Motorcycle carrier

[ewagman]

The place I purchased my motorcycle carrier from 10 years ago is no longer in business. I expect other sources could be found easily. Get an aluminum rail, steel is much heavier. I had the extra receiver mount fabricated so I could pull my very light sailboats at the same time. Boat and trailer are maybe 250 lbs. Pay attention to Bill Hemme's advice cited in an earlier post.
There is a removable ramp that attaches to the rail to guide the bike up and onto the rail, easy to do, be sure to have the tie down straps in place. The choice of bike requires compromising weight, power for highway speed, and being street legal. I wanted a 100% street legal two seater, with disc brakes, front and back, electric start, freeway speed capability, mechanical un-fussy-ness, and to be short enough that my kids could ride it and touch the ground. 10 years ago the Kawasaki Super Sherpa came close enough to suit me. The power level and suspension off road capabilities are good enough, but no more, and I'm a bit tall for it, but it's suitable for use as local runabout when the motorhome is parked. It has stone age simple reliability, it's never broken down. (So far). Rain and cold are not comfortable to ride in, which is a big drawback, and defensive riding skills are a must. Protective gear is wise, you never know when you might fall!

I'd sure like to see some close-up pictures of the augmented welding-hitch points under there - if any.

Also, where an MC carrier like that could be purchased from.

Is it diffucult to R & R the MC to and from the rack each time? Or, is there a loading/unloading ramp built-in the assy? I can't tell from the pictures' distance.

It is a challenge to find a dirt bike that has a low weight, as well as one that has some power.

[Virgil and Anne Dutton]

I must say that some of the things I see posted on this thread are downright scary. Having spent a significant portion of my Engineering career involved in vehicle frame and suspension design, I feel I must inject my two cents worth here.

When you consider the physics of carrying a load which extends a distance behind the vehicle you are not only adding that load to the rear axle, the tires and other suspension components but you are adding a leveraged load. This leverage results from removing load from the front axle. That load which you are removing from the front axle does not just disappear. It is added to the rear axle and suspension. For instance, in looking at the photos of some of these vehicles it appears that the distance behind the rear axle of the added cargo is about equal to the wheelbase of the vehicle. If this is the case, when you add, say 400 pounds at the rear, you are also removing 400 pounds from the front axle which means you are actually adding 800 pounds to the rear axle. This not only affects the axle but also the springs and the tire loading.

Another component which can be quickly overloaded is the hitch receiver. The specified load carrying capacity of the receiver is based on a vertical load applied where a normal hitch ball would be, probably not more than a few inches behind the receiver. When the load is applied at a greater distance than that and it is a cantilevered load, that load rapidly increases as a function of load and distance. It is very easy to overload these components resulting in a catastrophic failure. Please be aware of this and don’t put your safety and health in jeopardy as well as that of others on the road.

Virgil

[bbwolf]

Virgil, given your background, could you provide some guidance on the "stinger" product? I have a friend that is going to purchase this for pulling a boat trailer. Since the boat trailer is straight (at the tongue connection), he was unable to get an equalizer hitch that would work. (equalizer hitch's require the "A frame" sort of tongue found on the front of camping trailers).

Does this product appear technically sound?
http://www.mrtrailer.com/stinger.htm

[Virgil and Anne Dutton]

A couple thoughts on the Stinger product: I don't see any ability of the wheels to caster. If they cannot, then you would have a great deal of tire scrubbing as you made turns or curves. In that case tire wear would be a significant factor, both on the stinger and to some degree on the rear tires of the towing vehicle. Also, uneven ground or roads would be could be somewhat of a problem, particularly such as entering or exiting a gas station or shopping center.

I would think a weight distributing hitch could be used on a straight tube tongue. At least the one I had, Reese Pro Series, should work unless there is something I am not visualizing. At most, you may need to install a lateral beam to spread the spring arms apart.

The above thoughts are just that and should not be taken as professional advise.

Virgil

[bbwolf]

Virgil, here is a photo of the "single pole" type of boat trailer we are talking about. It doesn't have an equalizer that will work with the single straight tongue. (I looked at the Reese hitch's like you recommended and they all appeared to require the "A" frame type of trailer tongue.

[Virgil and Anne Dutton]

Alan, I see no reason you could not adapt the weight distribution system to a tongue of that configuration. The function would be the same as with a "Y" configuration tongue. You would need to design and fabricate an adapter to accept the chain hanger brackets but that could be quite simple. You would also need to relocate the tongue jack. That also looks quite simple. I suggest that you contact Reese or someone who is in that business and tell them what you want and see if they could recommend a solution. In my opinion, I would keep the Stinger product as a last resort and even then would be of the opinion that there has to be a better way.

What kind of vehicle will the tow vehicle be? I tow trailers with my Ford F250 Super Duty and on it I installed Firestone air bags. While I use the weight distribution hitch, I have found that the air bags do a better job of keeping the vehicle level. I usually keep the spring arms on the weight distribution hitch fairly loose and rely mostly on the air bags at about 45 psi. When not towing I keep the airbags at about 20 psi. This setup keeps my headlights shining at the level they should be and keeps driveability reasonable.

