Hitch Questions

<snip>

Question. I'm looking between 2 and 4 bike carriers. I know every manufacturer says to limit a Class I hitch to 2 bikes. I've read lots of articles all over the place by users saying they've loaded up Class I's with four bikes with no issues. I only rarely carry more than one, possibly two bikes on my car, but having the ability to throw an extra on in an emergency seems attractive. Anyone have any input on that?

From Etrailer.com

With a Class I trailer hitch installed, you will be limited to carrying only 2 bikes as the Class I trailer hitches are not designed to withstand the amount of weight and torque associated with carrying more than 2 bikes.

The problem is when you add more bikes further from the hitch it creates more torque on the hitch

Another good answer from Etrailer:

Class I hitches can only carry up to 2 bikes. Even if the bikes are kids bikes that would be lighter than adult bikes I can't recommend you carry more than 2 bikes on a Class I hitch. The problem is the additional weight of the bikes and the distance away from the hitch where the weight is placed. It ends up putting a lot of leverage on the hitch.

Most likely if you carried 4 bikes on a Class I hitch the hitch or the attachment points for the hitch would become damaged. A lot of Class I hitches attach to the bottom of the trunk pan of the vehicle. Recently a customer emailed us saying his trunk pan started to bend in when carrying his bike rack. He didn't say he was carrying more than 2 bikes, but I would suspect that he did or was carrying very heavy bikes.
 
Back