StowAway2 Holiday Sale Part II

The snow can't slow us down-- the holiday sales keep on trucking here at StowAway2! Through Christmas, save $30 on any order over $300. Simply use the promotion code "GREETINGS2006" during checkout; it's that easy. Happy Holidays!

Thinking about giving a StowAway2 hitch box as a gift, but don't know where to start? Check out the StowAway2 Product Selector, which will point you in the right direction! Need to know if it will fit your vehicle? Have a look at our recently updated Vehicle Fit Guide!


Curious about which StowAway2 hitch box models were the most popular in 2006? Here's the top five!

1. MAX Swingaway
2. Standard Swingaway
3. Sport Model
4. Super MAX Swingaway
5. Basic Model

Check back soon for a StowAway2 Owner profile!

What Are You Thankful For?

How about the lowest prices of the year for a StowAway2 Cargo Carrier? Get this--- for a limited time, domestic shipping charges for all carriers ordered on StowAway2.com are just $19. For our most popular models, like the SUPER MAX Swingaway and the MAX Swingaway, this is a saving of $60 or more.

As always, there is NO SALES TAX on any StowAway2 ordered from the StowAway2 website!

Enjoy your Turkey Day, but don't delay: make sure YOUR StowAway2 is ordered in time for the December holidays!

Want an even lower price? Click on the bird below to check out the most recent additions to the StowAway2 Outlet Store!

CarTrackers.com has the StowAway2 Scoop

Hey, bloggers, of course we think StowAway2 Cargo Carriers are the convenient alternative to rooftop carriers. But, as the saying goes, you don't have to take our word for it. The other day, we were travelling through the wonderful world wide web, when out popped the following (genius) article by Bob Plunkett. Our favorite part is reprinted below for your convenience:

"A better idea for hauling the household when it's time to travel comes with an add-on storage container that mounts in back on a standard two-inch fixed bumper hitch. Called the Stowaway2, this sturdy rectangular box measures 49 inches long by 21 inches wide by 24 inches tall and it comes with a secure lockable lid. "

Tip of the hat to you, Mr. Plunkett, and the rest of the folks over there at cartrackers.com!

Outlet Store Bonanza!

Hear ye, hear ye, bloggers: there are SEVEN, count them SEVEN, discounted Cargo Boxes that were recently added to the StowAway2 Outlet Store. Some MAX-sized, some standard-sized, some new and some used. Get them while they're hot!

Save up to $60! They'll be out the door fast, so hurry!!

Mailbox: StowAway2 Saves RV!

We always love to pass on stories from one StowAway2 owner to the whole bunch-- well, this past week we received quite the letter from LG of California.

She writes: "Your StowAway2 saved us several thousand dollars during our latest trip. Regretably, our RV's brakes failed! All of a sudden, our RV crashed into a tree and stopped. We were extremely fortunate no one was hurt. When we got out to check the damage, we noticed that our brand-new StowAway2 was smashed. But, AMAZINGLY, there was not a scratch on our RV!

Before signing off, LG added, "Thank you so much for making a useful, well-designed and safe product. It's incredibly handy and had much more storage space than we imagined."

Thanks for the kind words, LG!

Got a StowAway2 story for us? Send it in!

Tailgate Time

August is here and that means 2 things:

1. It's Hot
2. Football season is just around the corner.












If you're like us, football season means 2 things:

1. Tailgating!
2. Tailgating!!

Today, we were lucky enough to hear from StowAway2 owner E.L. from Maryland. E.L. is a Redskins season ticket holder and has been "an avid tailgater for over 20 years."

E.L. happens to own the Swingaway Cargo Rack, and let us know that his rack "is absolutely the best piece of tailgating equipment I've ever owned. I use it religiously!"

Thanks for the kind words E.L.!

Football fans: are you as serious about your tailgating as you are about cheering on your team? Check out our StowAway2 Tailgate Page and consider adding one of our enclosed carriers or one of our open-faced racks to your cheering section. Also, be sure to check out our Tailgate Stations and tailgating accessories!

P.S. Are you gearing up for your fantasy football draft? Check out Fantasy Football Today, a great resource for players news, rankings, schedules and the like.

Bike Cargo Rack

Gotta love new products. Check out our newly-refined Bike Cargo Rack. Although the pictured model is holding 2 bike racks, this combination rack system can hold up to 4 bikes and 200 pounds of gear.

