top carrier and have a hitch and receiver and cargo tray and box on the rear, can the Rodeo handle that or will it be 2 much for it?  The roof top carrier, used, that I am looking at weighs 25 lbs.  I am told that my roof limit is 125 lbs, so that would leave me 100lbs of storage on the roof.  Don't know anything about the tow bar hitch thingy. But my concern is would this additional storage and weight be too much for my 6 cyl Rodeo ?

 

[highdesertranger]

find out your gross vehicle weight rating(GVWR). usually on your driver door pillar. then fill up your tank with gas, your gear, you and the pooch and go weigh the vehicle. subtract that from your GVWR and you will get how much you can carry. also pay attention to the rating of the hitch. highdesertranger

 

[Trebor English]

But my concern is would this additional storage and weight be too much for my 6 cyl Rodeo ?

The owner's manual tells the limits.  The sticker by the driver's door that tells tire pressure tells the weight limits.  

Just a ballpark estimate, 3 adult passengers, 200 pounds each, would be 600 pounds.  125 on the roof makes the car top heavy and a bigger sail to catch a cross wind.  400 pounds on the back would make the tail sag.  Put the heavy stuff on the floor behind the driver's seat.  Water and batteries go there.  

Realistically, seldom used stuff that is less likely to be damaged by water goes on the roof.  Will the rear hitch cargo tray interfere with the back door access?

 

[sephson]

I think you'll be fine. I travel in my Kia Soul when I'm on the road. I think it's a little smaller than your Rodeo and it works fine for me. There are ways to make the interior space a little more useful for you. If you don't need to carry passengers you can remove seats or possibly even turn your passenger seat around to make more space, though depending on how far forward the front seats will go, that may not be necessary.

Here's a link to my conversion thread. It's a different vehicle, but similar enough that you may find at least some ideas that might work for you with a little modification.

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=9848

 

[tx2sturgis]

Put heavy items in the car, and bulky but lightweight items in the roof rack and the hitch rack and your Isuzu will be happy.

In other words don't put 200 pounds of canned food and water in the roof rack and 400 pounds of batteries on the hitch rack. Use those areas for things like winter clothing, sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, boots, raingear, etc. Pack the heavy items like water containers, tools, batteries, canned food, etc in the floor of the car and you will be fine.

Just don't overdo it!

 

[moondancer5]

The owner's manual tells the limits.  The sticker by the driver's door that tells tire pressure tells the weight limits.  

Just a ballpark estimate, 3 adult passengers, 200 pounds each, would be 600 pounds.  125 on the roof makes the car top heavy and a bigger sail to catch a cross wind.  400 pounds on the back would make the tail sag.  Put the heavy stuff on the floor behind the driver's seat.  Water and batteries go there.  

Realistically, seldom used stuff that is less likely to be damaged by water goes on the roof.  Will the rear hitch cargo tray interfere with the back door access?

Yes, if I put a hitch on the back, it will be in the way of the door opening. I just can see another way to have more room.

 

[Almost There]

Check out the swing a way hitches.

https://www.stowaway2.com/

You might be able to outfit the vehicle with one of them. The site emphasizes the combination box and hitch but the hitch platform is available without any box. I use a Husky box bought from Home Depot.

 

[Weight]

Small trailer?

 

[ChetLazar]

Check out the swing a way hitches.
https://www.stowaway2.com/

They are heavy and the arm positions the weight off to one side.  Fitting it to the hitch receiver is hard for one person.

 

[simply lesa]

My Honda Passport is an Isuzu Rodeo under the Honda name. If i might be bold enough to give advice. I haved lived and traveled in this for 3+ years, now winters and camping trips only. I did a video interview with Bob (title was on living on 250 a month). Before I got this SUV a father and young daughter lived and traveled in and out of it with a tent, rear hitch basket and bike racks. He said the Swing away hitch basket was too awkward and pulled down on the rear of the car - he canned it. Our vehicles can tow more than they can carry inside. I have a 6 ft cargo basket mounted on my roof now and love it. I bought a Curt model off Amazon. It can hold 200 pounds on your roof. Theres room to sleep a bit diagonal if you are tall. I suggest a small stove like the Sterno Inferno with a modification of a pot stand for using a mini egg frypan. Keep supplies kinda minimal let the stores do the storage for you. Travel w dehydrated ingredients and suppliment with fresh. Small waterbottles fit in the foot space of passenger side. Considering that your dog is larger than mine, you may need all bed in the back and all storage on roof. Interior carry weieght is 600. Ive put too many people or once cement block in and had trouble bottoming out on bumps.
I have towed plenty with this. The most comfortable was a homebuilt off road grasshopper style teardrop. Tow weight is rated to 4500 tho i dont feel comfy that heavy. If your door is the barn style like mine its different and doesnt fit all situations.
Ask me more if you want

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[simply lesa]

One more thing. I would quicker use a small say 4x4 trailer than a hitch haul any day. Ive considered the 4x4 harbour frieght trailer tho havent made up my mind. I only need kitchen living space because my Honda is my bedroom. I can sit up and not bump my head, lean against one wall w a pillow and read or watch a movie on my tablet.
Towing a 13 ft fiberglass tt, like a Scamp would be fine, though finding one at a price we all love can be a challenge.

