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Motorcycle hitch carrier/towing

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Thanks for all the responses.

Based on everything I read Im not going to persue a hitch carrier any further. Too much possible negative outcomes. My worst fear being, the hitch breaks and bikes on the ground. Its just not worth the risk.

Trailer it is!

grsxr guy can you pm me details about your trailer im interested.
Again cheers for all the feedback. Certainly a learning curve when it comes to towing bikes.
 
alangolding25 said:
Thanks for all the responses.

Based on everything I read Im not going to persue a hitch carrier any further. Too much possible negative outcomes. My worst fear being, the hitch breaks and bikes on the ground. Its just not worth the risk.

Trailer it is!

grsxr guy can you pm me details about your trailer im interested.
Again cheers for all the feedback. Certainly a learning curve when it comes to towing bikes.
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Good choice! Now you can take friends with you which is awesome. Make sure the trailer is well maintained!

chiller said:
The HF carrier actually snapped in the middle, you can see the metal completely broke off and the carrier came off (luckily) in the parking lot and not on the highway.

I personally would not trust a carrier. I have a trailer :)
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Oh ****! I hope your friends bike is alright.. So the carrier failed, but how was the hitch on the back of his jeep any damage?
 
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-JERICHO- said:
Oh ****! I hope your friends bike is alright.. So the carrier failed, but how was the hitch on the back of his jeep any damage?
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The bike was a dedicated dirt bike so falling off was no damage since the plastic on those bikes is rubbermaid type anyway ... and dirt bikes take falls all the time, falling 2 ft off the ground on a hitch carrier was no different then on the trails.

the hitch on the Jeep was fine, no damage to it. He was able to leave the bike with another group of his riders and go home and get his trailer. (he has a trailer for carrying 3 bikes but uses the hitch carrier for his single bike ... he won't be doing that again).

The failure point is where the carrier bolts to the shaft coming out of the hitch. The bolted piece of metal completely sheared off the shaft. The bolts were still on the unit but the metal completely sheared. Luckily this happened in a parking lot if it was on the highway, this would have probably been classified as 'his' fault if someone hit it.

I can't seem to attach the pictures but if anyone wants a picture of the failure itself please give me your email and I will send it to you.
 
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Look on adv rider and you will see the HF carriers fail all the time due to bad design. There are almost no reports of any other brand of hitch carrier failing.

sent from a device using a program
 
thanks Jericho will certainly do.

yeah scuba steve took a look on that site, didnt see any photos of failed hitches but seen a tonne of photos with bikes attached to hitch carriers, they were all trial bikes, didnt see one sports/naked bike on the hitch carrier
 
alangolding25 said:
thanks Jericho will certainly do.

yeah scuba steve took a look on that site, didnt see any photos of failed hitches but seen a tonne of photos with bikes attached to hitch carriers, they were all trial bikes, didnt see one sports/naked bike on the hitch carrier
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I know you made your choice, but just for reference I own a mototote carrier. http://www.mototote.com/MotoTote-MTX-Sport-Motorcycle-Carrier.html
They sell a sport bike specific model, which is the one that I use. Also the price has gone up since I bought mine. I got mine for around $350-400.

Look up on google what to watch out for when buying a trailer, because a crappy one is as good as a crappy hitch carrier. They will wobble and sway on the highway, which does not inspire confidence. I am positive there are people on this site who are experts on trailers..
 
haha Why didn't you mention this earlier haha. I am curious about that. Based on the photos there are a lot of larger bikes being attached to similar size SUV's. Will enquire about that.
 
-JERICHO- said:
Look up on google what to watch out for when buying a trailer, because a crappy one is as good as a crappy hitch carrier. They will wobble and sway on the highway, which does not inspire confidence. I am positive there are people on this site who are experts on trailers..
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^. THIS...

I paid top dollar for my trailer ... almost 5g's when taxes and mods were all added in. I have an open trailer (for gas mileage ... enclosed trailers are a real hit on mileage) ... but its all aluminum so will never rust, holds 3 street bikes, 3500 lbs capacity AND folds up for storage so I can park it in the garage (though I usually just leave it outside since rust is not a concern)

pic here :

http://www.photoreflect.com/store/photocard.aspx?pc=9B7A4273AB939E8DE0EC9814B5755BBD
 
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alangolding25 said:
haha Why didn't you mention this earlier haha. I am curious about that. Based on the photos there are a lot of larger bikes being attached to similar size SUV's. Will enquire about that.
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lol I dunno man..I just remembered when I was driving back from Windsor a few weeks ago I was passing a few dudes with trailers and this one guy was hauling a small generator, and his trailer was just going side to side.. scared the **** out of me.. I think he realised what was happening and slowed down a lot.. I stopped for gas and passed him again he was in the far right, but that trailer was not a nice one. Yeah the moto tote hitchs are supposed to be the "best" ones, and its the one I have used in the US extensively. I do recommend it as a hitch carrier.


chiller said:
I paid top dollar for my trailer ... almost 5g's when taxes and mods were all added in.

http://www.photoreflect.com/store/photocard.aspx?pc=9B7A4273AB939E8DE0EC9814B5755BBD
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Exactly. I paid around $2000 for mine. I got tires suited to highway driving, lights, spare tire, and the proper attachments for my truck, its galvanized so its rust proof, its just an open trailer, with a nice large ramp. I have 3 wheel chocks to to hold the bikes. That trailer you have is really nice looking dude! I was looking at something like that before I pulled the trigger on mine but didn't want to pay so much for my first trailer.. You really do get what you pay for with trailers..
 