Here's a screenshot (click on the picture for an animation showing different angles):



The Bike Cargo Rack sits on our patented and popular Swingaway frame and is totally versatile: you can use both racks together, only the Bike Rack, or only the Cargo Rack. Your choice! You can even take both racks off and replace it with one of our enclosed cargo carriers, like the MAX Swingaway.

Check back soon for details about StowAway2's summer sponsorship of a mountain biking and cyclocrossing team!

Travel Planner

Hey there bloggers, we're always looking to pass along great travel resources. Now that's its the thick of travel season, you might want to take a look at GORP. It's a great resource for selecting an out-of-the-way destination for the super summer trip, with national parks directories, hiking guides and more. There are even parenting tips for travelling with young kids and etiquette lessons for the whole family.

In other news, the response to the SUPER MAX Swingaway has been deafening! Be sure to order yours before we wrap up this exclusive promotion.

The NEW StowAway2.com!

The day is finally here: the brand-new StowAway2.com is online!

Welcome, Bloggers! If this is your first time, take a minute to peruse our archives as StowAway2 Owners have been sending in great tips for nearly four months.

So what's new on StowAway2.com? Well, for starters, we asked StowAway2 Owners how they use our carriers. After collecting and tabulating the results, we put together the StowAway2 Applications Section. Click through these pages for some great owner-submitted photography, funny anecdotes, and telling testimonials. We're always adding to this section, so if you've got an application that we've overlooked, a picture you're dying to share, or a quote you think we would like to hear, send it in!

If you're new to the idea of hitch-mounted cargo carriers, be sure to run through our StowAway2 Product Selector, a nifty little tool that will help you determine which one of our products is right for your vehicle and application.

Want more? View the deepest catalogue of hitch-mounted cargo carriers and racks in our redesigned Products Section.

Curious about who we are? Check out our new History page!

For some highlights from our latest customer satisfaction survey, as well as the Top 3 Reasons to Buy a StowAway2, go here!

Please feel free to comment on anything you read here, or shoot us an email with your thoughts.

Don't forget: check back soon for the summer's first Blog-Only promotion!

"It Don't Mean a Thing, if it Ain't Got That Swing!"

It's always an "Aha" moment the first time someone sees a StowAway2 Swingaway carrier. To capture this, we put together a little animation to show off just how slick our swinging steel frame is.

(click on the image to see the original)

As you can see, the StowAway2 Swingaway frame pivots 180 degrees to allow full access to the rear of your vehicle. Good times! To see a video of our Swingaway carrier in action, go HERE.

Another Storage Solution

Good news, the newly-redesigned StowAway2.com is just days away. In the meantime, we've received a truly impressive submission from a StowAway2 owner.

It's a question we've addressed before: what do you do with your StowAway2 when its not in use? We've developed a Wheel Kit and a Cover to help with storage solutions, but StowAway2 owner Mark Gacke took it a step farther: he developed a stand mount. Mark went all out on this, sending in pictures of his stand and the dimensional drawings he used to design the stand.

Click on these images to enlarge them for a better look.

As you can see from the drawings, his stand is designed to support the full weight of the StowAway2 Cargo Carrier box and frame. He's even crafted a 2" x 2" opening to slide his frame into. We're blown away! Thanks Mark!

Have a custom idea like Mark? Send it in!

Survey Contest Winners!!

CONGRATULATIONS FROM STOWAWAY2

It's an annual tradition here at StowAway2: a $100 prize to a randomly-drawn StowAway2 owner who takes the time to fill out our customer satisfaction survey. Drumroll, please...

And the Winner Is:

Daryl Winn from Boulder, CO!

Daryl and his wife travel regularly by RV, traipsing the North American continent with StowAway2 in tow.

This year, for the first time, we also conducted a StowAway2 photo contest, also with a top prize of $100. The results were amazing, with pictures sent in from Alaska to Florida, and everywhere in between.

And First Place goes to:

Howard Rogers of Roswell, Georgia!

Again, congratulations from all of us here at StowAway2. Check out a few of Howard's prize-winning flicks:



These pictures will also be featured prominently on the brand-new StowAway2.com. We thank Howard for letting us use his shots. We might have mentioned this before, but the original StowAway2 Cargo Carrier was designed by a team of duck hunters, like Howard and company. Check out the history here.

