Video Transcript for A Closer Look at the etrailer Cargo Carrier Cage

Hi everyone. Aiden here with etrailer. If you have a cargo carrier that you're looking to make a bit more secure or find a way to make things easier to tie down in it, then the etrailer cargo carrier cage could be a good fit for you, especially if you're looking for security. This is gonna be an add-on item that you can put on most 24 x 60 cargo carriers, and it's gonna give you this full steel cage that locks around your carrier. Let's check it out. So if you already have that cargo carrier, that 24 x 60 inch measurement is the interior dimensions you should be looking for.

There's a little bit of wiggle room in there, but you'll probably have the best fitment if you're spot on with those measurements. And the rails that it's designed to fit are gonna be square rails that are 20 millimeters wide. So be sure, again, if you already own a carrier, to just go and check those and see if this will be a good fit for you, because if it's substantially smaller or bigger, you're probably not gonna have a right fit. We do also offer complete kits if you don't already own the cargo carrier, and you can find those for both the etrailer carriers, the RV Bumper Mounted one like you see here, or the Hitch one or a Reese or a Curt cargo carrier that both mount to the Hitch. But like I mentioned before, security is a big draw for something like this because it locks.

This is one of our etrailer coupler locks and it just threads on. So to remove it, just unthread it with the key in, that pin will pull apart and there's gonna be just one pin and quick retaining clip at the bottom and those doors will open up. They kind of just swing open for us because our camper isn't perfectly level right now, but it's going to give you a really wide opening into the carrier. So if you are putting heavy, large items in here, you still have plenty of room to do it. The opening is 23 inches tall and 49 inches wide, so you've got plenty of room for, say, a generator or a larger cooler.

To look a little bit more closely about how this actually attaches to your carrier, you'll wanna look down to the side rails. There's a number of these welded on tabs that will sit over these square rails of your cargo carrier. There's a couple of these in the front, around the side. They're going to wrap down and around the bottom so that we don't have anything that could lift this up and off. And when you tighten down all the bolts or screws for the panels here, it kind of cinches everything down and around.

That's why it's so important to measure your carrier and make sure it matches up with those specs, because if it's too big, you're probably not gonna have the proper tolerance to get these screws attached. And if it's too small, you're gonna have a loose bit. And all of those panels do separate, two side panels, the front and rear panels, and two top panels makes the initial setup process a little bit more time intensive. Not necessarily difficult, but it takes some time. And each subsequent time you want to remove it, you don't have to necessarily fully disassemble it, but if you're looking to save space, say in your garage, then you might want to. Now, this will add a bit of size to your carrier on the height side too. From our carrier today to the top, it's gonna be about 26 inches, and that should be the same for really any carrier you put this on. For me, I think it's most important if you plan on putting this on a car that has a Hitch-mounted carrier, because all of that extra size is going to be blocking things like your taillights probably, and most definitely the license plate. So if you do end up blocking those things, there are solutions out there like light kits or license plate relocation brackets, and you can find those here at etrailer if that's something you need for your application. We do have a number of these reflector tape stickers all throughout the cage, so if your lights are only partially obstructed and you're okay with that, these will help with at least some nighttime visibility just out of the box so you don't have to worry about getting a light kit right away. Now, as for tying your things down, that's gonna really vary depending on your application. For me, if I was gonna be packing this full of coolers, suitcases, maybe a generator and things are pretty tightly packed where you don't really have the possibility of something tipping over, then I don't know that I would really use straps personally just because there's really nowhere for it to go. But the moment you add small items to the mix, like maybe a camp chair that could fit through these larger gaps, then yes, tie your stuff down and still be pretty diligent about it. And just be aware that if you're parking at the campsite or for a road trip or something, someone could reach through those gaps and still get the smaller items out. The gaps between these panels are about six inches wide, so it's just something to watch for depending on what you're tying in here. And if you don't have it very full, I would still recommend strapping things down that way if you take a turn super hard, your items don't go tumbling around inside the cage, potentially damaging them or it. But overall, I think this is a really solid addition to a cargo carrier if you're looking for security and ease of use, because it's just gonna make your things a little bit easier to tie down if you don't necessarily have to tie down everything. And by adding a lock and just physically enclosing your stuff, it's going to inhibit some theft, you know. If people are determined enough, then sure, they can try to break a lock, they can try to fit things through the gaps, but more likely than not, they're gonna see this and move on to the next car that doesn't have any sort of protection for their gear. The big thing for me is storage, especially if you plan on using this with a Hitch-mounted carrier, because one, it's going to make the carrier a lot heavier and harder to handle, so you'll probably need an extra set of hands to help you move it around, and it's gonna take up a lot more space if you choose to leave it installed all the time. On our RV Bumper carrier here, I think it makes a ton of sense because we're probably just gonna leave it on the bumper full time. And when the camper goes into storage, this will go into storage with it. But for those normal passenger vehicles, it's just something to watch for. Think about your garage space or wherever you're gonna be storing this. And if you don't mind having to break down the panels, then I think it's gonna be a really great addition. It's just gonna require a little bit of extra time. But today, this is our look at the etrailer cargo carrier cage. And my name is Aiden. Thank you for watching.