No hitch produced for my car?

[JennG]

Hi All - i am looking to buy my first ebike and need a way to transport it. I called Uhaul who advised there is no hitch for my car. I then called the dealer who said there are no hitches for my car, only a roof rack. Obviously i do not think i can use a roof rack. He said my only other option is to find someone to make me a custom hitch, which would be expensive.
My car is a 2014 Mercedes C300 fourmatic.
I cannot believe this is going to be an issue. I really need to be able to transport my bike.
Any suggestions?
Thank you!!

 

[JES2020]

2014 Mercedes C300 fourmatic.

Here is a hitch. I would have a mechanic install it, as it takes some drilling .

https://www.etrailer.com/p-C11030.html?hhyear=2014&hhmake=Mercedes-Benz&hhmodel=C-Class

 

[Djangodog]

The hitch that JES2020 posted only goes through 2013. My guess is that either your vehicle doesn’t have a frame that can accept a hitch or that there is not enough ground clearance beneath the bumper.

I don’t know the weight of your desired bike, (do you have a model picked out?), but many are not overly heavy with the battery removed, and with your fairly low roof, a roof rack may still be a good option.

 

[harryS]

See what a custom hitch would cost. An off the shelf hitch was about $240 installed when I last got one.


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[AHicks]

There may be an issue due to the crash resistance requirements - a collapsing rear bumper? Agreed, you might try somebody like U-Haul to see if they can come up with something that will get the job done for you.

On our daily rides, we frequently go by an area where a lot of off road guys park to ride back into the hills. Some serious riders come from all over the area to ride here. Anyway, recently seen was a Harley (no, not a trike) that had a bike rack on it. It carries the bike front wheel high in like an in-line position. Just as curious, as I had never seen anything like it, was a rack mounted on a new Bronco. It was a swing away design that allowed the bike and rack to swing out of the way of the rear hatchback. Different!

 

[Dingo]

Here's Curt hitch that fits an E350. Not sure it'll fit your car, but it's worth a look.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

No idea what the problem might be but check with e-trailer.com and see what they say.

TT

 

[John from Connecticut]

Hi All - i am looking to buy my first ebike and need a way to transport it. I called Uhaul who advised there is no hitch for my car. I then called the dealer who said there are no hitches for my car, only a roof rack. Obviously i do not think i can use a roof rack. He said my only other option is to find someone to make me a custom hitch, which would be expensive.
My car is a 2014 Mercedes C300 fourmatic.
I cannot believe this is going to be an issue. I really need to be able to transport my bike.
Any suggestions?
Thank you!!

Hello JennG,
I've purchased two hitches from etrailor.com. There are a great American based company and they know hitches.
I'd call and hear what they have to say. Your Mercedes Service Manager also should also have Bulletin on any technical
reasons why it appears your model cannot accept a hitch.

A guess is your model Benz may not support the minimum typical towing capacity and tongue weight ( well beyond )
what is required for your e-bike, thus no hitch. etrailor.com should be able to provide you with an answer.

Even if you can find someone to build a custom hitch, for safety reasons I would NOT have a custom hitch made until
you dig deeper into why a huge company like etrailor.com and your Mercedes Dealer said they cannot provide a hitch.
They should be able to explain why ? Towing limitations, Installation clearances, bumper strength etc.

Check back and let us know what you find out. : )

I hope this was helpful,
John

 

[Dingo]

The reason could be a very simple one - your transmission is not rated for towing. That's what I was told years ago when I had an Acura TL... transmission made of glass some said! Ha! I custom installed a Curt hitch and moved my wife and I from FL to CA pulling a 4x8 trailer over the course of 5 days. I almost overheated in West Texas, but It lasted a good number of years after the move.

 

[JES2020]

See what a custom hitch would cost. An off the shelf hitch was about $240 installed when I last got one.


.

Interesting. I get the feeling there is an echo in this forum !

 

[DanInStPete]

I recently did not buy a car mostly because installing any kind of hitch would require modifications. Unfortunately, to carry a heavy rack and two ebikes it is by far best to have a vehicle that is designed for a 2” receiver.

I did carry a bike in the trunk of an Audi A8 by putting the back wheel in first and letting the front wheel, fork and handlebars hang out the back. A blanket kept the bike from touching the car or the trunk lid. It worked pretty well but looked kinda funny.

 

[Gordon71]

I recently did not buy a car mostly because installing any kind of hitch would require modifications. Unfortunately, to carry a heavy rack and two ebikes it is by far best to have a vehicle that is designed for a 2” receiver.

I did carry a bike in the trunk of an Audi A8 by putting the back wheel in first and letting the front wheel, fork and handlebars hang out the back. A blanket kept the bike from touching the car or the trunk lid. It worked pretty well but looked kinda funny.

I expect if she did that she would need to buy a pickup or big SUV. There are 2" adapters for 1&1/4 receivers and those receivers are rated for 200lb tongue weight which is enough to handle 2 bikes plus a rack.

 

[Djangodog]

I expect if she did that she would need to buy a pickup or big SUV. There are 2" adapters for 1&1/4 receivers and those receivers are rated for 200lb tongue weight which is enough to handle 2 bikes plus a rack.

2” adapters lengthen the moment arm which increases the force on the hitch and frame. They are generally an inferior remedy.