Check back soon for some results from our customer survey. Thanks to everyone who took the time to send in their feedback!

Memorial Day Greetings

I know we're a little late, but Happy Memorial Day! We hope everyone had a great weekend. We know a lot of you probably broke out the barbeques over the past few days. Have you considered a StowAway2 Tailgate Station, the best way to take your party on the road?

In other news, a great web resource came across our desks this morning: Automotive Total. Automotive Total is a full-fledged online Automotive Web Directory, with information and links to products, services, companies, and auto information. A handy one-stop shop! Definitely worth bookmarking.

Stay tuned: StowAway2 contest winners will be announced this week!

Press Coverage and Contest Update

We're killing two birds with one stone in today's update!

First, there's some good news: the MAX Swingaway continues to rake in the press coverage. Family Motor Coach magazine, a monthly periodical with all sorts of valuable RV coverage, listed the Max Swingaway as a hot new RV product in its most recent issue. To read the full write-up, simply click here! To see other StowAway2 press coverage, check out our recently updated Press Room.

Secondly, there's some even better news: winners of the StowAway2 Survey and Photo Contests will be announced shortly. Keep checking this page to see if you're one of the lucky StowAway2 owners that will be receiving a $100 check in the mail!

Toyota Sienna Field Report

This just came across our desks today, a great owner's report straight from the field. If you're interested in one man's experience with placing a StowAway2 on his Toyota Sienna minivan (with pictures), go here.



Here's our favorite quote:

"All in all, it's a pretty cool device. well suited for the purpose. I prefer this to a rooftop carrier, not just because there's no climbing, but because the squarish shape is more useful and easier to pack. Rooftop carriers create lots of aero drag and have a bad reputation for getting crushed in low clearance situations and flying open (or worse, completely off) on the freeway. This thing is rock solid."

Thank you, sir, for the kind words!

Top of the Line

Happy Monday! There's nothing like some StowAway2 Owner-submitted pictures to get the week off to a great start. Check out the Black MAX on a 2006 Range Rover HSE: it doesn't get much better than this.

Special thanks to Dr. R from California for these wonderful pictures. Have any pictures of your StowAway2 and vehicle? Send them in!

2007 Tahoe!

Chevy recently rolled out the 2007 Tahoe and thanks to the good folks at Wilsonville Chevrolet, we got a chance to test drive one. We could go on all day about what a great vehicle this is, but a picture is worth 1,000 words. So... here's a picture:

You'll be happy to know the 2007 Tahoe is fully compatible with StowAway2 Cargo Carriers. Featured in this picture is, of course, the MAX Swingaway.

We're not the only ones that love the new Tahoe. Check out the following reviews:

Sportruck.com

ForbesAutos.com

Autoweb.com

Hot off the Press

More vault cleaning coming at you! Today's haul includes almost a year's worth of StowAway2 press clippings, which can be viewed in their entirety in the StowAway2 Press Room.

Highlights include mentions in Highways Magazine, the official magazine of the Good Sam Club, RV Pro Magazine and Law & Order Magazine.

As promised, click the image below to sneak a peak at our redesigned StowAway2 homepage.

A Decade of Innovations

We've been hard at work this week redesigning StowAway2.com, which means a lot of time spent digging through the crates. Lo and behold, look what we found: a concept drawing of our original product prototype, the "StowAway One."


Despite its side opening system, no locking mechanism and a slightly strange hexagonal shape, the "StowAway One" was a revolutionary step forward for hitch-mounted cargo carriers. This designs dates back at least 9 years.

The animation below shows a side-by-side comparison of the "StowAway One" and our current StowAway2 MAX Swingaway. What a difference!


Check back early next week for a sneak peak at our website redesign.

RVing Season Is Underway!

A field report came in this morning from Bob DuBree, an RV expert who regularly gives lectures regarding RV care. Bob spent last week at the Great North American Rally in Daytona, Florida, and was gracious enough to spread the good word about our StowAway2 carriers.


You can see his RV now proudly sports the white Swingaway model.

Bob and his wife BarbaraAnne have plans to cover their carrier with mural paintings. Pictures will be posted here as soon as possible!

On a (somewhat) related note, Robin Williams is starring in a major motion picture devoted to this great pastime. RV, the movie, will be in theatres April 28.

