Hitch failure

[net200777]

Hollywood Racks Sportrider Se Hitch Rack, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0076IHB2Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_O1rSAbX6W1MBT

Reese Towpower 7022900 1-1/4" to 2" Receiver Adapter - 10" Long https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001IH6WHE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_o2rSAbPJQ3RVP

Hitch Tightener for 1.25" and 2"Hitches RETECK 304 Stainless Steel Hitch Tightener Anti-Rattle Stabilizer Rust-Free Heavy Duty Lock Down Easy Installation Quiet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KZ25Y26/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_d3rSAbX216EBE

Draw-Tite 24847 Class I Hitch for Toyota Prius '10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NZWGWK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_X3rSAbBW2XMT3


I have a Prius and I need to make sure I'm not about to see a bike go flying down the highway. I originally started off with a swagman xc2 but the rack itself is rated at 35lb per bike. Well that won't work bc each bike I have is 45-46 lb without battery. I couldn't find very many racks that support it. So here is a Hollywood rack(problem is it's class 2). So naturally I looked for 1-1/4 to 2" adapter. Problem, class 1 200lb tongue weight. Ok.. so put one bike inside car. Problem.. tongue weight is cut in half with use of adapter. So 100 lb tongue weight.. if you take one bike 46lb, the rack(I think it's 49) and the actual weight of the adapter.. I think it's pushing it. I don't plan on driving rough with it. I just want to make sure I'll be ok. I really like the rack and it supports 50lb per bike. I thought I would have it when I changed vehicles one day.

 

[mrgold35]

The most popular platform rack I see for small cars is the 1UP plaform rack for 1-2 bikes at 50lbs per bike. I see them on smaller cars like Mazda 3 and VW GTI. I haven't seen the 1UP rack with ebikes on them, mostly MTB.

My mid-size SUV (Acura RDX, 1500lbs tow limit) only has an 1-1/4" OEM hitch size; but, I found a 2" aftermarket hitch instead. This eliminated the need to add an adapter for my 2" Saris Freedom Superclamp 4 platform rack if I need to switch the rack between my larger full size SUV.

Saris makes several 2-bike platform bike rack at 60 lbs each for bikes if you still looking at racks. The Freedom 2-Bike, Freedom Superclamp 2-bike, and Saris SuperClamp EX all can handle two 60 lbs bikes and the is already has a 1-1/4 hitch size (also comes with an adapter you can slide on the end to convert to 2").

My Saris rack can do 4 bikes; but, I just removed the 2nd outer rack to save weight and it is easier to put my Radrover on the rack. I add the 2nd rack as needed if we do family rides.

 

[Fitzy]

I think you're thinking too much! Are you beholden to the Hollywood? I've been using a Graber All Star 2-Bike Tray Rack ($200) for about a year on my tiny Hyundai Accent and absolutely love it. Very high quality, and has proven quite rugged. It's rated at 50lbs, but manufacturers always put generous safety-factors on these figures. My bike's a 55lb fatty (I retro-fitted fatty wheel-wells) which I ALWAYS have on the rack when I'm not riding. I also keep it on the outside for convenience, this would mean that the rack's support-arm is subjected to the maximum torque: no problems. I've also had occasion to transport another gas-bike (~60lbs) in tandem, so I've subjected the rack to well beyond its rated limits with no problems. It's a 1-1/4", so no adapter required. In my experience: the fewer moving parts, the better. The Hollywood's a great rack, but it's got a lot going on with it...bits and pieces and summed tolerances that can add up to rattling and corrosion-points. In the pic below, you'll notice (red arrow) I ran a loop lock-cable from the car's frame through the hitch's loop, and to the hitch-post. This allows me to padlock the bike, and secures everything to the car. This also would prevent the bike from being left behind in an unlikely catastrophe. I have an extra-long bungee-cord to secure the slider; no need to screw down to tighten. My experience has been that screwing these racks' sliders is not only a pain in the ass, they have a tendency to loosen due to vibration; the bungee mitigates this issue and makes loading the bike a breeze.

