Im thinking about getting the heaviest tongue weight 2" tow receiver to put on my van and beef it up to handle A 500lb bike. Then find a carrier to fit the bike. The dike will ride perpendicular to the van much like a smaller dirt bike carrier. I know most hitches are rated for 350-500lb tongue weight but Im sure the fudge factor is way up there as I have towed much heavier vehicles with no problems in the past. Like toy haulers and such. So Im not too worried about the receiver its the carrier that has me little concerned. I dont want to keep looking in the rearview mirror when I transport. Anybody know of a bike carrier that will hold 500lb without sweating it? Im sure I'll add some reinforcement but I want to start as beefy as I can get. Thanks in advance
Blue Ox. http://www.blueox.us/p-1185-sport-lift-iii.aspx Lots of lifts and stuff like that for people who would rather drive than ride there. Good luck.
The real problem is a 550lb tong weight is huge. I'm hardly an expert but I don't know of any vehicle short of one ton trucks that have that kind of tong weight rating. Your getting into fifth wheel stuff by then.
Every now and then, Ill take the wife. Im in California and 2 long days to get through the desert at 105 degrees Plus we can do a little van camping while we're at it. As far as the tongue weight, are they saying "the vans frame can only handle this weight" If so then maybe gussets welded at the mounting points. What could happen? The back of the van breaks off? Actually not too concerned with the vehicle. But my precious bike, my bike. I just dont want to drag the trailer.
I was having the same kind of question. I have been toying with getting an FJ Cruiser, and a carrier like that, but I was worried about what bob393 mentions. How much weight the FJ Cruiser could handle. At the very least, I could haul my XR400 this way, but the R1150GS is probably out of the question. I know they make haulers like this that fit two bikes too. Maybe I could handle my wife's XR100, and my XR400. I'll try to post any findings I come up with.
How about this...http://www.cycle-tow.com/ Or maybe something like this...http://www.cruiserlift.com/swivelwheel.html That second one is kinda crazy but the first one would work well.
I have an FJ Cruiser, the hitch holds 500#. The factory receiver is bolted on the boxed cross member welded between the boxed frame. Mine is aftermarket because of my steel rear bumper, it's just bolted on the bottom of the frame on either side.I've carried an XT225 on a cheap pep boys carrier. It was fine, I never had a good enough one to try the Versys. The only ones I know that could have withstood it are the Versahaul carriers. Yeah, a full size touring bike is pretty much out of the question in his type of hauling method. For the same price as a Versahaul you can get a harborfreight trailer, and surprisingly, it's less risky. Bottom line, if your bike is 500# or less, you can get away with using a GOOD carrier. If it's 400# or less you can get away with a shitty carrier. If it's more than 500#, get a trailer. This is assuming you have a Class III or greater receiver. Class IV and higher could probably hold the world. For bike hauling, I have a 1500# capacity 5x8 trailer from TSC. You can get away with the Harborfreight stuff with some work (like adding the wheel bearing grease that they oddly dont come with). Oh, and on these bikes carriers, if you can see them, you are always staring at them. It wasn't the hauler than made me paranoid, it was the straps. For medium bikes. http://www.versahaul.com/ For light bikes. http://www.harborfreight.com/400-lb-receiver-mount-motorcycle-carrier-99721.html For heavy bikes. http://www.harborfreight.com/1090-l...-12-inch-four-lug-wheels-and-tires-90153.html For peace of mind (imo) http://www.tractorsupply.com/carry-...xle-trailer-1-425-lb-payload-capacity-1091004
With that amount of weight you need more than one 2" receiver. Add one or two more 2" receivers and you can boost the weight capacity of single receiver racks. Some assembly required. Find out what your rear frame will support. There used to be a company that made these for the back of RV's. Good luck.
Not difficult to fabricate a frame easily capable of supporting a 500lb bike. However unless you have a seriously heavy duty 4x4 truck with a chassis that can be modified to take the weight (about 750lb at the mounting points), removing the bikes front wheel and making a simple hitch to connect to towing eye would be a much better idea.
The big issue is how light it makes the front end. Things get real scary real quickly when the front tires start to break free on corners. Damhik. John Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Class 5 hitch has a 1200 pound tongue weight. A hauler that will haul a harley is easy enough to fabricate. Could/should tie the outer edges of the receiver frame to the hauler for less twisting. I "beefed up" Cannon Shots Versa hauler for him when it was coming apart at the seams. I think you could haul a yugo on it now. Air bags on the rear suspension if the load is too much for the van/truck. Then you are stock empty and plenty of holding full. Hard to tell, but there is 1/2 inch plate making up most of the bottom of this now. Also the original thin Versa Hauler steel for the deck and sheet boxing in the rest.
+1 I also have an FJ cruiser and regularly haul my Husky 449 dirtbike. Does that easily. I build my own hitch hauler which was way overkill, using 6" steel channel and 2" 0.25" wall square tubing for the receiver part. I also built my own hitch that bolts where the factory hitch should be. I wouldn't want to haul more than 400# with an FJ. It's wheelbase is so short that the front end gets pretty light with much more than that. I def would not haul two bikes on anything other than a full sized truck for that reason. Plus trailers are WAY more handy, easier to load, more pleasant to have pulling, safer etc. I have a really nice 6X10 trailer but since i live in a city I have no place to park it so my buddy is enjoying it on loan. If I were to build my own hauler again, I'd do the same serious steel hitch part but use aluminum channel instead of steel for weight.
Just want to highlight this again. The hitch, carrier, rear of the van, etc. may all be able to handle the weight, but the handling of the vehicle will be comprimised quite a bit with that much weight hanging off behind the rear axle...
Sure it will. My JK supposedly had a 500lb tongue weight limit but I'd really hesitate to do that. My F150 has a 500lb or so tongue weight limit and I wouldn't think twice about it.
I was thinking about getting this one myself..http://www.rampconnection.com/Tilt-A-Rack-Motorcycle-Carrier-610ACR.html
