Motorcycle carrier

[Bagger97]

Anyone have any experiance hauling a small bike (250-350cc) on a hitch mount rack on the rear of a gasser.

[OneRVer]

What is the weight of your bike? As long as it is not over your hitch weight you should not have any problems.

[Roadking]

There are always exceptions, but generally you should have no issues hauling up to about 500 pounds on a standard 2 inch receiver type hitch on most any vehicle. I hauled two small bikes, about 200 lbs each on a home built rack that installed in the standard 2 inch receiver. This was on a class C motor home and after serveral years I never had an issue. I added lights to the rack as the bikes blocked the brake lights and turn signal lights. The license plate was also blocked but I never was stopped because of it. Many of the RV stores and the big box stores make a similar racks that are rated at 500 lb capacity.

My son hauled a KTM dirt bike on a "joe hauler" rack installed in the reciever in his Toyota pickup for years without any problems. He now hauls the same bike on his Jeep wrangler and no issues there either. The KTM is in the 250 pound range.

I would also suggest buying one of the many devices available that clamp the 2 inch hitch bar to the receiver. This will eliminate any rocking or movement that occurs in most standard hitches.

Good luck

[Mortgagehomes]

Just finished a trip through the Oregon Outback Towing my Toyota Tacoma with my 530 Ktm on the hitch rack on the back of the Tacoma. Lots of rough road with no problems. Do use the stabilizer clamp on it to minimize rocking and check it daily to be sure it stays tight!

[WOODYDEL]

This is my 250CC scooter on back of my "gasser". Scooters are harder to carry than motorcycles. I customized my existing hitch by adding two combo bars (receivers) and making C channel rack and ramp.

No rocking and rolling ever and it has been to Alaska and back to NY.

In this picture, we were in Ninilchik Alaska.



$220 total including having all welding done at the local trailer shop. I designed and precut all steel parts. Instead of the light bar in the center receiver I can still install one of those Hitch Hauler trays. at the same time as hauling the scooter (or a motorcycle). The light bar is just one of those bed extenders used on pickups to carry long items. I added lights because it feels safer. The Hitch Hauler tray has lights I add on when needed.


Gasser frames are weak at the rear. My MH is 14 feet behind the rear axle! The frame has been extended by 6 feet with some what I call weak reinforcement. Still that 14 feet is an awful lot of leverage. The hitch is rated for 500 lbs. So with my additional weight for the rack and my scooter I'm just under that limit. I used to have a rear weight issue with my MH manufacturer but we resolved that problem. It had nothing to do with the scooter and rack though what I did wasn't helping matters. Now all is fine.

I forgot to mention. While travelling, since our fresh water is at the very rear of the coach, I will only carry 1/3 to 1/2 of the water capacity. It helps offset the scooter/rack weight. We never had any problem finding water to top off the tank. No matter where we stayed be it a CG or booning. (I know, I've never been in a real desert).

[Norm4015]

I carried a Honda Reflex scooter (250 cc) on the back of a diesel pusher several years. The scooter weighed just over 350 pounds and the rack with lighting and another receiver to tow a Honda CR-V weighed jusy under 150 pounds. So the total added weight on the back of the motorhome was 500 pounds.

I weighed the motorhome on a CAT scale before and after installing the rack and putting the scooter on it. The rear axle weight increased 800 pounds and the front axle weight decreased 300 pounds.

So if your motorhome can support an additional 800 pounds on the rear axle and still handle OK losing 300 pounds on the front axle - go for it.