Overbuilding a hitch mount Motorcycle carrier

[Robert Haas]

I wanted a hitch mount carrier that was strong enough that I could put any bike on it and not have to worry about it anymore.

I looked at the commercial stuff and honestly nothing came close. So I decided to build it myself.



mostly straight up stuff here inner structure of 1" square tube with a 16 gauge break metal skin. Some of the tricky stuff was the hidden ramp that stows inside and a class IV receiver so you can still tow a light trailer behind it.

couple close up shots



this is the ramp, .125" wall



In use



demonstration sequence




pull pin that is holding ramp on carrier.



drop ramp into its magazine and slide in.


half way in



once fully inserted insert the same quick pin that holds it in place during loading/unloading





side shot you can see the out board tie down cleat that inserts in the class IV receiver in this shot. Note I angled it up to keep it from grounding when you pull out of a drive way.



So once finished another local builder said so what? Anyone can build a hauler that will hold a 275 LB dirt bike. well that hurt my feelings because this was not my intention at all. So I decided to show him what it will really "HAUL"


So I loaded it up and drove over to his shop.



yep, that is a 1000 Lb. Honda Gold Wing







He just stood there, I think he is still standing out there.

 

[mayday0017]

Curious what the toung weight is with the leverage and what your truck is rated for... I had looked into this type setup at one point but found that it exceeded the rating from what I remember.... Also bikes are very top heavy, what are you doing to keep the bike from falling over if you hit the brakes fairly hard? There is no angle on your straps so they won't do much to keep it in place....

Other then that the setup looks nice!

 

[spclk]

f-in fantastic!

 

[skulldrinker]

How in the world did you walk the bike up that high? At my height i would never be able to do it. Maybe I could do a small dirt bike but my bagger would be laying on top me.

Pretty cool how the ramp hides away.

 

[mayday0017]

FYI maximum Tongue weight listed on Dodge's website for the 2012 Dodge is 1,045lbs (NOT TO BE EXCEEDED). I'm sure this is over that... Just food for thought.

 

[E.Marquez]

Very nice build.

Ive made several myself.. It's a fun and rewarding project as it goes quick and you get to see the results up close and vividly.

 

[BMW Rider]

Nice design and looks well built for the task. I've never felt good about those things though for big bikes as I would worry about the hitch on the truck being up to the load. plus it seems a long way back for that much weight loading. Great for the KTM though.

 

[Robert Haas]

The Wing was more for demonstration purposes, sort of a shut the guy up moment.


The bikes that will get on this are in the 700 Lb range.

 

[CNGsaves]

Not sure what all you've got there. Are both of these "OverHassed" bike carriers your build design?? Thus, a lightweight version AND heavy duty??

Is the aluminum boxed-in version for the Goldwing all painted up as the beefier OverHassed (painted black)??

Any pics that show how rims are secured to carrier?? Is there a slot that ratchet strap secures the rims to carrier so it's absolutely sure it's NOT going anywhere??

Your carrier is shown behind a pickup which really would not be the target market in my opinion as you could just drive motorcycle up into bed of pickup. Instead, you'd want that heavy duty bike carrier connected behind a giant motorhome so you could take the motorcycle along.

 

[Robert Haas]

Not sure what all you've got there. Are both of these "OverHassed" bike carriers your build design?? Thus, a lightweight version AND heavy duty??

Is the aluminum boxed-in version for the Goldwing all painted up as the beefier OverHassed (painted black)??

Any pics that show how rims are secured to carrier?? Is there a slot that ratchet strap secures the rims to carrier so it's absolutely sure it's NOT going anywhere??

Your carrier is shown behind a pickup which really would not be the target market in my opinion as you could just drive motorcycle up into bed of pickup. Instead, you'd want that heavy duty bike carrier connected behind a giant motorhome so you could take the motorcycle along.

100% my design my build Heck I even painted it myself

Not Aluminum, it is Steel and the wheels drop into "wells" that once the bike is tied down prevent it from lateral movement.

FYI both bikes are on the same carrier.