Virgil

[bbwolf]

I have to check with him and find out what he drives. If I remember correctly, it was an F-250 with an Arctic Fox with Pop-out. They pull a boat so they can fish in the Puget Sound and Pacific Ocean.

[lafons]

Let me start with I agree with everthing that has been said about the concern for weight on the back of the coach. But with that said I have a double rack that is mounted to the back bumper receiver with a side support mounted on one of the rear drag rollers. I carry 2 dirt bikes (gasgas) each about 260 lb with gas ready to race. Combined weight is 520 lb plus an all alum. rack. This sticks out about 3 ft in the back. Have been using this for about 2 years. I would send pictures but I am in AK. At the time with a single version of the same rack and a DR 350 on it. It is mounted very close to the coach, only about 6 in to the bumper from the center of the tires. Will be here about 3 more weeks before returning home but could send pictures then. Right now I'm not using the internet much. Just happened to check it today for the first time in 3 weeks. Lot of dry camping and fun. Hope this helps. 26rsb 2001

[Dave&JanPotter]

I have no horse in this race but I did open the latest issue of FMCA Family Motor Coaching and saw a description of this product line.

http://www.mightyhauler.com/

[grross]

Note: Mighty Hauler does not recomend using on a Class C RV; but people have.

[tomzleapin]

Well I built a ramp and headed for the Seattle area for four weeks. Everything went well. There was very little difference in handling with the added weight on back. Maybe a slight increase in over-steer.

I've attached some photos of frame underneath and the ramp.

[charlesbell]

I am considering buying from my brother in N.C. a 2010 Honda Elite motor scooter (1,600 miles). A hitch carrier is included in the purchase. I have not yet seen either the carrier or the scooter. At 254 lbs. the scooter is lighter weight than the motorcycles discussed in this thread. Do I need to be concerned about the weight at 254 lbs.? My coach is a 2010 22RSK. Anything else I should know/consider? I want to research before I travel 700 miles to N.C. to check out the scooter & carrier. Thanks all!

[whemme]

charlesbell,

Two things you need to consider before attempting this.

1) Can the existing hitch on the rear of your 2010 22RSK coach handle the weight of 254 lbs plus the added weight of the carrier itself which may be on the order of 100 lbs or so itself for a total added weight of 354 lbs. You might want to call Kim Olson at the Born Free factory about this.

2) The other limitation might be the weight rating of the rear axle assembly in your coach. I think you will find this rear axle weight rating listed on the driver's side door jam. Lets say just for example, your rear axle is rated for 7500 lbs and you run your coach across a truck scale and weigh just the load on the rear axle. This should be done with the coach in down the road running condition with full fuel, fuel fresh water tank, 6 gallon water heater full, and LP tank full. Then lets say that your actual weight on the rear axle measures 7000 lbs - 500 lbs less than the maximum.

Here is the key thing about hanging extra weight onto your rear hitch assembly. Adding that 354 lbs there adds considerably more than 354 lbs to the rear axle. For this example, lets assume that the wheel base (the distance between the front axle and the rear axle) is 150 inches and lets assume that the distance that the 354 lbs of added weight is 100 inches behind the rear axle. If you do the math, the result of adding this 354 lbs to the rear of the coach will result in the weight on the front axle being reduced by 236 lbs and an additional weight of 590 lbs being added to the rear axle. The end result being that now the rear axle is overloaded by 90 lbs.

Another consideration is a generally accepted rule of thumb is that you want 25 to 30% of the total coach weight on the front axle. If the weight on the front axle gets too light, the handling qualities of the coach will begin to suffer.

You might want to work thru the actually numbers for your coach to see if you might have a problem doing what you want to do here.

[tomzleapin]

As mentioned in my previous post, I built a ramp and carry my 250cc Kawasaki on the rear of my 24ft coach. The specs for my bike state 302 lbs wet. I removed the fiberglass bumper which weighs 40 lbs which offsets most of the weight of the ramp. I also reinforced the chassis where the bumper framework attaches to the truck frame with some 1/4" steel plate (see photos in an earlier post). I haven't noticed any appreciable difference in handling. The effects would be even less on a 22ft coach which has less of an overhang.

The bike has traveled with me now for about 15,000 miles, some of it on some pretty rough mountain roads. So far no ill effects.

[fredcarole]

We have 2005 24ft Rear Bath. We have purchased a Vespa scooter weighing 230 lbs. That plus a carrier totals approx. 350 lbs.
I checked with Kim Olson who said the added weight should be o.k.,
and I can increase rear tire pressure and the air suspension pressure.
The ride may be a little firmer but should help offset the added weight.
The carrier has extra support arms and "shims" in the hitch to minimize any movement of the unit.