Dual Receiver Hitch for bike rack

Found this dual receiver hitch at Northern.


Our new set up with the dual receiver hitch for our bike rack.


this is a close up of how it works.

 

Had to add about one foot to both the safety chains and the electrical wire. Chains were easy, but wiring required a little more work. Went to Northern Tools for all the stuff. Back of car has male 7 prong plug and front of trailer has 7 prong female. Yes, the shortest extension was a 7' wire with a female end. Had to buy another 7 prong male connector and then cut the 7 foot wire to a very short length (about 8"). Hard wire the new 7 prong male on to other end of the now short extension. Existing trailer wire now plugs into the male end of extension and female end of extension plugs into the male plug on car. One problem is the weight of the connection. Even though there is a lock on the top of the male connector, it seems to work loose. Quick fix was to add one more use to duct tape. Next hookup I will hopefully modify to a better solution. Second problem is making a tight turn when backing up. Have to be careful not to jackknife the bikes into the trailer (gas bottle). Bikes rode very nicely on there and I could keep an eye on them during travel. Order of packing may be a concern for you as it was for me. I have to mount the trailer on first, because the bike rack prevents full access to the lower ball. That is only because our particular bike rack had to be modified a bit, flipped over to be exact, and in doing so has an extra piece of metal sticking down which restricts full access to the lower hitch. Hope that explains it, it does work well and we like the bikes there rather than behind the McNugit.
One more thing, you now have 3 pins to use for mounting. We used the Reese silent hitch pin bolts.http://www.amazon.com/Cequent-7023500-Hitch-Pin-Silent/dp/B003NBL0VG. These work real well as they tighten up the inserted piece into the receiver. Available at Northern or online, if you are lucky enough to find three that have the same key number you'll greatly simplify the lockup.

 

Jim and Jamie,
Thanks for the detailed explanation.

Ken,

I found several ready made extender cable used for 5th wheel mounts on the internet. Did not see one without the flange. I bought one locally at a utility trailer sales and repair shop they had safety chains as well. I am picking mine up tomorrow and will figure out the best way to mount this weekend.

My bike rack is on my spare tire so I bought an 18 “ hitch extender to make it work. I have to get this all sorted out and installed by next weekend as we leave on our month long adventure to Maine. Will post pictures after I finish.

 

wish we could join you in Maine, have a great time

 

yes those are the pieces i used. The male end comes apart and you make the connections inside. I would suggest you get some electrical connectors that crimp on to the end of the bare wire and have a ring on the end to allow the screw to go through it. The wires are larger in diameter than i expected for a trailer. I believe they are 14 gage, 2 of the five may even be 12 gage. I will check my chain later and give you a link to that item.
Jim

 

sweet

 

And now a warning about our "sweet" set-up for our bikes. Beware when you are backing up your trailer, with the dual hitch receiver, bike rack and bikes in place. As many of you have probably learned by now, the trailer can easily jack-knife when you back up. We are now in need of a new bracket for our gas bottle, as the original got crunched when this jack-knifing occurred. Lesson learned! As a result, we have purchased an extender which will move the teardrop back about eight inches, hopefully eliminating any future "collisions"!

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch-hitch-extender-98677.html

 

Jim,

Do you know if the extension will affect the tongue weight or create any other towing issue? Think 8" is enough? Have you tried the new set up yet?

 

I'd like to second AJ's concern. My initial response to this post was that I smelled backing up issues. Jim confirmed.

Although the tongue weight won't change, this extra extension will leverage the front end to be lighter than the duel hitch created in the first place. Good for hydroplaning.

The extension/hitch also has the potential to create issues with side sway and tail wagging; and exaggerate differences in tongue weight. Getting the perfect tongue weight may be critical for a smooth pull rather than having a 30 to 40# window. My guess is the difference could be felt with just the duel hitch.

Hilditch

 

Haven't tried it yet. Sounds like there may be other issues to consider before we do. Hopefully Cary will chime in, sometime soon, with his expertise.
Thanks for your input Hilditch.

 

I guess I am in need of some edumacating here. I have used the rear hitch installed by Campinn with no issues except for the fact that the bikes have to be removed prior to opening the galley hatch. The hassles involved with mounting a dual hitch between trailer and vehicle with potential damage to the bikes as well as the gas tank a possibility, not to mention rewiring and rechaining seems like an awful lot a trouble. I mount two light weight mountain bikes and have had no problems. So, the question is why are you all going through all of this trouble?

 

I've used the rear mounted hatch with out a problem that I'm aware of. Use the Yakima hitch, that folds down a quarter so you can access the hatch if need be. Pretty firm, BUT !!!!

Initially it worked, then on the way back it was jiggling all over the place. There's a Sleeve that can come off inside the hitch and if not screwed in to keep it from sliding it will seem very jiggly like something is not right. Get a coat hanger and check the Receptor on the trailer. Hopefully it will still be in there. The sleeve keeps it a tight fit. Otherwise it just wobbles around like something is wrong. Had to drive back with it that way, then discovered the sleeve part hiding way back in the hitch.

HTH