Long Truong
Junior Ranger
Anyone use a tongue mounted bike rack like this? https://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camper-Bike-Racks/Swagman/S80503.html#exp-productdetails=.reviews Thoughts?
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Tongue Mounted Bike Rack?
- Thread starter Long Truong
- Start date
I would be concerned about just how much tongue weight you are adding. And by the photo I saw I wonder just how easy or not it would be to mount the bikes. I also don’t think I’d like the wind pressure on the bikes since they would be above the height of the vehicle while being positioned east/west relative to the car being north/south. Roof mounted bikes always line up the other way.
Too many potential issues for me.
Too many potential issues for me.
We carry our bikes on a hitch mounted carrier. Definitely adds tongue weight, but the ride is just fine. We've tried mounting the bikes behind the trailer but that has them so leveraged I'm sure they'll fly off at some point...
https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Adapters/Malone/MPG544.html
Long Truong
Junior Ranger
How many bikes do you carry? 2 or 4?
We carry our bikes on a hitch mounted carrier. Definitely adds tongue weight, but the ride is just fine. We've tried mounting the bikes behind the trailer but that has them so leveraged I'm sure they'll fly off at some point...
https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Adapters/Malone/MPG544.html
2 bikes, each about 25 to 30 lbs I'd guess. Plus the weight of the Yakima carrier, which is likely another 50#. I should weigh these things so I know for myself.
Edit: pretty close on the rack wt., it's 49#.Yakima HoldUp Hitch 2 Bike Rack
So that's 110 additional pounds of tongue weight for the bikes. Our new tow vehicle has a max towing capacity of 5,000 lbs, so a tongue weight cap of 500# or so. 390 after bikes. I may find a scale now to see where we land...
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Long Truong
Junior Ranger
Unfortunately we have a 1 1/4" receiver and I guess they don't make the dual receivers for that size probably because of torque or something?
Oh that's too bad. It has worked pretty well for us.
Ken, thanks good idea!
What is new TV, pls?
Fwiw I've also considered same dual hitch but in my use case on the VW Alltrack the EcoHitch is a great 2" square draw bar option but maxes out at 200#s/2000# (tongue, max tow)
and with 1up plus my sturdy steel urban bike on rear bumper I'm afraid I'll overload the Ecohitch (plus block back hatch)
In particular when adding tongue weight of the CI, with 20# propane tank on tongue.
But, I also haven't accurately weighed mine either so there may be more I can do to repack tail heavy in the CI...
So far it tows rock solid all the way up to 85mph perhaps more based on wind tunnel tests in high plains winter ground blizzards gusting to 45kts...
And the occasional SWUS haboob...
Just make sure ya lock that galley hatch...
New tow vehicle is a Honda Passport EX-L AWD. 5,000# max tow capacity. We've been on a shake down trip to see how it tows, etc. and it did just fine. I don't do anything much over 65mph while towing and it feels like the trailer's not back there. I learned early on about locking the galley - you only forget to do that once...
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GlampingOn
Ranger
New tow vehicle is a Honda Passport EX-L AWD. 5,000# max tow capacity. We've been on a shake down trip to see how it tows, etc. and it did just fine. I don't do anything much over 65mph while towing and it feels like the trailer's not back there. I learned early on about locking the galley - you only forget to do that once...
Thanks! The mid-sized unibody AWD SUVs coming out and/or unibody AWD pickups are a great combo for towing CI, imho.
Kind of a sleeper but highly functional utility, same engine, trans, just more cargo room ready to go! Near identical mpg.
Honda Passport vs Honda Ridgeline - CarGurus
Did u get tow pkg? With aux trans cooler. Or is that only on the Ridgelines?
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I just added the trans cooler. Only the Ridgeline has it included. The coolers are in short supply like so many things these days. I had to call several dealers in the greater Chicagoland area (including NW Indiana) to find one. We're all set now for a trip to MN next week and then on thru the U.P. to S.W. Michigan and home..
My reservation with trailer-mounted bicycle rack is simple - logistics. Unless you set up camp near the place where you are going to ride, you'll need to transport the bicycle to that place. If your bicycle is mounted on the trailer, how are you going to do that?
I use a 1up rack on the back of the 560. Upon arrival the bike and rack come off. If the bike needs to be transported I just attach the rack to the car hitch and load the bike. The rack itself takes less than a minute to load or unload.
GlampingOn
Ranger
Ya, thats my plan too...or leave bike at home!
It DOES affect our turning radius, to the point of the rack contacting the LP tank during our first trip with that setup. I'm sure it happened while backing into our campsite. Luckily no damage, but now requires 'eyes on' when in those situations.You make a good point Dmitry.
I'll chime in:
Now that I think about it, I'm gonna take another look at that suggestion by Ken and Peggy on their use of a dual mount draw bar for Alltrack rear hitch at e-trailer
https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Adapters/Malone/MPG544.html
Order one up, test and see if I can get that 1up mounted in there between the Alltrack and the CI without cramping the CI's towed turn radius too much...(which is a big benefit to smaller wheelbase tow vehicles-
(Humblebrag Alert
I can do a 180 in a wide spot on a dirt road equal to roughly a lane and a half, going in the edge grass a bit
or sometimes with eleventy hundred iteration j-turns to reverse...
All without denting my bumper, yet...
And...(see talking myself into MORE SCHTUFF here...)
the bike(s) will be up in air on the Malone a bit more but perhaps even less affected by wind blocked by Alltrack cabin and cargo box on top,
than with 1up on back of the CampInn,
with the bike sitting vertically in the smooth laminar flow over hatch...
rmbrowder
Junior Ranger
Yes, had to take the front receiver off to make room for the Warn winch. (I had to put a skid plate insert on the front receiver to avoid “full stops” on rutted roads.)
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GlampingOn
Ranger
Burly!
I think I've found a solution to the issue of mounting a bike rack over the tongue of the trailer. We've been doing this for several years now with decent success, but the issue of the rack contacting the propane tank when turning tightly is a problem. We had a hitch mounted on the back of the trailer, but found that to cause a fair amount of fish tailing.
What I found that I think is going to work is a hitch made by Patriot Hitches. It can be raised or lowered to accommodate your setup, and it gives us the clearance needed to keep the bike rack above the tank. We're heading out tomorrow for a few days at a fairly close-by campground that we have never made it to before, so I'm excited to see how this new setup does.
What I found that I think is going to work is a hitch made by Patriot Hitches. It can be raised or lowered to accommodate your setup, and it gives us the clearance needed to keep the bike rack above the tank. We're heading out tomorrow for a few days at a fairly close-by campground that we have never made it to before, so I'm excited to see how this new setup does.
gregangsten
Junior Ranger
I think I've found a solution to the issue of mounting a bike rack over the tongue of the trailer. We've been doing this for several years now with decent success, but the issue of the rack contacting the propane tank when turning tightly is a problem. We had a hitch mounted on the back of the trailer, but found that to cause a fair amount of fish tailing.
What I found that I think is going to work is a hitch made by Patriot Hitches. It can be raised or lowered to accommodate your setup, and it gives us the clearance needed to keep the bike rack above the tank. We're heading out tomorrow for a few days at a fairly close-by campground that we have never made it to before, so I'm excited to see how this new setup does.
I've been using a double receiver setup for a few years for the bike rack and it works well enough. An annoying thing however is that the lever to release the trailer from the ball hits the bike rack mount when you want to disconnect the trailer at the site, just enough to prevent release. This means I have to remove the bike and disconnect the rack before I can disconnect the trailer, then remount the rack and bike to go somewhere with it. Irritating. It looks like one could get enough separation with this setup end that problem.