I ended up getting the same hitch as scottfe. (There is another option here in Bellevue WA that a CA owner has tried and is happy with:
Welcome to Mann's Hitch and Trailer : mannshitch.com. Professional and custom trailer hitch installation, Trailer, brake, light and wiring repairs.). And so like Scott, I can carry bikes:
IMG_20110522_161433 by
Chad Schwitters, on Flickr
OK, so his bike rack is better. But I'm playing with other options. Like this:
IMG_20110522_162302 by
Chad Schwitters, on Flickr
But what I really wanted was more storage, so my wife doesn't whine (at least not as much) when we go on road trips. Now it turns out that I have a cargo pod, and I can mount it:
IMG_20110520_095113 by
Chad Schwitters, on Flickr
But that's pretty darn big. I can't see out the back with it there, and it blocks all the lights so I'd have to wire it up. So I looked around for something that still has a decent amount of space, but that would fit between the taillights, and doesn't sit up too high. Almost any cargo pod, ATV rack or truck tool box is too big. Motorcycle trunks generally stop at 48-55 liters of storage, which just isn't quite enough. I did find one extra-large motorcycle trunk that has 71 liters:
Fleetliner by
Chad Schwitters, on Flickr
And it comes with a gel finish, so you can have it painted to match your car. I may still do that; but it will probably be $1400 after painting. I wanted something cheaper to try it out with first. And perhaps a little bigger. I finally found my dream cargo box:
IMG_20110519_195802 by
Chad Schwitters, on Flickr
Yes, a Rubbermaid ActionPacker. True, it's not very cute. But: it's $30, it fits between the taillights, it has 90 liters of storage, it has holes to padlock the handles, it's easy to drill through and mount to my hitch frame (I drilled a little small so the plastic is now threaded), and there's a perfect-sized space to mount a license plate on it. It is a significant addition to the Roadster trunk:
IMG_20110519_200024 by
Chad Schwitters, on Flickr