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Beezzz

Hauling motorcycle plus jeep with class A RV

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Link:  https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-hitch-extender-69881.html

What is the most stable way to haul a 2 door jeep and a 250 lb. mx bike or a 450 lb adventure bike at the same time with a class A 26' "shorty" RV?  (Fleetwood Flair RV)

Should I mount them on the tail of RV or tail of Jeep.  If mounted on the RV tail, can you make turns O.K. without the bike hitting the Jeep.  Is the turning radius of the RV limited?  Seems like it would be.  Anyone have any experience with this?

 

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Haul mine on the back of my class A with an Xterra (4500#) towed behind it. Tows fine though you will feel a little more influence from the toad with the extension but nothing severe. Have towed 1000's of miles with this setup without issue. A 450# bike might be pushing it and loading it would be an adventure in itself. I built my setup.Here's a link to another forum where I posted about it>  http://www.irv2.com/forums/f250/mc-carrier-project-finished-245468.html

PM me for my phone # if you want to chat about it.

 

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 Nice Forum - I should have such "problems".   

         :huh:

  That infers a serious extension of the receiver,  true?

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I have a similar hauler, it has an extension all the way through it that you can then put your receiver into and tow something else behind it.  I've never used this feature yet, but got it to put a dual sport on and then tow the VW as well.  Guess I'll try it out some time.

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6 hours ago, Beezzz said:

Link:  https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-hitch-extender-69881.html

What is the most stable way to haul a 2 door jeep and a 250 lb. mx bike or a 450 lb adventure bike at the same time with a class A 26' "shorty" RV?  (Fleetwood Flair RV)

Should I mount them on the tail of RV or tail of Jeep.  If mounted on the RV tail, can you make turns O.K. without the bike hitting the Jeep.  Is the turning radius of the RV limited?  Seems like it would be.  Anyone have any experience with this?

 

Just a followup. I wouldn't try to use the Harbor Freight extender. Way to flimsy. I added two receivers to the end of the MH frame\trailer hitch. They are actually bolted to the side plates of the trailer hitch. The bike tray rests on 2" tube extenders that slide into those. The toad hitch extender is seperate and doesn't support the bike. I have gone the route of carrying the bike on the back of the toad but didn't like the hassle of dragging the bike along everytime we used the toad to go somewhere. 

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Go see Joe Hauler in San Marcos and he can fab you up a custom rack. Joe built a custom carrier off the back of my 32 Southwind, he added I-Beams to reinforce rack to chassis so I can load it and flat tow off it. Setup gets me 5 bikes and a Jeep!  Two bikes (TTR125 and CRF150RB) on RV rack, flat tow Jeep with two bikes inside of it (TTR110 and CRF50), YZ450FX on Joe Hauler behind Jeep. Rack is also super handy for non-dirt bike trips to carry things like coolers, firewood, bicycles, etc.

 

 

IMG_4512.jpg

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9 hours ago, Bagstr said:

 Nice Forum - I should have such "problems".   

         :huh:

  That infers a serious extension of the receiver,  true?

The receiver is extended ~24". It's 1/4" wall 2 x 2. The extension passes through a guide sleeve out at the mc tray that keeps it from moving vertically and horizontally. It's very robust. I've literally towed over 10,000 miles with this setup on two motorhomes without even a hint of a problem. I also have outboard receivers added on the Xterra so i can use the same bike rack on it minus the hitch extension.

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Randy is that setup removable? Looks like what I need but I use every inch of space where I park my motorhome and would need to remove it to park.

 

Chris

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    attachment.php?attachmentid=93861&stc=1&

    Aluminium Rail with integrated lighting!  First Class.

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3 hours ago, Bagstr said:

    attachment.php?attachmentid=93861&stc=1&

    Aluminium Rail with integrated lighting!  First Class.

 

Bags, What setup is this?  Yours?

What a great response from the group!!! 

The first hand experience sharing has been terrific and important.

The RV centers and myself have been concerned about the extra "leverage" from the extensions affecting tongue weight specifications and RV driving performance (the straight tracking of the RV).  Any comments regarding "RV tracking" with a 26' class A and tail whip/sway?

Anyone have an extra setup they no longer need?

Thanks.

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3 hours ago, Covered in Dust said:

Randy is that setup removable? Looks like what I need but I use every inch of space where I park my motorhome and would need to remove it to park.

 

Chris

Yeah. The whole thing bolts together so no heavy lifting. The two 2 x 2 stringers slide into receivers mounted on the outside of the trailer hitch mounting brackets and are easily removed. It goes on or off in about 15 minutes if you're really slow like me. I use the same pieces on my Xterra so I can move it from vehicle to vehicle. Bags - I added the lighting for when it is on the Xterra as the bike does block the stock lights. 

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Just now, Beezzz said:

 

Bags, What setup is this?  Yours?

