I recently picked up a minidomore hitch and am itching to snag a hitch basket. It'll be the first car I own with a hitch, though, so I have no idea what to look for. Do the folding ones rattle and are annoying? In theory they seem pretty nifty. Should I just go with a straight one? Do I need a bent shank with the center exhaust or is straight fine? I was assuming I'd go aluminum due to the weight savings which is significant for a class 1 hitch. Anybody have any advice and/or pictures? What do you like and what do you not like?

 

Nobody rocks a hitch basket?

 

I have one on my SUV. Comes in pretty handy. Never thought of one on a Mini.

 

I wouldn't need one, but I live my life for the 2 dogs so they need to be comfortable in the hatch. Any advice for shopping for one? Any little tips that one wouldn't know unless they own one?

 

The only thing I would watch was how you stacked stuff in the basket with the exhaust being directly dead center under

 

So FWIW - I bought a Curt 18110 basket because it has a 1 1/4" shank. I originally ordered an aluminum one to prevent rust, but it was a 2" shank and apparently adapters don't work with the r53 minidomore hitch - they're prevented from being 100% inserted by the bumper cover.

So for anyone eventually looking for one, or thinking about it, the curt handled a 1,000 mile road trip with ease. Would highly recommend. I also had no issues with the center exhaust even though my car is running rich - no soot on my cargo. I assume there's enough turbulence from the air between the exhaust and the cargo carrier to disperse any heat or soot before it just collects at the carrier.

 

Good to hear no problems. The things are great and would think in a MINI gave you allot more storage space.

 

That's a cool hitch...I'd like to get one and a bike rack to haul my mountain bike to the trail...

 

Figured I can toss up a few pictures I took this morning. Still pretty dirty from all the gravel/dirt roads, but that's just part of the charm, right?

 

Thanks for the pics; I did not what a hitch basket was.
How much weight did you have ? How does the car handle with such a load ?
-Mike

 

Since it's a class 1 hitch you're limited to a 200 lb tongue weight, fyi. The cargo basket weighs 30 lbs if I recall correctly. Our gear was pretty much all backpacking stuff and a few cases of water. On the way down we probably had 125 lbs including the carrier, probably 85 lbs on the way back since the water was gone.

Since we weren't carrying much weight, it cruised on the tollway just like if I had a kid in the back seat. I didn't push any corners because most of our gear was borrowed. In any case, I didn't feel much of a difference in any scenario I did have.

Also, not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but it's angled slightly toward the car, presumably so it is level when fully weighted. I reversed over some inclined driveways and was pleasantly surprised that the carrier didn't scrape at all.

I should've taken some loaded pictures, but the only time I thought about it was about 5 minutes before totality.