Modern Vespa

This is prob a little boring compared to other posts but I'm chuffed to have this and want to share!
It's a 750 pound rated cargo carrier for a 2" hitch.
I use a standard ramp to get him on and I will have him ratchet tied down in multiple places to the carrier as well as to my vehicle.
It's a little wobbly but secure. You can see the weight of the engine tilts the frame a bit.

It was 120 bucks at Harbor Freight, no jokes please, and a 20% off coupon brought in home for $95 plus tax.

Now I don't have to wrestle to get him in and out of the back of my Highlander and lean on its side for the ride.

It has reflectors for the back I put on after i snapped the pic, but I may upgrade to trailer lights I can plug into my four port socket. Until I can get a locking hitch pin, I'll strap it to my roof racks or put inside the highlander when at a Rally, show, etc...
It folds up on a hinge like mechanism but still sticks out too far to leave attached in the garage.


It might not look it, but it is sturdy!

Be Cautious. Harbor Freight, ( and Chinese sellers in general), seem quite happy to slap whatever number beats the competition on their products, there's little to no accountability. That rating is probably a static load rating, dynamic loads (bouncing) will increase the stress experienced by structure substantially, and bring in the issue of fatigue.

Keep in mind that the load capacity of the rack is dependent on the rating of the receiver.

Maybe you are past this point already, but if I was doing this, I'd start out by jumping on the platform in the driveway, blocked up so if it fails I wouldn't have far to fall, then by driving lonely bumpy roads with a few bags of gravel. After it proved out, I'd still be checking the welds and for bending at every stop.

I've had to weld reinforcements onto more than one HF product.

Thanks for the good advice friend. I have jumped up and down on that thing in my driveway and looked at all the bolt connections and it looks good for now but you're right I will probably do some reinforcement welding. I also plan on having it strapped to my vehicle so that if it does giveaway it will at least be held onto my vehicle till I can pull over.

According to a video review of it a guy posted to the HF site, there are at least two versions of that product. One has aluminum joins of the rack to the tongue, the other steel. The aluminum fares, as you would expect, not well over time.

The unit I purchased is all steel, no aluminum.
I'll post some pics later and show where I plan on welding.

Cheers!

Here the carrier is strapped to my roof rack.
You can see its all steel but it was in 2 halves which connect via that center bracket.
I'd like to take off the center bracket and weld it together and then replace the bracket.
Also weld the hitch sleeve to the frame.
The other picture is the hitch hinge which allows it to pivot up and not stick out when parked.

What do you guys think?