Articulating recreational vehicle rack

A storage and transportation system for a recreational vehicle having first and second rear doors, comprising:

• a cargo box mounted on the first rear door of the recreational vehicle;
• a support structure mounted on the second rear door of the recreational vehicle;
• a weight compensation system configured to engage between the cargo box and the support structure when the first and second rear doors are closed, thereby distributing weight between both doors;
• and
• a parallelogram mechanism connected to the cargo box, the parallelogram mechanism configured to lower the cargo box from a stowed position to an extended position while maintaining the cargo box substantially parallel to the ground.

A method for operating a storage and transportation system on a recreational vehicle, comprising:

• mounting a cargo box on a rear door of the recreational vehicle;
• connecting a parallelogram mechanism to the cargo box;
• actuating the parallelogram mechanism to lower the cargo box from a stowed position to an extended position while maintaining the cargo box substantially parallel to the ground;
• and
• accessing contents of the cargo box at the extended position.

A box lift system for a recreational vehicle, comprising:

• a cargo box configured to be mounted on a rear door of the recreational vehicle;
• a parallelogram linkage system connected to the cargo box;
• at least one gas strut configured to compensate for approximately 300 pounds of weight with a slight positive bias to assist in raising the cargo box while maintaining position when fully lowered;
• and
• a hood latch locking mechanism to secure the cargo box in a raised position,
• wherein the parallelogram linkage system is configured to maintain the cargo box in a horizontal orientation throughout its range of motion.