Motorcycle carrier for fat tire ebike

[Ruthless]

Hi All,
We are considering an aluminum motorcycle carrier with a ramp for a fat tire ebike that weighs about 70 lbs. I read that trailer hitch extenders are not recommended for these carriers - maybe because it’s not stable?. However, for it to extend out past the aluminess box and spare tire on our E350 we would need to do this. I was wondering if anyone had tried this or had any insights. This is the carrier we were looking at: https://www.discountramps.com/motorc...ier/p/AMC-400/

[posplayr]

The only thing I can imagine might be a problem is that you will have twice the rotational slop with the extender. Weight should not be a problem with only 70 lbs.

If you have the extender welded to the carrier, and get one of those anti-rattle hitch stabilizers (one might even come with that hitch) then you should be fine and this should not rotate as much as with a full 400 lbs motorcycle.

I got a steel black widow 500 lbs (for my DRZ400 )and it came with a stabilizer that I welded to the main support in the right position so I can just slide in the hitch.

https://www.discountramps.com/black-...QaAkC7EALw_wcB

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Anti-...er/e99007.html

[marret]

My understanding is you cut the weight rating of your hitch in half with an extender.

[posplayr]

This might be somewhat stronger . I hear that with more weight on the carrier the bolts take slot of abuse and can get stripped out.

This one has a larger fine pitch bolt that is probably hardened.

https://www.amazon.com/NIXFACE-Heavy..._1621778895284

The main problem is the leverage the motorcycle weight has as it bounces from one side to another compared to the 2” receiver.

I welded (outrigger) supports to my black widow that have 1 1/4” mini receivers outboard of the hitch mounting points. This dramatically strengthens the carrier. I’m sure this 500 lbs rated carrier will now go to 700 lbs assuming my suspension will support it.

[BACKRDS]

Hello POSPLAYR,
You mentioned that you welded 1 1/4” mini receivers (outrigger) supports to your black widow, which dramatically strengthens the carrier. Could you please post several photos of your setup? Thanks

[boywonder]

Those aluminum carriers do an OK job of hauling typical dirt bikes.....and as mentioned can be a bit flappy.......rotating around the hitch.


I heavily modified one of those and added a pair of "mini-receivers" to the van (where the main receiver hitch bolts on) and it's works great for 250 lb dirt bikes without wobbling.


All that being said I don't think you will have any safety issues hauling a 70 lb E bike with one of those carriers even with a short extension, although you may find the rocking/slop annoying.


You can either weld a few things together or drill and tap the extender and/or the carrier and use a bolt to tighten up the joints.

[boywonder]

Here is an extender I whipped up from scrap parts.......I drilled and tapped the male portion with 1/2-13 threads and use the bolt shown to tighten it to the receiver on the van. This helps minimize wobble, although there are better ways to solve this issue this works well for light loads like my bicycle rack and a small step I put back there for getting in the back of the van.

[posplayr]

Originally Posted by BACKRDS

Hello POSPLAYR,
You mentioned that you welded 1 1/4” mini receivers (outrigger) supports to your black widow, which dramatically strengthens the carrier. Could you please post several photos of your setup? Thanks

Backrds,
I uploaded a couple of pictures of the full carrier which includes a modified HF cargo carrier between bike and bumper, as well as an extension for an HF trailer tongue box for recovery gear storage. I also welded in a gas can carrier is you look closely at the driverside near the bumper.

The pictures that include the rear cargo box probably convinced me that I need to add airbags.

https://www.harborfreight.com/2-34-c...BoCCLUQAvD_BwE

https://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb...ier-66983.html


With the box loaded and the 300 lbs of DRZ the hitch dropped about 1.5"; IIRC the front probably rose 1/4". As pictured I am probably at the 500 lbs limit but with the outriggers, it feels directly attached to the frame.

Here is a pdf with some photos giving an overview.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yu5drgei52...rrier.pdf?dl=0

If you are an experienced welder you will know all this, however, this little project was by far the biggest welding /fabrication job I have ever done. It turned out well but it was a lot of work to maintain proper alignment on the outriggers.

The outriggers are 1 1/4" x 3/16" square tubing near the receiver. An I sectioned in 1 /1/4" x 11 GA (0.120") at the carrier.

I buy from Metal Depot. You can get exactly what you need although it takes about a week to deliver via UPS ground to AZ.

https://www.metalsdepot.com/steel-pr...el-square-tube

This project suffered from craping elegance and so I ended up using home depot 1 /14" x 1/16" square tubing for the box outrigger/supports. I will have to see how this works out. Worst case (I hope I don't lose the box ). It bounces a little because of the thin 1/16" material but it does not sag any and the carries seems unfazed.

One thing I could mention is when I had the bike on the carrier, I wanted to see how well I could load/offload with the box installed. As I was pulling off the straps, the rachet on the 500 lbs straps jammed and the van side strap completely slipped out. The bike would have fallen off (onto the ground) but it was captured by the storage box.

[posplayr]

Originally Posted by boywonder

I heavily modified one of those and added a pair of "mini-receivers" to the van (where the main receiver hitch bolts on) and it's works great for 250 lb dirt bikes without wobbling.

Glad I'm not the only one crazy enough to do this

[posplayr]

For my setup, I ended up with about 1/16" alignment and keep the receivers lubricated with silicone spray after painting the insides of the tubes with Por-15 (lightly). I think this is going to be workable as AZ is pretty airid and there is not much rust. However, it is a PITA to do unless you are a very skilled fabricator.

Something simpler is just a cross between the outrigger design and heavy-duty "anti-rattle". You don't have to go as far with the outboard side receivers.

I attached a concept that is not going to provide as much twisting resistance as going fully out to the carrier mounts, but it will help a lot without being near as complex to weld up while maintaining only a good alignment. I added some detail where you could add tightening bolts with good effect