 

[DanInStPete]

I expect if she did that she would need to buy a pickup or big SUV. There are 2" adapters for 1&1/4 receivers and those receivers are rated for 200lb tongue weight which is enough to handle 2 bikes plus a rack.

Fair point. I know little about adapters since I’ve never wanted a receiver smaller than 2”. My Tesla has one, as did several SUVs of course.

 

[JennG]

Thank you all for the replies!
Today i picked up an Espin Flow i saw on craigslist. It was a great deal and was not used much so i went for it. The bike is around 50 lbs. My son put the bike on his roof rack, but it is definitely hard to do and i would not be able to do it myself.
I had reached out to E trailer about the craig hitch mentioned above and asked if that would fit my car. They told me that they do not have a trailer hitch that is confirmed to fit my model vehicle. Uhaul also advised they have a one year wait for a custom hitch.
I find myself being really angry that i have such a useless vehicle that cannot transport a 50 lb bike. Knowing me, i will end up spending $$ to get a car to transport my cheap bike.
I have reached out to a mechanic friend for any ideas and will just do rides away from home with my son for now since he can transport the bike .
Thanks again! you have all been so helpful
Jenn

 

[Gordon71]

2” adapters lengthen the moment arm which increases the force on the hitch and frame. They are generally an inferior remedy.

Maybe but they do work and are a whole lot cheaper than buying a big vehicle that you don't need in the first place.

 

[m@Robertson]

I expect if she did that she would need to buy a pickup or big SUV. There are 2" adapters for 1&1/4 receivers and those receivers are rated for 200lb tongue weight which is enough to handle 2 bikes plus a rack.

Typically when using a 1 1/2" to 2" extension you have to halve the tongue weight. The adapter should have this printed in a warning label on one of its sides. Even if it doesn't, the rule still applies.

I had to use one of these on my last Mercedes SUV and I ended up with a 130-lb tongue weight, which was fine. Also, I used a 4" riser which solved another problem these adapters cause: they stick out too far and even a mild driveway causes the rack to scrape on the ground.

Zoom in on the pic below and on the bottom right corner of the label you can read the (generic) rules.

As to Mercedes-Benz towing options, oftentimes there is at one point in a variant's development a tow hitch option. At some point Daimler may just decide to wall it off and not offer it anymore even though the frame/.structure continues to support its use, and there has been no change in engine/drivetrain. Its a marketing decision. My current E450 wagon has this exact situation going, where the previous year there was a hitch, and now this year there isn't one. And there never was one on the AMG version. BUT people can and do still buy the necessary hardware and then have a shop make some cuts in the bumper and underlying body panels to make it happen.

Best place for you to figure this out for certain is on the MB World forums. Thats the 800 lb gorilla of Benz owner forums. I'll bet you find more than one thread there with either a solution with pics or a definitive 'no' and the reasons why.

 

[Djangodog]

Maybe but they do work and are a whole lot cheaper than buying a big vehicle that you don't need in the first place.

Cheaper would apply if it doesn’t damage the car’s frame or have an ebike and rack freewheeling down the Highway.

She still hasn’t said what her bike will weigh. A C300 is not very tall and some ebikes are fairly light with the battery removed, so I’m not sure if the roof rack option is really out of the question, especially one that takes the bike with the front wheel removed.

Of course I don’t know how tall or fit she is either. It is impossible to solve a problem without knowing anything more than the model of car and that she wants to carry an ebike.

 

[AHicks]

Cheaper would apply if it doesn’t damage the car’s frame or have an ebike and rack freewheeling down the Highway.

She still hasn’t said what her bike will weigh. A C300 is not very tall and some ebikes are fairly light with the battery removed, so I’m not sure if the roof rack option is really out of the question, especially one that takes the bike with the front wheel removed.

Of course I don’t know how tall or fit she is either. It is impossible to solve a problem without knowing anything more than the model of car and that she wants to carry an ebike.

From post #15 - "Today i picked up an Espin Flow".

We have 2 of these. Advertised weight is 55lbs, which seems pretty realistic (the reason we bought ours). Still, putting one off these on a roof top rack to go for an afternoon ride is not something I would be doing often, especially if I were half of my size and needed to manage doing that with no front wheel in place! It's not going to take much of a rack to carry this bike safely. The talk of the need for a 2" receiver might be just a bit of overkill. Clearly still a lot of variables unknown, but I look at this issue as "doable". It's just going to be a matter of finding and asking the right guy the right question....

 

[DanInStPete]

Thank you all for the replies!
Today i picked up an Espin Flow i saw on craigslist. It was a great deal and was not used much so i went for it. The bike is around 50 lbs. My son put the bike on his roof rack, but it is definitely hard to do and i would not be able to do it myself.
I had reached out to E trailer about the craig hitch mentioned above and asked if that would fit my car. They told me that they do not have a trailer hitch that is confirmed to fit my model vehicle. Uhaul also advised they have a one year wait for a custom hitch.
I find myself being really angry that i have such a useless vehicle that cannot transport a 50 lb bike. Knowing me, i will end up spending $$ to get a car to transport my cheap bike.
I have reached out to a mechanic friend for any ideas and will just do rides away from home with my son for now since he can transport the bike .
Thanks again! you have all been so helpful
Jenn

I moved from the aforementioned A8 to an SUV a few years back primarily to transport bikes. If you're really into biking it's really nice to have a nice hitch setup