Jump to content

Beefing up my motorcycle carrier


BigRich

Recommended Posts

Hi Everyone,

I decided to take on a project this week to put my mind at ease. I travel with a 400lb scooter. I haven't had a problem, but I wanted to beef up the carrier for two reasons. 1) The hitch tongue weight is rated at 500 lbs. 2) The scooter is heaviest in the rear, where the engine is, and twists the carrier to the right side. I have been using a ratchet strap hooked to the right side and the ladder to make it even up, but I didn't like doing that.

This is the original setup - I modified the carrier and added LED strips for the rear lights since it was covering my tail lights and moved the reflectors to the back:

original2.jpg

So I went out and bought a new 18" receiver. I have a friend in the sign business and brought him over to the RV. He took all the measurements of the hitch and the steel and we went back to his office and put it all into his engineering software. To my surprise, unlike what the manufacturer says, the original hitch had a maximum legal tongue weight of 1400 lbs! He told me it's not unusual that a manufacturer would triple or quadruple the max rating, especially on a vehicle, since it will affect the level of the ride. With the added receiver and new tube, the software said 2900 lbs. So, now that I'm real comfortable with the tongue weight, I welded the new receiver to the hitch. Oh yeah, I have airbag suspension, so I'm not concerned with the level.

welded.jpg

So here's the final product. I got up on it and jumped a few times and it's solid as a rock! No more tilting!

final2.jpg

 

-Rich

rtrvgbanner_1.jpg
http://rtrvg.com/blog/
2004 Coachman, F-53, 36'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a swivel trailer behind my fifth wheel and the factory swivel hitch uses the center receiver and then a cross beam that hooks into the trailer corners. This set up allowed to much twist or side to side twisting for my comfort. So I did something similar to your set up and added two receivers to the rear hitch which mounts directly to the trailer corners. It is much more stable now, even carrying a 950 LB Goldwing.

It would be interesting to use your buddy's engineering software to see what max load is allowed to be carried by the camper frame. I bet the 500lb weight limit was restricted due to the camper frame design, not the hitch design as you discovered.

Greg

Frame.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would be really careful relying on a friend with "engineering software" to determine the load carrying limits of a hitch. I am a structural engineer and can tell you that in a dynamic environment like a vehicle on a roadway, loads are accelerating up and down continuously and that leads to significantly higher dynamic loading and fatigue issues. And as noted by Greg above the load limit on the hitch may very well be governed by the frame elsewhere. 

Mark & Teri

2021 Grand Designs Imagine 2500RL, 2019 Ford F-350

Mark & Teri's Travels

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

RVers Online University

campgroundviews.com

RV Destinations

Find out more or sign up for Escapees RV'ers Bootcamp.

Advertise your product or service here.

The Rvers- Now Streaming

RVTravel.com Logo



×
×
  • Create New...