 

[Nova Haibike]

I have not used one personally, but I have sold Thule racks in the past and they make the Easyfold 2 which looks ideal for e-bikes:

 

[Bruce Arnold]

I went through the same process choosing a rack for 2 ebikes, on an Outback, 200 lb. tongue weight, 1.25" receiver. Talked with the Parts/Service folk at the Subaru dealer. They pointed me to one of those adapters that you mention, after noting the irony that the model of bike rack (Yakima) that Subaru sells through their dealers is made for a 2 inch receiver. They assured me that with the two bikes, and the rack I'd be fine. So I bought the adapter at Advanced Auto and a Thule XT Pro T2. It's rated for 60 lb. bikes so I'm good there. Between the bikes and the rack I'm running at about 150 lbs. I've been using it for over a month and have a lot of miles on it. Really nice construction, easy to load, solid retention system. I'm good with it.

I bought my rack from Rack Warehouse. This is a real bargain price for the Thule. I don't mind at all that it was re-packaged; it was brand-new with no signs of use whatsoever.

 

[elyhim]

The USA 1 up is better. I use a Yakima rack with the 1.25 and I bought the 2" converter but it's heavy itself. I've checked out my buddies 1up and it's lighter and better and worth the cost for smaller cars.

 

[slomoshun]

Fwiw, discussed a bit last August

https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/must-i-buy-a-new-car-for-my-hitch-rack-bikes.14344/

 

[Barry S]

Look for the racks you're interested in on etrailer.com and watch their road test videos to see how they perform on the road. They usually test each rack on multiple vehicles and I would be surprised if a Prius wasn't the subject car in one of them. They also list full specs on each rack.

If you're going to pulling the rack on and off a lot, pay attention to how easy or difficult the installation is and the weight of the rack itself. One last thing is whether or not the rack will block your license plate. I never gave this any thought until the local PD were having a slow day a few weeks ago and pulled my wife over because our empty Yakima rack was blocking his view of our plate. It's probably not a deal breaker, just something to consider if the cops in your area aren't cyclist friendly.

 

[John from Connecticut]

Look for the racks you're interested in on etrailer.com and watch their road test videos to see how they perform on the road. They usually test each rack on multiple vehicles and I would be surprised if a Prius wasn't the subject car in one of them. They also list full specs on each rack.

If you're going to pulling the rack on and off a lot, pay attention to how easy or difficult the installation is and the weight of the rack itself. One last thing is whether or not the rack will block your license plate. I never gave this any thought until the local PD were having a slow day a few weeks ago and pulled my wife over because our empty Yakima rack was blocking his view of our plate. It's probably not a deal breaker, just something to consider if the cops in your area aren't cyclist friendly.

Hello,
I drive a 1993 Honda Accord, have two Trek e-bikes, combined weight 95 lbs.

I purchased this Saris 2 bike rack ( no longer available ) last summer which I love....

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists) .

My Draw Tite hitch came from eTrailer.com....

https://www.etrailer.com/hitch-1993_Honda_Accord.htm?style=excluding+Wagon

Both Saris and eTrailer were fantastic answering questions and support. The Draw Tite hitch makes
for extremely install and removal of the Saris rack, which I do after each time I use it. I hope this was helpful.

John from CT

 

[net200777]

https://torkliftcentral.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Prius


Not sure if anyone else has experience with this manufacturer but I thought I would share this here. There's a two-inch option on even a Class 1 for Prius.

 

[harryS]

The tongue weight with the 2" receiver still remains at 200 lbs. My concern was always the hitch ripping the bolted-in mounts out of my car, not that the hitch itself would fail.

 

[net200777]

The tongue weight with the 2" receiver still remains at 200 lbs. My concern was always the hitch ripping the bolted-in mounts out of my car, not that the hitch itself would fail.

Exactly specs remain the same for tongue weight but at least options for bike racks increase to 2" size. 2 50lb bikes and 50lb bike rack is still 50lbs below the tongue rating. I agree with you, the frame is always a concern. I've been told though that chassis is steal, so theoretically should be good.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

The tongue weight with the 2" receiver still remains at 200 lbs. My concern was always the hitch ripping the bolted-in mounts out of my car, not that the hitch itself would fail.

