Hitch carriers and tongue weight...

[kitchener]

I'm hurting for space so the idea of a hitch-mounted carrier instead of a trailer carries a lot of appeal. I'm in purchase-a-bike mode and collaterally, I need to figure out how to get it around...

I'm a bit confused on the tongue weight issue, though. First, my car, an awd wagon, only has class II receiver hitches available for it (max tongue weight 300 - 350 lbs) -- presumably I could use an adaptor since all these carriers require class III receivers. But, considering I've got to allocate ~50lbs for the carrier itself, this sounds like a problem. I don't know what my bike's going to weigh, yet (I'm shopping pre-owned so there are several on my list) but it's a sure bet with a tank of gas, it'll be ~250lbs or more.

This is what really left me scratching my head. I finally decided maybe I should shift fire and put a class III on my wife's SUV (her car's an Acura and mine's a Ford, so I was hoping to avoid the wear and tear on the Acura). BUT, when I visited www.hitch-web.com, the tongue weights for the class III receivers are 500lbs.

No problem, right? But, while researching these carriers (I myself like the Ultimate MX Hauler), I came across this disclaimer: NOTE: The tongue weight of a receiver-type hitch is rated at the distance the ball normally is from the end of the receiver. Most carriers of this type are approximately double that distance so the load rating is normally reduced by 1/2. (A 500-lb rated hitch will carry about 250lbs.) This was from the Travelrite Cycle Carrier site, btw.

Having read many threads on the various carriers available, no one has mentioned this being a problem. Is the tongue weight merely a guideline ?

 

[XRpredator]

I suppose there could be undue stress on the vehicle if the tongue weight is too high. And the carrier hanging out there, I don't know if I would include it in the tongue weight you are halving, just worry about bike weight.

Just off the top of my head, aren't all hitches rated at 500 lbs tongue weight?

 

[kitchener]

Just off the top of my head, aren't all hitches rated at 500 lbs tongue weight?

Apparently not. I just plugged in a 2001 Explorer (which had the typical truck-type chassis) and the tongue weights available for that were 750 and even higher. I think the issue with my Acura SUV is it's a unibody design -- so when I plugged that info, the only receiver hitches that popped up were 500 tongue weights, no doubt because of the unibody limitations (I suppose). Learn something new every day. I hate like hell to have to store a trailer in my one car garage, but that's where this is headed.

 

[nephron]

Don't do it unless you've got a class III. Interestingly, I've been using the 2 bike Versa-Haul (love(d) it) for 3 plus years on a big Silverado pickup with a stout (and multiply reinforced) receiver. The carrier started dragging on the ground when coming out of a deep dip or such, and I've noticed the trailer is sagging. I can't tell where the problem is. When I look at the carrier, then the receiver, then the angle of the receiver...everything looks fine. :bang: Bottom line is that the track furthest out is probably 3 or 4 feet from the tongue. Imagine what torsional forces are there! :ohmy:

I originally got the carrier before I had the pickup, then got used to it. I'm now loading up in the back of my pickup.