 

[CNGsaves]

That's pretty cool but I've got couple ideas you can "improve the mouse trap" with following:
a) Build one out of aluminum to save weight (this would be top model)
b) Keep rail all flat but have adjustable wheelchoks that can be connected on either side of wheel (allows variation in size of motorcycle wheelbase) - - may need wider rail as Honda seems to be sticking over
c) Have slots for ratchet straps to go thru and tighten down rims
d) Design some tie-downs at corners so rain cover could be tied at very bottom corners of carrier (ie hauling nice bike behind motorhome across country you wouldn't want the bike all covered with road splatter)

You might have market for your OveRHassed bike carrier for the big Class A motorhomes!! That's assuming that trailer hitch on motorhome is super heavy duty and can handle that tongue weight . . . and motorhome driver isn't too worried of being rear-ended by someone! Good luck.

 

[theoldwizard1]

FYI maximum Tongue weight listed on Dodge's website for the 2012 Dodge is 1,045lbs (NOT TO BE EXCEEDED).

I really hope you are not planning on hauling the Goldwing around very much, because I will bet something is going to fail !

I assume you are using a Class IV hitch which is rated at 1000 lbs tongue weight. However you have moved the center of mass out by 18" or so. This creates a moment arm which means the weight of the load is actually multiplied by ratio of the new length versus the old, so it could easily be doubled !

I hope you have seriously reinforced the frame of the truck where the hitch mounts because I think the bolts are just going to tear through the metal of the truck frame if you are really going to carry more than about 500 lbs. And then you want to add more weight be putting a trailer on behind that !

Failure will come over time from the steel flexing.

I don't want to drive anywhere near you. !

 

[Robert Haas]

I really hope you are not planning on hauling the Goldwing around very much, because I will bet something is going to fail !

I assume you are using a Class IV hitch which is rated at 1000 lbs tongue weight. However you have moved the center of mass out by 18" or so. This creates a moment arm which means the weight of the load is actually multiplied by ratio of the new length versus the old, so it could easily be doubled !

I hope you have seriously reinforced the frame of the truck where the hitch mounts because I think the bolts are just going to tear through the metal of the truck frame if you are really going to carry more than about 500 lbs. And then you want to add more weight be putting a trailer on behind that !

Failure will come over time from the steel flexing.

I don't want to drive anywhere near you. !

The Wing was more for demonstration purposes, sort of a shut the guy up moment.


The bikes that will get on this are in the 700 Lb range.

The Wing will never be on the hauler again.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The Wing will never be on the hauler again.

Good !

If you really are planning on hauling a trailer behind that, I would still reinforce the truck frame. Remember the ratio of the distance of the load from the "hinge point" (rear most hitch mounting bolts) compared to the distance of the original "intended" load is a multiplier of the effective load !

200 lbs tongue weight trailer added on could easily be an effective 800 lbs !

Also what type of material did you make that mount pipe (what goes in the 2" socket) out of ? After you are done hauling the bike and trailer, remove the carrier and check it for bends with a straight edge !

 

[marty_p]

G-E-N-I-U-S !

 

[Robert Haas]

Good !

If you really are planning on hauling a trailer behind that, I would still reinforce the truck frame. Remember the ratio of the distance of the load from the "hinge point" (rear most hitch mounting bolts) compared to the distance of the original "intended" load is a multiplier of the effective load !

200 lbs tongue weight trailer added on could easily be an effective 800 lbs !

Also what type of material did you make that mount pipe (what goes in the 2" socket) out of ? After you are done hauling the bike and trailer, remove the carrier and check it for bends with a straight edge !

The 2" material is .375" wall and it is substantially stronger then the class V receiver in my 1 ton truck that it is mounted to.

I understand this is the internet and everyone is obviously dumber then whoever you post to, but geesh I have 6 decades of putting things together and I have not killed or harmed a soul yet.

Maybe someone can post up what the tensile strength of a 2" tube with 3/8" wall is. I imagine it will take something in the range of 30 thousand pounds to bend a 18" long piece of it.


Like you said you are 2500 miles from me, you will never have to share any road with it

 

[nine4gmc]

death trap over a few hundred pounds and please do not attempt to haul a trailer at the same time, looks good though!

