I'm hurting for space so the idea of a hitch-mounted carrier instead of a trailer carries a lot of appeal. I'm in purchase-a-bike mode and collaterally, I need to figure out how to get it around...
I'm a bit confused on the tongue weight issue, though. First, my car, an awd wagon, only has class II receiver hitches available for it (max tongue weight 300 - 350 lbs) -- presumably I could use an adaptor since all these carriers require class III receivers. But, considering I've got to allocate ~50lbs for the carrier itself, this sounds like a problem. I don't know what my bike's going to weigh, yet (I'm shopping pre-owned so there are several on my list) but it's a sure bet with a tank of gas, it'll be ~250lbs or more.
This is what really left me scratching my head. I finally decided maybe I should shift fire and put a class III on my wife's SUV (her car's an Acura and mine's a Ford, so I was hoping to avoid the wear and tear on the Acura). BUT, when I visited www.hitch-web.com, the tongue weights for the class III receivers are 500lbs.
No problem, right? But, while researching these carriers (I myself like the Ultimate MX Hauler), I came across this disclaimer: NOTE: The tongue weight of a receiver-type hitch is rated at the distance the ball normally is from the end of the receiver. Most carriers of this type are approximately double that distance so the load rating is normally reduced by 1/2. (A 500-lb rated hitch will carry about 250lbs.) This was from the Travelrite Cycle Carrier site, btw.
Having read many threads on the various carriers available, no one has mentioned this being a problem. Is the tongue weight merely a guideline ?
I'm a bit confused on the tongue weight issue, though. First, my car, an awd wagon, only has class II receiver hitches available for it (max tongue weight 300 - 350 lbs) -- presumably I could use an adaptor since all these carriers require class III receivers. But, considering I've got to allocate ~50lbs for the carrier itself, this sounds like a problem. I don't know what my bike's going to weigh, yet (I'm shopping pre-owned so there are several on my list) but it's a sure bet with a tank of gas, it'll be ~250lbs or more.
This is what really left me scratching my head. I finally decided maybe I should shift fire and put a class III on my wife's SUV (her car's an Acura and mine's a Ford, so I was hoping to avoid the wear and tear on the Acura). BUT, when I visited www.hitch-web.com, the tongue weights for the class III receivers are 500lbs.
No problem, right? But, while researching these carriers (I myself like the Ultimate MX Hauler), I came across this disclaimer: NOTE: The tongue weight of a receiver-type hitch is rated at the distance the ball normally is from the end of the receiver. Most carriers of this type are approximately double that distance so the load rating is normally reduced by 1/2. (A 500-lb rated hitch will carry about 250lbs.) This was from the Travelrite Cycle Carrier site, btw.
Having read many threads on the various carriers available, no one has mentioned this being a problem. Is the tongue weight merely a guideline ?