You're absolutely correct that the tongue weight remains the same on a given vehicle, regardless of the size of the receiver.

Also, putting a non-standard hitch assembly on your vehicle might void the warranty. There's a reason the OEM hitch for Subaru's is 1.25" -- the vehicles themselves are not engineered for pulling a lot of weight, and a Class III hitch would tempt people to go over that weight.

(Except for the new Ascent that should hit the showrooms soon. It's designed for a Class III hitch and a 5,000 lb. towing capacity. No word yet AFAIK about tongue weight, but it will be higher than 200 lbs. If the 10% benchmark holds true, it will be 500 lbs. We'll see.)

Getting back to the question: If hitch plus bikes <= 200 lbs., you're not going to rip the mounts out. Engineers set these limits on hard science, not guess-and-by-golly. They all build in a margin of error -- over-engineering, they call it. (That doesn't mean it's safe to go over 200 lbs.!)

Now, I'm not a mechanical engineer, but I am a neuropsychological engineer (better known as doctoral-level licensed psychotherapist), and I know irrational anxiety when I see it. This is not a slam. I see it in myself. I just know how to recognize and deal with it better than the average bear.

Here's an example: Since my Outback has a 1.25" receiver, and the Thule bike rack is built for a 2" receiver, I had to put an adapter on it. I did this on the advice of my Subaru parts guy. He would have ordered the adapter for me, but I needed it right then so went to an auto parts store and bought it. It feels hefty but doesn't actually weigh that much. Adapter + bikes + rack is well within the 200 lb. tongue weight. So I'm fine with that.

Where my irrational anxiety came in was the added length. The adapter puts the rack about 6" further away from the hitch, thereby creating more leverage, thereby putting more strain on the mount. And for a couple of days I worried about that. But I know irrational anxiety when I see it, so I dealt with it. Here's how: The leverage of an actual trailer, with the exact same 150 lb. tongue weight as my set-up, would have much more leverage riding on the hitch: all the way from the receiver to the trailer's axle. Why would that bother me less than the 6" that the adapter adds? Answer: it shouldn't. Having thought it through realistically, it doesn't worry me any more.

So when I say some of you guys are experiencing irrational anxiety, it's not a slam. It's a friendly tip from a fellow worrier. Don't let it jerk you around, thinking that you know better than the guy who designed the hitch/mounts and set the tongue weight limit.

 

[J.R.]

I do get irrational anxiety! I'm not sure this is one of those times, when my fellows are relying on my decisions. I see disastrous combinations rolling down the road all the time. They don't always end in disaster, when they do? I see hitch adapters sold in Wal-Mart, knowing most buyers don't know they further limit carrying capacity.

"Expert reply" to a question about using an adapter on a Subaru.

"ALL of these adapters have the unavoidable side-effect of reducing the hitch's carrying capacity by 50-percent. This occurs as a result of the change in the geometry at the hitch."

https://www.etrailer.com/question-79696.html

I've been using receiver hitches of all classes on both personal and company vehicles for 35 years. I haven't ever exceeded ratings and I haven't killed anyone driving behind me. My opinion might not be the easiest or the most popular. It doesn't even cost 2 cents though.

"Hitch Accidents/Failures

Hitch and towing accidents data is pretty surprising. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that around 50,000 hitch accidents occur every year. About 21,000 injuries were reported as caused by negligent towing or a faulty hitch. In the same year, an additional 450 fatalities were reported."

 

[net200777]

You're absolutely correct that the tongue weight remains the same on a given vehicle, regardless of the size of the receiver.

Also, putting a non-standard hitch assembly on your vehicle might void the warranty. There's a reason the OEM hitch for Subaru's is 1.25" -- the vehicles themselves are not engineered for pulling a lot of weight, and a Class III hitch would tempt people to go over that weight.