-JERICHO- said:
Exactly. I paid around $2000 for mine. I got tires suited to highway driving, lights, spare tire, and the proper attachments for my truck, its galvanized so its rust proof, its just an open trailer, with a nice large ramp. I have 3 wheel chocks to to hold the bikes. That trailer you have is really nice looking dude! I was looking at something like that before I pulled the trigger on mine but didn't want to pay so much for my first trailer.. You really do get what you pay for with trailers..
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I looked at alot of other trailers including have a custom built one from galvanized steel but the Aluminum was just lighter. I can tow this behind a car if I wanted to, the whole trailer I believe is just a tad over 500 lbs... the Galvanized steel one built to spec would have been about 850-900 lbs but would have been ok from a corrosion resistance stand point. Ramp is built in to the bottom and I just slide it out and click it on when I need it. If a bike (cruiser) has a low bottom I can unlock the whole trailer and allow it to pivot on the axle. This helps the whole trailer to help act as part of the ramp to assist with loading. And of course splurged on Aluminum wheels instead of steelies (though steelie for the spare).

Get a good top quality trailer and you can keep it pretty much forever. Only will need axles greased and tires as its maintenance. No decks to replace, or paint to prevent rusting.

I paid the extra because with the rust free Aluminum, I can tell myself that I am amortizing this over 30-40 years. 5g's spread over 40 yrs is only $125 / yr ... so far I have towed SOMETHING whether it be furniture or bikes about a dozen times a year so works out to about $10 bucks per use which is TOTALLY worth it.
 
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Yes I think I am inclined more towards a trailer as I mentioned. I do a good bit of home DIY and it will come in handy in other times.
I wont be looking to spend more than 1000 as it being my first trailer. I am happy to buy a trailer that needs work that I can do myself.

Very nice trailer chiller she is a beaut!
One day hopefully ill have one.
 
I can add a 0 on my price if it makes everyone feel better. Trailers sway because of improper load placement. A 5x8 sheet of aluminum checker plate is $500 that is why they are pricey. I just finished building one for ontario power generation. Alan I will send you pics tonight.
 
Awesome gsxr guy thanks a lot. Look forward to the pics! And you can keep the extra 0 haha
 
Guess I shouldn't tell you guys I put my Reese ball mount into the bike rack I made and towed a boat to the cottage too.
 
I would not recommend a hitch carrier. A buddy uses one for his dirt bike, and even that rocks a little as the carrier has just the tiniest bit of play (necessary for it to slide into the receiver) resulting in the bike tipping end to end while driving. Its only few mm in the receiver, but its a couple of inches by the time you get out to the edges of the carrier. That is a lot of stress to put on a hitch, especially for a hitch in a unit-body vehicle. I have a hitch carrier for bicycles and it does the same thing. For your $1000 budget you can easily find an open trailer that will be way more versatile and safer. Bonus is you can use it to carry any size motorcycle or dirt, patio stones, the list goes on.
 
I built my own hitch carrier last summer to haul my dirt bikes (trials, enduro and mx, only one at a time). I designed it with built in lights because because I wanted to ensure visibility. I threaded the hitch pin holes and use two heavy bolts with lock washers instead of the usual hitch pin, this eliminates the rocking that you see with some carriers. I also built it with a slide in ramp to help with loading. That being said I'd never put my sport bike on it. If I have the carrier on my 4x4 4 door Dakota I can stand on it and bounce the back of my truck up and down more that you would believe possible.
 
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The hitch carrier isnt mounted right if you are gettin tilting etc, there are products an or brackets to stop any wobble. Haters hate but they work just fine.
 
Haters might hate, but IF there is a risk, and in my situation there is a risk. Why take it. If I had a larger 4x4 truck or a large sized SUV, and I was carrying a 350-400 pound bike then I would be confident.

But my bike is 550pounds with oil and fuel in it. And I have a medium sized 4x4 SUV. So the risk is bigger for me. As much as I would really really like a hitch carrier for simplicity, value, storage etc. I just don't want to force it for those reasons and run the risk of a) having my bike end up on some highway in pieces or b) In a years time having to fork out thousands of dollars to repair my damaged SUV cause there was to much strain on it.


Trailer it is! Maybe in the future there will be much more advanced designs and models of hitch carriers but there is nothing I have seen out there in my research to make me confident that it will work well with what I've got.
 
Sound advise on both sides.

Something to consider is access to the rear cargo area when the bike is loaded.

I camp and have a bike rack and it's a pain when you just want to grab something out of the back.

Even with an Escape with separate glass opening, it's still a pita.
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