When I got my bike the first thing I did was to replace the Luggage rack with an Altrider rack so I could mount a back rest for my wife. Our tail bag also sits on the luggage rack and has a pocket that slides over the back rest. I plan to do the Dalton and possibly the Dempster highway. My wife will not be going on this trip but I plan to keep the tail bag and paniers as we normally travel and then add camping gear and containers for extra fuel in the passenger area.
I had gotten the 1 gal RotopaX (9.5 x 13.5 x 3 inches) a while back but had not come up with a good way to carry it yet. When I saw this post I started thinking about it again so I will share what I came up with.
I think maybe what you saw under the seat is the plastic Pillion rack (or Additional carrier as the owner’s manual calls it on page 4-28). The Pillion rack and the Luggage rack (Standard carrier) appear to be made of the same plastic material and both carry the warning of “Do not exceed the carrier capacity of 5 kg (11 lb).
No need to remove the Pillion rack or the grab bars to mount the Rotopax just remove the Pillion seat. You will then see 4 rubber pads on top of the rack that match up with 4 landing points on the bottom of the Pillion seat to carry the load. The pillion rack is rated at 11 lb, however the load of the passenger is on these 4 rubber pads which obviously have a greater carrying capacity.
Picture1 shows a ¾” piece of plywood sitting between the 4 rubber pads so you can see them.
The first thing I tried was to lay the 1 gal RotopaX (9.5 x 13.5 x 3 inches) on the rubber pads with the 13.5” going from the luggage rack to the front seat. The problem with that was it overlapped the seat about 1 inch.
The next thing I tried was to turn it so the 13.5” went between the grab bars. It was a bit too narrow between the grab bars to fit but the grab bars angle out slightly, so the higher you raise the RotopaX the more clearance you have between the bars.
Next thing I tried was putting a ½ in thick board on top of the rubber pads to raise the RotopaX. Still too narrow.
I raised it more by switching to a ¾” piece of plywood and it just fit with no extra clearance. As you place the RotopaX down on the board the vertical section of the grab bars will fit in the cut outs at the center of the RotoPax. It just fits in one place. You could use a thicker board to give you more clearance but there is no need to.
Picture2 shows the position of the RotopaX.
I cut a ¾” piece of plywood to fit then coated it with an exterior sealant. I used some 5/8 inch tubular webbing and the Luggage strap holder (page 4-29 in the owner’s manual) to secure the RotopaX.
Picture3 shows the routing of the webbing and the finished plywood platform.
Picture4 shows how I tied a loop on one end of the webbing, threaded the webbing through the cutouts in the RotopaX, ran the loose end through the loop, cinched it tight and put a couple of half hitches on it to secure it.
I put my plastic ground cloth on top of the RotopaX and my Wolfman small, 33 L, dry bag on next.
Picture5 shows how I ran a 56” loop strap with a plastic quick release buckle through the front slots on the side of the Altrider Luggage Rack, around the dry bag and through the plastic loops on the dry bag on each side.
I thought I was going to need to get the Altrider Pillion Luggage Rack for this, but at this point I could not come up with a reason why I would need it.
I thought the red RotopaX was too conspicuous and thought it would be good to cover it up. I had an old liner for a mesh jacket so my wife cut it up and made a pouch that I could put the RotopaX in. Since it was now in a bag, the straps had to be rerouted over the cutouts on the RotopaX instead of going through the cutouts. That worked just as well.
Picture6 shows the RotopaX in the pouch with the webbing routed over the cutouts. The angles worked great so the straps do not slide off.
If you need to carry more than 1 gallon:
I also have a 30 oz MSR bottle in a Wolfman Bottle Holster strapped to the side of my Altrider Luggage Rack. It is not much but adds about 10 miles to your distance.
A Mosko Moto 4L pouch is also good to carry containers and is easy to strap on somewhere. It will carry two 1L MSR or Primus style fuel bottles, for a half-gallon of extra carrying capacity.
It will also hold a Fuel Friend 2L plastic fuel bottle.
https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/sw-motech-auxiliary-fluid-bottle
It also accommodates a 2L MSR dromedary (or other hydration bag), and has a special opening for the hydration nozzle.