(Except for the new Ascent that should hit the showrooms soon. It's designed for a Class III hitch and a 5,000 lb. towing capacity. No word yet AFAIK about tongue weight, but it will be higher than 200 lbs. If the 10% benchmark holds true, it will be 500 lbs. We'll see.)

Getting back to the question: If hitch plus bikes <= 200 lbs., you're not going to rip the mounts out. Engineers set these limits on hard science, not guess-and-by-golly. They all build in a margin of error -- over-engineering, they call it. (That doesn't mean it's safe to go over 200 lbs.!)

Now, I'm not a mechanical engineer, but I am a neuropsychological engineer (better known as doctoral-level licensed psychotherapist), and I know irrational anxiety when I see it. This is not a slam. I see it in myself. I just know how to recognize and deal with it better than the average bear.

Here's an example: Since my Outback has a 1.25" receiver, and the Thule bike rack is built for a 2" receiver, I had to put an adapter on it. I did this on the advice of my Subaru parts guy. He would have ordered the adapter for me, but I needed it right then so went to an auto parts store and bought it. It feels hefty but doesn't actually weigh that much. Adapter + bikes + rack is well within the 200 lb. tongue weight. So I'm fine with that.

Where my irrational anxiety came in was the added length. The adapter puts the rack about 6" further away from the hitch, thereby creating more leverage, thereby putting more strain on the mount. And for a couple of days I worried about that. But I know irrational anxiety when I see it, so I dealt with it. Here's how: The leverage of an actual trailer, with the exact same 150 lb. tongue weight as my set-up, would have much more leverage riding on the hitch: all the way from the receiver to the trailer's axle. Why would that bother me less than the 6" that the adapter adds? Answer: it shouldn't. Having thought it through realistically, it doesn't worry me any more.

So when I say some of you guys are experiencing irrational anxiety, it's not a slam. It's a friendly tip from a fellow worrier. Don't let it jerk you around, thinking that you know better than the guy who designed the hitch/mounts and set the tongue weight limit.

I just met with a local welder who works on hitches all the time, he took a look at my Prius which also has a Class 1 hitch on it right now. His plan is to just take it off and weld on a 2in receiver, it's going to cost me 40 bucks all in all about a hundred and forty bucks and I have what I need with no compromise.

 

[harryS]

While I do have irrational anxiety, my problem is recalling my college physics classes.

The hitch, where a tongue would be attached is rated for 200 pounds. For a trailer tongue, it's all vertical weight because it's on a ball. A bike rack is locked in and has its weight on the end of a 2 foot or longer lever. It's just like an adapter in reducing the allowed weight, but maybe worse because it's longer. Two wimpy 35 pound bikes plus the 30 pound rack might very well approach the 200 pound limit after factoring in the leverage.

It doesn't bug me that much. I've "overloaded" my swagman rack and gone thousands of miles, but I do partially support the weight with nylon straps off the roof rack.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

While I do have irrational anxiety, my problem is recalling my college physics classes.

The hitch, where a tongue would be attached is rated for 200 pounds. For a trailer tongue, it's all vertical weight because it's on a ball. A bike rack is locked in and has its weight on the end of a 2 foot or longer lever. It's just like an adapter in reducing the allowed weight, but maybe worse because it's longer. Two wimpy 35 pound bikes plus the 30 pound rack might very well approach the 200 pound limit after factoring in the leverage.

It doesn't bug me that much. I've "overloaded" my swagman rack and gone thousands of miles, but I do partially support the weight with nylon straps off the roof rack.

The nylon straps idea is appealing. Might help reduce some of the sway, in addition to carrying some of the weight. I'm going to think about that one.

 

[net200777]

 

[mrgold35]

My smaller SUV is only rated for 1500lbs tow and 1 1/4 hitch. I was able to find a 2" Hidden hitch and that moves the weight of my ebikes a little closer to the vehicle and I didn't have to add a 1 1/4" to 2" extension when I use my Saris platform rack with my other full size SUV.

 

[Alphbetadog]

I carry two ebikes on my 1-1/4" 1up rack all the time. Using the yellow support straps only when driving long distances.