changes since 2006

Bought the Cat in Feb. of 06, 1st up was the cat in the rear window, i then moved the spare tire up under the front and then built the rack for the rear and add a 2nd power cord to come out the rear of the 5er for the generator, then came the add a room for the guard dogundefined

Sweet

Earl

Really like the rack with the GEN on the back....

What size is your A/C, 13.5K or 15.0K? How well does that Honda 3kw handle the A/C?

Earl

Earl, the AC is a 13.5 and the generator handles it just fine. Bought the honda in 07 and have never had a problem with it. At shasta lake in Ca. 2 years ago the temp. ave was 114 for the 7 days we were there, so the generator and ac ran at least 14 hrs a day. with no problems

The very first time I saw a picture of your cargo rack, I decided right then and there I needed to make one like that someday. Haven't seen one any better made, or more appropriate for the type of stuff you're taking along.

BTW, you've got a very cute guard dog. She looks lethal... I'll bet she can lick a person to death!! LOL.

TC

We've tossed around the idea of adding an Add-A-Room to our CAT such as you did. A couple questions about yours:

How difficult is it to put up and take down?

In your opinion, what are the positives and negatives of owning one?

Thanks in advance...

TC

TC, it is very easy to put up and take down, roughly 20 mins. My cat sits pretty high and if you look close at the picture you can see i can still go up another 1' or so. I carry a piece of carpet that is 8'x17' and after i put that down i put the excise under the capet to keep the guard dog in, Here is a couple pictures, if you notice the gromlet holes that is to stake it down when the weather is bad plus the ground is never level so you have alot of room adjust the height , if it starts to rain we roll up the capet and stake it, the 2nd pic. shows it with the solid panels rolled up and the 1st with the panels down. The kids are grown and gone now so we play alot of board or card games, is it worth it for us yes because if the wife is not eaten up by bugs then she's happy and if she's happy than well you know the rest.

Mark,
Great job!! Do you have any pictures of you rack that you added on? What kind of hitch do you have? I have same Honda gen that I'd like to take with me, but am worried about carrying it on the back.
Anymore info would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mmiller

Mmiller , the rack is from walmart, it comes with 1/8 reciever tube which i traded out for 1/4 tubing, notice that there is 2 reciever hitches, 1 dead center in the middle and one 27" to the left. The rods that hold the gen. down go through the center of the reciever tubes. the rods are 3/4" threaded rods with pad locks underneath, it's been on the back since 07 and never had a problem. There are 2 4" channels welded behind the bumper to the frame spaced 6" apart, best part is the wireless remote for the gen. The bike rack s from camping world.

I will post pictures of just the rack after i take it off the 5er , this week is repaint week.
I need to repaint all the framing underneath the steps and the kingpin.

1. recievers with added 2nd eletrical cord coming out the back
2. picture of generator hold down rods
3. veiw from botom notice 2 locks for recievers and 2 for hold down rods
4. rack after new paint job
5. home made hitch, 2 4" pieces of channel welded to the frame, then 2 recievers welded to the channel but
only tacked to the bumper for alignment, i put masking tape on the bumper to seperate what i added
6. My biggest fear was someone stealing the gen. if they cut the reciever locks then were talking 250 lbs.
if they were to cut the hold down locks or rods, the generator can't be lifted out because of the height of the bike rack, everthing is welded together except the bike rack, it's bolted on incase i need to take the gen. off,
so if someone has time to cut the bike cable lock,take the bikes off, unbolt the rack, cut the locks, lift out the gen. then i'm some place i shoud not be.
First time generators been off the rack since 07 and roughly 4000 miles
hope these pictures help
channel and reciever tubes $100
cargo carrier $89
bike rack (on clearance) $39
angle iron for rack $9
lights on carrier $ 18
time 6 hrs
not having to lift generator PRICE LESS

rdskfn, Thanks so much. Great job. I'm going to copy your idea (if you don't mind). I have same gen. and bike rake.

Thanks again,
mmiller

mmiller, post us a picture when your done ok ok

Great pictures and great ideas Mark.

TC

Mmiller over the weekend i traded out the little rubber feet on the bottom of the generator to get rid of some of the vibration, i used motor mount isolators to absorb some of the vibration. i welded 2 strips of 1/4" x 4 x 19" flat stock to the rack for the gen to sit on. The picture shows the new mounts and the old mounts

Very nicely done,,, I like the killer guard dog. 114 at Shasta Lake is warm..Normally it only gets to 112.

Mark- Great improvements. Did you tint your windows in your cat, or was that factory?

FACTORY

Where can I get that add a room deal. We just got our cat, a 32qbbs, and down here in south Louisiana the mosquitos are furious. I also like the rack. I bought mine used and the guy has the frame for a rack welded on but never finished it. I may copy your idea too if that is ok.

rdsknfn 57,

Is your hitch welded to the actual I-beam of the frame or the "extension piece" that is at the very back holding the bumper? I am is discussions with a welder at the moment and don't want to overbuild mine but I also don't want to underbuild it.

maxum1989, There are two 4" piecies of channel welded to the frame, 1 up against the bumper and the other 6" back. they are not welded to the bumper at all. The 2 recievers are welded to the 4" channel. However under the masking tape in the picture what you can't see is a tack weld on the reciever to the bumper just to keep the 2 recievers aligned.

Padura, you can get an add a room from any rv dealer or online store. the trick though is the part that go's up against the 5er to block unneath. I had a tent canvas repair store custom sew a different piece to fit the cat. (SEE PICTURE ABOVE) ON mine there is another piece that go's behind the steps ,but when it is in place it blocks the light under the step. Make sure you don't go by awning size if you order one, EXAMPLE My awning is 17' which is measured from arm to arm, my material is only 16' 2" so you would want your room addition to be no more than 15' 2" to allow for at least 6" of the awning material to cover the addition on both sides.

Where did you aquire the tire storage winch?