Hitch mounted carrier limits?

[Sixpac440]

I have a 02 Deville. The only hitch I can find is a Class II with a 300 lb tongue rating.
The rating is measured from where the hitch ball would be.
The receiver is 1-1/4"

A 60" x 20" carrier rated at 500 lbs would be a good size.
It has a 2" tube to go in the reciever and in this case would need an adapter.

I have a 1970 Heathkit Hilltopper. I don't know what it weighs. 125 lbs maybe?

The question is will the bounce weight of the loaded carrier be too much for the hitch?

Thanks
Kevin

 

[The Man In Black]

I just brought home a super bronc on a carrier. My carrier is made of angle iron and purchased at walmart. Hour and a half drive and had no problem. I tried to position the bike closer to the tailgate (took the spare tire off -jeep liberty). The carrier should be fine, but that hitch is tiny! Just don't jump any curbs:scared:

 

[Sixpac440]

The class II hitch is my concern.

I think the carrier itself will work fine.

How will the hitch handle bouncing when it has a load on it?

 

[MikeBear]

Maybe you can find a way to mount a spring loaded trailer tire and wheel on an axle underneath the carrier, to help hold it up?

 

[Sixpac440]

Maybe you can find a way to mount a spring loaded trailer tire and wheel on an axle underneath the carrier, to help hold it up?

Hahaha!

If I need extra support to control the bounce I would likely use straps from the corners of the carrier to the inside lip of the trunk under the back window.

I was wondering if I needed straps at all.
I was hoping a few OldMiniBikes members have the same set up and could advise.

Seems most own trucks or lots of land! :smile:

 

[jeep2003]

i doubt it will be a problem. hitches can haul a hell of alot more weight than they are rated at. class 3 hitches are rated at 500lbs and i bet just about everyone overloaded theirs at one time or another. I know I have and its about to fall off from rust. Just keep an eye on it and if it starts to sag you know to stop :laugh:

 

[smwtnbndr]

I believe if its rated at 300 lbs that is the most weight you can put on it. This would include the bouncing and torture it will endure. It probably has a safety factor of two or three. Let it ride.

 

[Fat Boy]

Just remember that the hitch is only as strong as the body metal you attach it too :thumbsup: In the winter they use lots of road salt in Iowa and frames and bodies rust bad here .


Last week I was going up I-35 in the Freightliner pulling the rock box and just off the end of a bridge was a nice bicycle on a pedistal bike carrier and two other nice bikes laying busted up in the road . At 80mph I could not tell what broke but it looked like part of the hitch was there . Makes you wonder when they noticed they were gone :laugh:

 

[Tom S.]

...Last week I was going up I-35 in the Freightliner...

 

[Fat Boy]

Its not scary after forty two years lol , between three to six hundred miles a day , No Accidents and No Tickets its just like putting on a old pair of shoes every morning :thumbsup: well maybe an overlength and overwidth ticket back in the nineties :wink: .