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[Almost There]

They are heavy and the arm positions the weight off to one side.  Fitting it to the hitch receiver is hard for one person.

In reference to the swing away hitches - yes, they are heavy, they are sturdy and extremely well built. The design of it does NOT put the weight off to one side, it is completely balanced and heavy enough in construction that even an unbalanced load (heavy stuff all on one side) has no effect. I can swing mine, fully loaded, all the way to the 180 degree position with no sag whatsoever. They perform as designed.

Yes, it takes a bit of practice and is best done by 2 people but I have managed to install it by myself. Once it's in place though, there is no need to be taking it on and off. I have to remove mine occasionally so I can tow a cargo trailer instead of using the hitch box.

 

[ChetLazar]

In reference to the swing away hitches - yes, they are heavy, they are sturdy and extremely well built. The design of it does NOT put the weight off to one side, it is completely balanced 

The cargo is balanced.  When installing the swing arm into the hitch receiver the arm is on one side.  The sliding into the 2 inch receiver is difficult as the twisting force causes great friction.  It is, like I said, hard for one person.  If you have two people, one to hold the arm and one to push into the receiver that would probably be much easier.  I don't know about that.  My experience is that it is really hard for one person.

 

[Almost There]

Chet, sounds like you're trying to do it with the hitch in the open position.

Put it in the latch/locked position and try that. I'm not saying it's not heavy, it is but I'm a 5' senior female and I've managed it with a few cuss words....

 

[tx2sturgis]

I'm not saying it's not heavy, it is but I'm a 5' senior female and I've managed it with a few cuss words....

Have you tried propping it up on a couple of milk crates and then make the smaller 'lift' up to the receiver hitch?

BTW they also make aluminum hitch racks...a bit lighter, and yes, a bit more money.

 

[moondancer5]

One more thing. I would quicker use a small say 4x4 trailer than a hitch haul any day. Ive considered the 4x4 harbour frieght trailer tho havent made up my mind. I only need kitchen living space because my Honda is my bedroom. I can sit up and not bump my head, lean against one wall w a pillow and read or watch a movie on my tablet.
Towing a 13 ft fiberglass tt, like a Scamp would be fine, though finding one at a price we all love can be a challenge.

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Harbor Freight 4 x 4 trailer, are they enclosed? If not how could they be a kitchen ? Thank you for your advice.

 

[highdesertranger]

there are so many better options then a HF trailer. don't do it. my 2 cents. highdesertranger

 

[simply lesa]

The couple w thd vw bus at RTR and Eburg had this same HF 4x4 trailer with outdoor kitchen stuff and toolbox worked fine. Its not enclosed, which leaves options. I do NOT recoment a hitch hall or swing away on this vehicle!

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[RamblinRogue]

I have an Isuzu Rodeo and no money to change that. Interior room behind front seats is 48 inches wide x 58 inches long x 36 inches high. Not much room for myself and my 12lb dog  Willow and everything that we have in the world.  So, my question is If I use a roof top carrier and have a hitch and receiver and cargo tray and box on the rear, can the Rodeo handle that or will it be 2 much for it?  The roof top carrier, used, that I am looking at weighs 25 lbs.  I am told that my roof limit is 125 lbs, so that would leave me 100lbs of storage on the roof.  Don't know anything about the tow bar hitch thingy. But my concern is would this additional storage and weight be too much for my 6 cyl Rodeo ?

Okay, best advice I can offer is get rid of stuff. Don't try to figure out the max your car can handle; figure out the max you need to live a life.

I have a 2006 Kia Rio 4-door sedan. It's towing capacity is 2500 lbs and I have a tow received installed to pull a 4 x 8 UHaul trailer about 1500 miles with a fair bit of stuff -- okay, it was packed to the roof. It made the trip, although it did complain through a few inclines but here's the other point. I've owned that car since 2007 and I'm a fiend for good solid maintenance. Regular oil changes, transmission checks and overhauls, fluids drained and refilled on a regular basis, even replaced the timing belt but that wasn't my idea. Tires changed out as needed but rotated every 7500 miles and the air is checked religiously. And, since that time, I've eliminated 50% of what I had and have moved some things into a small storage for the day I upgrade to a van.

I would never have used another 4 cycle to pull that weight over that distance and terrain without knowing it has been tended very, very well.

How well has your Rodeo been cared for? Also remember that anything on the roof will start killing your great gas mileage immediately -- too much drag.

Now that I've spent a lot of time sounding like a naysayer -- just be smart and cautious and don't want to take everything with you; be flexible and ready to compromise and you can handle this.

Let me also add that I don't plan to stealth much myself at all. Might do an overnight once in a great while at a Walmart but I'm mostly looking at boondocking so I have a tent and the accoutrements for that lifestyle.