 

[AirJunky]

Nicely done. Works for the KLR too. Class III hitch is rated for 600 lbs. Bike is about 400. 1/2 ton Avalanche barely notices it back there.
Biggest difference is that this rack has 3 attachment points..... the receiver & then the outer 2 are attached to the truck's frame rails by turnbuckles.

Still a little unnerving to see the bike back there in the mirror. Getting the bike on is pretty easy using the bike's own power, feathering the throttle & brake.

 

[kellymc]

How about adding some tail lights since it appears that when loaded with a bike at least one of the brake lights is obscured.

 

[AirJunky]

How about adding some tail lights since it appears that when loaded with a bike at least one of the brake lights is obscured.

Yea, I've thought about doing that too. Very easy to make happen.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The 2" material is .375" wall and it is substantially stronger then the class V receiver in my 1 ton truck that it is mounted to.

I understand this is the internet and everyone is obviously dumber then whoever you post to, but geesh I have 6 decades of putting things together and I have not killed or harmed a soul yet.

No I'll will intended !

It does not sound like you have had an formal engineering, so I was just trying to explain the affects of a "moment arm" !

Maybe someone can post up what the tensile strength of a 2" tube with 3/8" wall is. I imagine it will take something in the range of 30 thousand pounds to bend a 18" long piece of it.

Sorry, no charts available. Even at 30k that is a static load. Things happen when the load is dynamic.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Nicely done. Works for the KLR too. Class III hitch is rated for 600 lbs. Bike is about 400. 1/2 ton Avalanche barely notices it back there.
Biggest difference is that this rack has 3 attachment points..... the receiver & then the outer 2 are attached to the truck's frame rails by turnbuckles.

I really like the 3 attachment point design. Spreads the load out and you don;t get an twisting with the extra 2 "arms".

I am curious on how you use turnbuckles to secure it to the frame rails. For best results, those outboard arms should have 2 connection point to the frame.

 

[AirJunky]

I am curious on how you use turnbuckles to secure it to the frame rails. For best results, those outboard arms should have 2 connection point to the frame.

I could try & get a couple pics of it installed. But it's pretty basic. The truck frame has several holes in it where the rear bumper is connected. I used one of these on each side & tightened it up. It gets real solid real fast.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I could try & get a couple pics of it installed.

I know what a turnbuckle is !

I just don't see how you can use a turnbuckles to transfer the load from those "arms" to the frame rails.

 

[Robert Haas]

Then you are going to hate this

 

[Robert Haas]

Well I took advantage of the fact that each one of these I built had a class IV receiver in them and figured I could just haul as many bike as I like.

 

[AirJunky]

I know what a turnbuckle is !

I just don't see how you can use a turnbuckles to transfer the load from those "arms" to the frame rails.

I don't know how to explain it. But with just the one connection, the rack has a small amount of wobble in it. There are adapters to sort of lock that in place. But securing the ends of the rack to the frame seems to do a better job of it.

4 racks..... thats funny. I can't believe the truck would handle it very well loaded with bikes though.

 

[kazlx]

Seems legit.

I'm guessing those pics are for $hits and giggles. How much does the single carrier weigh?

Looks good for the single. The only problem with overbuilding things that mount into the hitch is that there is a set capacity you are working with. Is it going to fail the first time out...probably not. Is it going to fail the 10th time out, probably not. But you just continue to roll the dice every time.

Here's what I built for two bikes on the back of an F-250:

 

[Robert Haas]

Well folks seem a little tightly wound around here.

I imagine the world would be a sad place if all anyone ever did was the safest path.

Have fun, take chances, go fast.

 

[kazlx]

No qualms here, just something to think about. Sad state of affairs, but with our current sue happy system, you could definitely get thrown in the grinder if something happened.

Personally, I think it looks bitchin. However, also personally, I would never tow a trailer with it.

 

[5lima30]

Nice build! I've got an aluminum one (commercial made) that I got with my compact dual-sport. It is rated at 350 lbs so it should hold my 286 lb my bike although I have not used it yet.

