Bike rack on dual hitch receiver behind motorhome

[lakefront5]

Any one out there using a dual hitch receiver behind a motor home putting a bike rack, for two bikes, between the motor home and the towed vehicle? I am going to a motor home using a Blue Ox tow bar. Is there enough room between the MH and toad to do this? Motor home is a Tiffin Phaeton.

[grumpy0374]

Shouldn't be a problem at all. I have a Roadmaster dual receiver and carry a full size spare tire/wheel mounted on a Curt Spare Tire Carrier. I'm sure that it weighs more than your two bikes.
Going on 2 years now, no problems.
Grumpy

[Easyrider]

Should work for you, but make sure your dual hitch receiver is rated high enough for the weight of your towed vehicle. Most dual hitch receivers are rated for 3500lbs max, I could only find a couple that were rated for more than that when I recently decided to bring our bikes along with us. I also went with a Roadmaster dual hitch.

[Indy Glenn]

Just put one on mine useing Blue Ox tow bar.

I bough a Reese Dual Hitch Extension, model 70601.

It is a 2" hitch, 4000# Gross Trailer Weight, 400# Toungue Weight

Does fine for my 2 bike rack and my 2015 Ford Fiesta.

You will have plenty of room.

Good luck.......

g

[barmcd]

I use a dual hitch made by Curt. It has a 2" square receiver on top of a hitch instead of two receivers. I went with it because it's rated to 7,500 lbs. The only issue I have with it is that I have to hook up the trailer before sliding the bike rack into the receiver because there is not enough room to flip the lever on top of the ball hitch with the bike rack attached.

[Playtime III]

I have the version that has the ball on the lower part and a receiver on the upper. Great tool but I cannot remove the dolly with the bike rack in place. I cannot clear the ball before touching the bike rack.

[LarrytheBear]

I have the dual hitch like the one in the picture and the same bike rack (Swagman) and use it with the Roadmaster tow bar. There is plenty of clearance for towing and I would think Blue Ox would be about the same.

I use several bungees to secure the rack and bikes to take care of the wobble of the rack. Went cross country with no problems.

I would have preferred having the rack on my car but because of the model there is not one that fits.

[HDrider]

I needed to raise my hitch to tow the Jeep with a 3 1/2" lift and 35" tires so I needed a double riser which seemed to be impossible to find so I went with a GenY adaptor with 5 slots. 10,000lb rated and a fine piece of art it is. Not cheap but darn nice and works well.

[Lt Dan]

Here's another option I use that works well. It's made by Curt, clamps to the receiver tube and holds the bike solidly. The only thing you have to make sure your receiver tube is long enough for the rack to clamp on and clear the rear cap.

[Sky_Boss]

Originally Posted by lakefront5

Any one out there using a dual hitch receiver behind a motor home putting a bike rack, for two bikes, between the motor home and the towed vehicle? I am going to a motor home using a Blue Ox tow bar. Is there enough room between the MH and toad to do this? ...

I know others have said you shouldn't have a problem but...What works for others might not work for you...

This is very dependent on a few factors. I use a dual receiver with a 2" drop and a 4" rise but to make it work with my Saris 2 bike carrier and my Honda CRV I had to both upgrade to the Blue Ox Avail which added 2" compared to the Aventa and then add the long shank for another 2". On top of that I had to drill a new set of locking pin holes to push the bike carrier about 2-3" closer to the back of the coach. Prior to that If I did a full lock, left turn the platform the bike sits on would make contact with the hood of the CRV. All in all I needed a net difference of 6-7" from a "stock" set up to make it work.

Depending on profile of your toad's nose, you might need a little extra room to cover any reasonable situation where the car is not at the same level as your coach. I.E. the coach is slightly uphill (like turning into a driveway entrance) while the toad is not on the same angle. I needed to consider that with my toad.

The steerer cut angle and coach length will also play a factor. The tighter the turn radius, the more clearance you will need.

I have 2 carbon fiber bikes and you really shouldn't use a bike rack that hangs the bikes by the top tube for them. If you feel comfortable with using a bike carrier that hangs the bikes by the top tube you might find they ride a little higher and that could help avoid the turn radius problem. I'm just not a big fan of those kinds of carriers. It is my personal preference to not use them.

Some toads like the Jeep Wrangler put more distance between the receiver and the hood of the toad. Others might have a lower profile at the nose of the toad that also helps.

So, unfortunately, it might be a case of trial and error. You will definitely want to test your set up in a parking lot with a spotter before you trust you have clearance for a full lock turn.

BTW...with my set up I can no longer swivel the tow bar into the stored position with the bike carrier on. I use 2 rubber bungee cords to secure my tow bar to the back of the bike carrier. Also, hooking up the toad requires a nice set of knee pads to get under the carrier to do that part of the hookups.

[grumpy0374]

I'm going to suggest you just ignore all the other dual type receiver hitches and just go with a Roadmaster. They are a bit more, about $90 bucks on Amazon (cheapest I found, with free shipping) but worth it. They have two, one with a 2 inch and one with a 4 inch drop. It's the last dual receiver you'll buy...it's that heavy duty.
Both have a 10,000 lb tow rating, with a 400 lb tongue rating, more than the "others".
As stated by another, with my spare mounted, my Sterling bars will not rotate up to lock into its locking position, but I/you can jocky it at an angle to it's lock. Its no biggie to do and I haven't had a problem in over two years.
Grumpy

[barmcd]

Originally Posted by Playtime III

I have the version that has the ball on the lower part and a receiver on the upper. Great tool but I cannot remove the dolly with the bike rack in place. I cannot clear the ball before touching the bike rack.

That's aggravating, raising the top receiver 1" would fix that issue.

[diva51]

To get more turning clearance, Stan cut off some of the length of the hitch. Used it this past weekend without any problems.

[Easyrider]

Of course another simple option is to just mount the bike rack on the back of your toad.