Pelican Case + EO2 Mounting System

[Tpaktop]

Hi people,
Not being able to own real expedition vehicle with nice heavy duty roof rack - I'm trying to come up with solution that will allow me to easily transform my family SUV into camping\road trip suitable vehicle. My first challenge is external storage box to make up some internal space. Ideally, it would be something that can be used in the woods, as well as trips to the relatives in NYC. So, it need to be rugged, have enough space, watertight, easily removable and I should be able to cary\roll it with me (NYC overnight street parking).
Pelican cases seems ideal fit. For the mount I've found this thing:
http://www.eo2.us/
I'm thinking to mount 2 bases: one on the roof rack and one to small hitch attachment (should not be that hard to make), mount the braket to something like Pelican Storm iM2975.
Can carry 2 boxes or have a choice of putting one box on the room or hitch. Remove it within the second and roll it with me to the apartment or drop it on the ground and use as a camping table\seat. When not in use, base plate mounted on the roof rack should not affect MPG and will be barely visible.

My concern - I cannot find any kind of feedback for EO2. Videos seems nice, but will it hold?

Will appreciate any ideas or feedback.

 

[will]

Interesting. Now I see where AT got the mounting system from for their propane bottle:

http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/536415_486437738054219_1565032715_n.jpg

 

[Crom]

interesting, indeed.

 

[will]

Gettin' me one of them for sure. :-D

 

[pugslyyy]

never heard of them but that's a nice looking product. I like how easily reconfigurable it be.

 

[k9lestat]

like it. its got a lot of versatility

 

[teotwaki]

Nice find on the mounting source!

That (EO)2 site has got to be the world's slowest to load. I thought I was on a dial-up modem for a while. :Wow1:

 

[jrueppel]

I've had the EO2 bracket and propane tank adapter on the back on my Habitat (thanks AT!) for 3 months now. It feels rock solid after 3000+ miles of travel when its on, and still pops off with a good tug in the right direction when you want to remove it. I'm thinking the EO2 brackets will offer a lot of really innovative mounting options for all sorts of extras you want to keep outside you vehicle in the future, just need to use a bit of imagination. You could put hi-lift mounts, jerry cans, pelican cases full of recovery gear, ski racks, etc. on EO2 brackets and pop them on and off depending on which gear you needed for a particular trip. (And yeah the EO2 website is really slow.)

 

[Tpaktop]

Finished.

Finally, I've found time and desire to put everything together.
Picture worth a thousand worlds – see attachments.

Cost:
Pelican case - $100 (craigslist)
EO2 - $224.89
Hitch raiser\extender - $94.95 (etrailer)
Hitch extender with step - $64.95 (etrailer)
2x hitch locks - $55 (etrailer)
1x1” aluminum profile - $10 (H.D.)
Bolts, screws, washers - $10 (H.D.)
Total around $550
Time: 2 – 3 hrs

The good:
Easy snap on\off operation. To open the back door just pull off the box. Secured - all attachment points are locked with the keys. Watertight box (hopefully neoprene washers will hold). If you need to park the vehicle on the street – remove the box, open one lock, remove the hitch bracket and drop it in the trunk.

The bad:
Expensive.
Anti-rattle device did not do much. I’m yet to test it in real life, but box wobble an inch horizontally and vertically. There is a chance it will not be an issue when it’s loaded with stuff.
Box partially blocked the license plate – maybe I need to mount license plate on the spare tire.
Hitch bracket is heavy. To my surprise, lower part of the hitch riser is solid piece of metal.
Departure angle is considerable reduced, but RAV4 is not much of off-road vehicle anyway. If this is a concern – use different riser.

Other thoughts: I think mounting a box on the roof is not a good idea. Gas millage, vehicle stability and the main problem – lifting the heavy box on the roof might lead to permanent damage to your back and vehicle roof. There is bunch of hitch mounted cargo boxes that you can buy, but none of them can be easily removed and rolled away. Sooner or later somebody will fill the gap.

 

[madmax718]

The roof carriers are never as fuel efficient. However, they allow you to maintain the look of stealth. You can't tell whether its filled or empty.

Though other than the space savings when dismounted, couldn't you just have gotten a folding hitch rack? It would only add a few inches to the Rav 4.

 

[madmax718]

 

[E.J.]

Finally, I've found time and desire to put everything together.
Picture worth a thousand worlds – see attachments.

Cost:
Pelican case - $100 (craigslist)
EO2 - $224.89
Hitch raiser\extender - $94.95 (etrailer)
Hitch extender with step - $64.95 (etrailer)
2x hitch locks - $55 (etrailer)
1x1” aluminum profile - $10 (H.D.)
Bolts, screws, washers - $10 (H.D.)
Total around $550
Time: 2 – 3 hrs

The good:
Easy snap on\off operation. To open the back door just pull off the box. Secured - all attachment points are locked with the keys. Watertight box (hopefully neoprene washers will hold). If you need to park the vehicle on the street – remove the box, open one lock, remove the hitch bracket and drop it in the trunk.

The bad:
Expensive.
Anti-rattle device did not do much. I’m yet to test it in real life, but box wobble an inch horizontally and vertically. There is a chance it will not be an issue when it’s loaded with stuff.
Box partially blocked the license plate – maybe I need to mount license plate on the spare tire.
Hitch bracket is heavy. To my surprise, lower part of the hitch riser is solid piece of metal.
Departure angle is considerable reduced, but RAV4 is not much of off-road vehicle anyway. If this is a concern – use different riser.

Other thoughts: I think mounting a box on the roof is not a good idea. Gas millage, vehicle stability and the main problem – lifting the heavy box on the roof might lead to permanent damage to your back and vehicle roof. There is bunch of hitch mounted cargo boxes that you can buy, but none of them can be easily removed and rolled away. Sooner or later somebody will fill the gap.

That's pretty slick

 

[kamizell]

News about the EO2

Hi all. I work for the company that makes the EO2 and I am very excited to find people talking about our fastening system. I saw some of the comments about our website running slowly. Well, we have a new website that I hope will be a better experience for you. It is www.eo2fastener.com. You can also find us on facebook and youtube. If you see our facebook page, you will see that we are going to be coming out with a backpack soon. I would love to hear more from this community- the good, the bad and the ugly! Thanks!

 

[SoCalMonty]

View attachment 162145

^^^ $80, Harbor Freight. lol.

 

[EO2Guy]

Most Current Review of (EO)2 by LivingOverland.com

Hi people,
Not being able to own real expedition vehicle with nice heavy duty roof rack - I'm trying to come up with solution that will allow me to easily transform my family SUV into camping\road trip suitable vehicle. My first challenge is external storage box to make up some internal space. Ideally, it would be something that can be used in the woods, as well as trips to the relatives in NYC. So, it need to be rugged, have enough space, watertight, easily removable and I should be able to cary\roll it with me (NYC overnight street parking).
Pelican cases seems ideal fit. For the mount I've found this thing:
http://www.eo2.us/
I'm thinking to mount 2 bases: one on the roof rack and one to small hitch attachment (should not be that hard to make), mount the braket to something like Pelican Storm iM2975.
Can carry 2 boxes or have a choice of putting one box on the room or hitch. Remove it within the second and roll it with me to the apartment or drop it on the ground and use as a camping table\seat. When not in use, base plate mounted on the roof rack should not affect MPG and will be barely visible.

My concern - I cannot find any kind of feedback for EO2. Videos seems nice, but will it hold?

Will appreciate any ideas or feedback.

(EO)2 review in LivingOverland.com blog
http://www.livingoverland.com/2014/08/review-eo2-fastener.html