 

[UGLYTRUK]

I need to transport my 2009 HD Street Glide from New York to Oregon then California next week. I've been looking on Amazon, ebay and Google search. I've found cheap Chinese junk and really pricey haulers. My biggest issue is that I won't be able to open the liftgate on my 2002 Suburban 2wd 1/2 ton. I need to remove my luggage every nite as we stop at hotels along the way. I also have a double bicycle carrier that I can tilt down to the ground to access the tailgate, but obviously the weight of the HD is way too heavy to drop the bike. And I think moving the bike further back will only exacerbate the frame loading issue discussed at length.
Is Mr Haas still selling the carrier pictured? How much?
Any thots on a bike cover to keep the road dust off? Locking mechanism or just a thick padlock to keep the bike where I left it?

 

[Bondo]

I need to transport my 2009 HD Street Glide from New York to Oregon then California next week. I've been looking on Amazon, ebay and Google search. I've found cheap Chinese junk and really pricey haulers. My biggest issue is that I won't be able to open the liftgate on my 2002 Suburban 2wd 1/2 ton. I need to remove my luggage every nite as we stop at hotels along the way. I also have a double bicycle carrier that I can tilt down to the ground to access the tailgate, but obviously the weight of the HD is way too heavy to drop the bike. And I think moving the bike further back will only exacerbate the frame loading issue discussed at length.
Is Mr Haas still selling the carrier pictured? How much?
Any thots on a bike cover to keep the road dust off? Locking mechanism or just a thick padlock to keep the bike where I left it?

Ayuh,.... Donno why ya hy-jacked this ole 3 year old thread, 'n way down page 2,...
Few to nobody will answer You, Vs: the 1st 31 posts,....

Anyways,...
Yer truck ain't big enough to hang a dresser off the back that far,....
Hit the brakes, 'n the front tires are gonna skid, especially this time of year,...

Get yerself, or rent a Trailer to haul the bike on,.....

 

[UGLYTRUK]

Hi-jacked? Don't think so...

If I mount the bike close to the tailgate, a good question is how much weight I'll have on the front wheels. Anybody have experience? I have a trailer, I really don't want the hassle and don't have a place to store it out west like I have back east, thus the carrier. I agree it's an 800lb lump hanging out back, that's why I'm asking around. I wish it was a 3/4 ton Sub, but they're hard to find, especially for the the $2200 I paid + the new junk China tires I had to put on. I have a '84 3/4 ton, but it's a real Teeruk, and the '02 has everything working great, is smooth and comfortable...

 

[Robert Haas]

Too dang many know it all's here on GJ. I built 3 dozen of these haulers and have had over 100 E-mails requesting one of the next batch.

Funny thing about building stuff the way my under-educated self does. They don't break, they work as intended and I get nothing but glowing reviews from every single person with one of my products.

So to answer your question, nope I ain't building these anymore, I have moved over to aircraft construction and pediatric life support systems.

 

[Robert Haas]

No I'll will intended !

It does not sound like you have had an formal engineering, so I was just trying to explain the affects of a "moment arm" !
.

Oh It has been bothering me, how exactly would a formal education sound anyway?

Would it sound like a blow hard know it all that gives opinions on products they have never seen?

Just wonderin

 

[firworks]

Do you have a website or anything with some of the other stuff you've built? I tried searching for Overhaased but all I can find is people talking about overgassed AR15s.

 

[Robert Haas]

Do you have a website or anything with some of the other stuff you've built? I tried searching for Overhaased but all I can find is people talking about overgassed AR15s.

Lots of my builds are right here in this forum.

I do custom one off projects lately.

 

[cwh]

Thanks for bumping this thread - it was a good read. Robert, the haulers are slick - that is the best design I've seen. Your sense of humor is much appreciated.

Lots of folks mean well, and they don't know how much the guy on the other end of the line knows about the subject at hand, so safety/caution is always the first direction they go. Nothing wrong with that, but the constant "you'll shoot your eye out, kid" mentality does wear on a guy.

Keep posting. I suspect the silent majority enjoys your projects - I know I do.

 

[UGLYTRUK]

Oh well, btw, how much were they?

I'm considering a small 12' enclosed trailer. $2200-$2800 depending on features