Dual hitch for bicycles

judymac

What is our choice if we don't use an extended hitch?  I contacted Little Guy about that sticker, no response yet.  Hey, Michigan Mike, think you could help us get an answer sooner.  I understand your SS has it's own receiver rather than T@B?

Michigan_Mike

judymac said:

John, do you mind if I ask what your clearance is from ground/garage floor to the top of the ball?  I think we are trying to keep it at a recommended 16"
would love to find a budget-friendly bike rack for 2 that would work for our Trailblazer and T@B

There are alternatives to hauling bikes and it amounts to ingenuity, trial and error if you will and finding a good means of keeping them safe and intact.  This guy fabricated a bike rack and it makes sense.

 

Michigan_Mike

judymac said:

What is our choice if we don't use an extended hitch?  I contacted Little Guy about that sticker, no response yet.  Hey, Michigan Mike, think you could help us get an answer sooner.  I understand your SS has it's own receiver rather than T@B?

Give me more specifics as to what you are asking and looking for here Judy?  If your trailer brings the rear end of your vehicle lower to the ground you might consider the air bags or lift kit that some people use to stabilize the load hauled behind their vehicle.  One member who haulked a 6-wide Little Guy installed Firestone 'air bag' air springs on his Toyota RAV4/V6 and it made a difference.  

jcfaber1

Judymac, post some photos or a video of your setup and your challenge so that we can help.  Originally we were going to tow with our VW Jetta diesel sport wagon, I added the Firestone air bags and it made a huge difference.  We eventually purchased a more appropriate tow vehicle as I didn't think the VW would work for long trips at higher speeds.
John

Cyclonic

I think at issue here is a warning label on the trailer that specifically says not to use an extended hitch.  I think this a newer label, as I am not finding it on my unit.  However; I think what Judy might really be looking for is more properly called an extended ball mount, which is different then a hitch extension.

You are not going to find much difference in towing between a 6" ball mount and a 12" ball mount, but you could have problems if you are using a bigger 24" hitch extender.  An extender is a different beast, used on pick-ups with the tail gate down, such as when a larger truck camper is in the bed.  These extenders can dramatically lower the towing capacity of the TV, as the length adds all sorts of new variables, like extended turning radius and pitch, not to mention another point of connection that could fail.  My guess is that is the reasoning behind the newer warning labels.

jcfaber1

I do not think the long receiver with the swagman bike rack constitutes a hitch extender.  I do not know it that option is still viable for her.

judymac

Thanks.  I will see what happens when we use the new ball mount with bike rack receiver.  The dealer gave us a dual receiver and it caused configuration changes.
yes, Cyclonic, that label through me a curve as we were seeing how the dual receiver worked.
Mike, I appreciate your help.  We hope to work on this tomorrow.
Now we only have one point connection.  

SweetlyHome

The issue with an extension is that it increases the effective weight on the hitch.  The bicycles add to the issue.   The combination will likely continue to tow well.  However where it turns up as less weight on the front axle which is not good.  For example the question is do you notice that it is significantly easier to "patch out" with a front wheel drive vehicle?  Or is there a really noticeable slope to rear of the TV?  The concern is the ability to steer in slippery conditions.

We had a Silver Shadow that we towed with a Honda CRV.  The combination worked great for the most part.  But we always had to be careful not to load extra weight in the nose of the SS or put too much in the rear of the CRV as we immediately noticed lost traction in the front end.  You noticed this light front end the most on an up hill entrance to a highway, nothing near a quick acceleration was practical without skidding the wheels.  In a smaller TV you may even notice a difference in this effect with and without a passenger.  

If you can't guess I'm an advocate of a amply sized tow vehicle.  We tow our T@B with a RAV4, rated to tow 3500 with the factory tow package,  and we are OK with the combination.  The front end is lighter than normal if we look for it but not nearly as much as the CRV/SS combination.  We have had to make one sudden emergency lane change in the new combination.  You could feel the T@B resist the sudden change to the next lane but what was scary was the T@B pushing us toward the ditch as we recovered.  You could feel the violent push on the rear of the RAV4.  A lighter vehicle would have lost the battle. I've learned to back off another couple of car lengths as well.

judymac

Dave, that is scary m I won't share with my husband.  He has so many worries about what 'might' happen.
we worked on the T@B most of the day but I forgot to take a picture of our tow setup.  There isn't alot of clearance from the ball mount to the hitch handle.  Still looking.
Thank you.

SweetlyHome

judymac, I don't know what year Trailblazer your driving but based on a quick review of the internet it looks like it rated at a least 5,000 lbs.  That a lot of additional safety margin compared to where we are with the RAV4

Michigan_Mike

Good point in your commentary above SweetlyHome and well taken as this is one of them tough love subjects!   Your experience(s) noted is well taken and are some of the points I have tried to make in some of my other postings here on the T@B forum and within the Little Guy forum areas.  Inasmuch as some folks would like to debate the fact that they "can" pull their trailers with lighter vehicles that are not rated for the load or when they exceed the allowable towing specs of their tow vehicle, things can and do change and happen in a split second.  The bottom line for me personally is safety and even with a rated vehicle things can happen.  I understand that vehicles these days are expensive and put people in the hole, but I'll do my best not to arrive there by pushing the envelope, throwing safety out the window just to say I saved a few bucks.  

judymac

2003 Chevy Trailblazer and we already determined it was rated close to 5,000 # We visited a few RV dealers before the T@B and I was frustrated when this one salesperson informed us we could 'easily' to 6,000#.  
We knew better and since we were newbies at both towing and camping, I vowed to never return to that dealership.
DH and I have many conversations about not wanting to cause harm to other drivers, that is important to us regardless of how great our insurance is.
I would like to know who we saw in SEPT. On the BR Parkway in a T@B or T@G and a SS.  That is where our search began.  Our thought processes are that even though this is a small RV we still have the same responsibilities on the road as the big rigs..

judymac

Got the bike rack on, bikes fit ok. I think there is a little too much sway in the bikes and rack but both are secure.
Next problem, rack hitting tongue jack. 
I am ready to give up.
Going to try and post a pic
Thanks.
Oh, DH and I don't gift exchange; however, Santa brought our door blind!

jcfaber1

The Swagman won't have the sway problem.

judymac

Thanks.  I wish LG could put a hitch on the back of the T@B similar to SS

jcfaber1

Agreed 

Michigan_Mike

You could place a hitch quieter on the bike rack and take out some of the slop shown in the photo Judy.  

judymac

Yes!  We used one between hitch and receiver. No perfect fit, right?  
Thank you.

Michigan_Mike

The one above works well, stabilizes things nicely and stayed intact.  

judymac

DH worked all day on the bike rack connection.  He thinks he has it to where it will work for us and not interfere with towing in a turn.  We realize no 2 vehicles are the same, so we had to make a few adjustments without comprising safety.
If this fails, grrrr.  Keeping fingers crossed.

jkjenn

Judy, just saw where you asked about a bike pump. I am away right now. But can check when I get home, although, if you pick up a good quality bike pump, they should all work fine. Just make sure you get one that you can use with your blowout plug.

Michigan_Mike

I've got a nice Topeak Bike pump that pressures up my bike tires nicely.  These are available on Amazon and am sure you will find them available elsewhere too.  The pump head fits both Schrader valves and the Presta valves.  

judymac

Thanks Jenn and Mike.  Will check it out.

DurangoTaB

Does anyone using the dual hitch have towing capacity problems?  Especially up hills/mountains?  I see in most of their ads that they reduce towing capacity by 50%...