What a great response from the group!!! 

The first hand experience sharing has been terrific and important.

The RV centers and myself have been concerned about the extra "leverage" from the extensions affecting tongue weight specifications and RV driving performance (the straight tracking of the RV).  Any comments regarding "RV tracking" with a 26' class A and tail whip/sway?

Anyone have an extra setup they no longer need?

Thanks.

I would not use this setup to tow a trailer due to the tongue weight but when you are pulling a toad there is no tongue weight. The bike is not supported by the trailer hitch. As I mentioned earlier you'll notice a little more influence from the toad but nothing concerning. I have this on a 32' class A pulling a 4500# car. You're 2 door jeep is considerably lighter so I think you would have no issue with the shorter motorhome. Mine is custom built by me and a buddy who's a far better welder than I am:). The off the shelf receiver style bike haulers all have a 3000# limit on towing behind them. In their case they are supporting the bike on the hitch.

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5 minutes ago, PbdBlue said:

I would not use this setup to tow a trailer due to the tongue weight but when you are pulling a toad there is no tongue weight. The bike is not supported by the trailer hitch. As I mentioned earlier you'll notice a little more influence from the toad but nothing concerning. I have this on a 32' class A pulling a 4500# car. You're 2 door jeep is considerably lighter so I think you would have no issue with the shorter motorhome. Mine is custom built by me and a buddy who's a far better welder than I am:). The off the shelf receiver style bike haulers all have a 3000# limit on towing behind them. In their case they are supporting the bike on the hitch.

"The off the shelf receiver style bike haulers all have a 3000# limit on towing behind them. In their case they are supporting the bike on the hitch."

Wow!  Custom built then?  Where?  Joe Hauler?  Any El Cajon builders you recommend?

CID, have you figured this out for your similar needs?

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20 minutes ago, Beezzz said:

"The off the shelf receiver style bike haulers all have a 3000# limit on towing behind them. In their case they are supporting the bike on the hitch."

Wow!  Custom built then?  Where?  Joe Hauler?  Any El Cajon builders you recommend?

CID, have you figured this out for your similar needs?

Me and a buddy. Got the idea from a setup I saw on a guys motorhome at dual sport ride I attended years ago. Can't make any recommendation on fabricators. Never used one. Anyone else know?

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I’ve got a pretty good welder at home but I’m not a great welder yet, but I think I’ll give it a try and make something similar.

 

CiD

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27 minutes ago, Covered in Dust said:

I’ve got a pretty good welder at home but I’m not a great welder yet, but I think I’ll give it a try and make something similar.

 

CiD

If you need more pics or want to come by and look at it let me know.

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CID,

  " I’ve got a pretty good welder at home".     Where does he or she sleep??

 :o   Sorry,   I wish my garage had the room to have a welding practice area.  You know, in 30 years your eyes will suffer. 

      The Governor

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7 hours ago, Beezzz said:

Wow!  Custom built then?  Where?  Joe Hauler?  Any El Cajon builders you recommend?

I don't know anyone in El Cajon but you could call Cliff Fuerst up in Ramona (Fuerst Engineering).  Cliff has done extensive work on my '68 Jeepster, does all the fabricating on trailers that we build, and does a lot of cover truck (4X4) stuff, among other things.  Great work, reasonable prices and an all around good guy (his brother Johnny is hell on wheels and tears it up on an XR650R.  They will both probably be there if you go by; ask Johnny about some of his adventures!). Cliff's number is 760.789.6731   Tell him Bruce told you to call and he will take good care of you if you go that route.

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OK here's some detail on how the hauler goes together:

 

These are the receivers I added to the outside of the trailer hitch mount.

IMG_6068.jpg.55e56650ef4b43ad92bc26ad5075f993.jpg

Here's a pic with the support stringers inserted in the receivers

IMG_6075.jpg.a71b4550d46ea72590739b4baceb8b9e.jpg

Adding the hitch extension. Notice the extensions for the safety chains and electrical connector as the originals will definitely not reach

IMG_6076.jpg.01d52f2af3eaeae941a5a06a50150800.jpg

I added this guide to the hitch extension. It's a floating sleeve that bolts to the bike tray to provide some lateral and vertical support. I made it floating so there wouldn't be a bind between the bike carrier and the hitch extension

IMG_6079.jpg.041031ed449353a93bf6d4b0f32acec8.jpg

Next add the bike tray and the loading ramp

IMG_6082.jpg.b5c66c5241c28c43994e5aadb167703b.jpg

And the completed installation

IMG_6083.jpg.60532e06ae4c99eab9db66e71fb8378f.jpg

Hope this all helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

IMG_6081.jpg

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looks great and good photos.  I sense a retail market for this one.  I have found only hydraulic lift versions or custom builds like this one on the internet.  Thanks.

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