Duck Hunt

Everyone from soccer moms to K-9 cops use StowAway2 Cargo Carriers these days, but it was a team of duck hunters that drew up the initial design for our product line almost a decade ago. Ever since, hunters have been particularly avid advocates of the convenience and versatility of our products.

Recently, hunting and outdoors expert Scott Linden featured our carriers on the The Outdoor Channel. Scott's show, “What the Dogs Taught Me”, is "devoted to our four-footed hunting companions, showcasing great dogs doing spectacular work in incredible places." Scott and his hunting dogs take their StowAway2 to "the most beautiful hunting locations in the country, seeking everything from the king of game birds, ringneck pheasant, to more obscure quarry such as Hungarian partridge and sharptailed grouse."

Scott tools around in his Ultimate SUV, a tricked-out 4 Wheel Drive van he's modified by adding a kitchen, an awning, 36" tires, and, of course, a StowAway2. In a recent email, Scott wrote simply: "We LOVE our Stowaway!"

Check out Scott's website: cast-blast.com

Utility Van Attacks StowAway2 Lid

When we say that "We Choose Quality" when it comes to picking the materials that make up our cargo carriers, we mean it! Check out the animation below: you'll see one of our cargo carrier lids, which is made from the same material as whitewater kayaks, survive this brutal encounter with a fully-loaded utility van completely unscathed.

Please, don't try this at home!

Garage Storage Solution

What can we say? StowAway2 owners are an inventive bunch.

Check out this garage storage solution sent into us by a StowAway2 owner. Looking for a way to store his StowAway2 cargo carrier out of the way during the off-season, he decided to create a pulley system that suspends his StowAway2 more than 8 feet off the ground.

In the picture to the left, you can see that his StowAway2 sits on a small cart with wheels. This owner uses his home-made cart to wheel his StowAway2 to the back of his vehicle for installation. The cart sits at the same height as his hitch so he can practically slide his StowAway2 into place rather than do any lifting.

Road Trip!

We've been getting calls all week from families that are considering a StowAway2 as they gear up for spring break and summer travel season. So we did some googling and came across a few articles on About.com for all you travellers out there.

Here's one about Planning the Summer Road Trip... lots of common sense tips and links to helpful sites like Free Trip.Com and Roadfood.com.

Another one, How to Prepare Your Car For Vacation, was particularly amusing. A car mechanic writes,

"I had a customer come into the shop 30 minutes before closing on a Saturday afternoon with the car packed to the roof rack with luggage, camping gear and a wife and three kids. He wanted a tune-up, oil and filter change and front brakes replaced. And as soon as we were done, he was leaving for Colorado. The trip was delayed until the following Monday afternoon when we were finished with all the work."

Somebody needed a StowAway2!

Drop us a line to let us know your spring and summer vacation destinations .

Man's Best Friend

Jim Watson, National Secretary of NAPWDA (North American Police Work Dog Association), is the latest member of the StowAway2 pro team. Jim logs heavy miles travelling throughout the Midwest as he trains drug and explosive sniffing dog teams. He was looking for a way to store training materials and company records, and also for a way to let his canine stretch out in the backseat of his SUV. After using his Swingaway for a month, Jim emailed us the following comments:

"I have been in K9 law enforcement since 1981. I can only wish that I had the StowAway 2 throughout my career. It would have made my job so much easier, having the extra storage space that was needed to keep all of the equipment dry, secure and with me at all times. I have used my Swingaway for several trips and am totally convinced that it is the greatest accessory anyone that travels (especially with a family) can have. I thank your company for making this excellent product and I have and will continue to highly recommend it to everyone that I know. "

We appreciate the kind words! Let us know your StowAway2 story.

Newsworthy

StowAway2 was recently featured in the Outdoors Section of the Seattle Times. Dan Nelson, an avid paraglider, hiker, and general outdoors aficionado wrote the piece and his website, Adventures Northwest, is definitely worth a read-- its chock full of stories, photos, and expert tips. Dan is a contributing writer for the Seattle Times and Backpacker Magazine and he's published a number of guide books, some of which you can find here.

Dan's story focused on our LT Swingaway model and why it's perfect for use with smaller SUV's. Take a look at the article!

Welcome!

Welcome to the StowAway2 Blog! This blog is your home for all things StowAway2: news announcements, industry happenings, new product offers, seasonal discount announcements, and answers to your questions. Our goal is to make this blog as interactive as possible, so feel free to post comments or email us with any questions or concerns.