Tongue wait of an 03 crew with a class III hitch

smokinjoe · Post by **smokinjoe** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 12:45 pm

it may be on the site but i couldnt locate it, i'm working the wife over into allowing me to get a bike, and i would like to get one of these Mototote i figure it would be easier than and cheaper than a traier big enough to fit a crotch rocket

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 1:14 pm

My GM/Valley hitch is rated for 350 lb tongue weight, or 600 lb when a weight distributing hitch is used.

I would not want to exceed 500 lb regardless.

smokinjoe · Post by **smokinjoe** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 9:06 pm

well that will about do it then, 90 for the carrier and about 420 for the bike, what do you mean by weight distributing hitch? i have the gm hitch, which i believe is the same as yours

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 9:29 pm

A weight distributing hitch has two lower links the apply pressure to the hitch to prevent the towed point from being lowered, but instead transfer the weight to the front of the towing vehicle.

Not applicable in your case.

You may want to stay closer to the 350 lb rating.

Another thing to keep in mind is that by adding the weight behind the rear axle, you will be reducing the weight on the front. That reduces the effectiveness of both the handling and braking.

Why can the bike not be transported on the back?

You could fab a ramp that would also slide into the receiver to support the rear of the bike. This way the hitch wouldnot have to take all the weight, and some of it would be transfered to the front where you would need it.

smokinjoe · Post by **smokinjoe** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 9:44 pm

HenryJ wrote:Why can the bike not be transported on the back?

You could fab a ramp that would also slide into the receiver to support the rear of the bike. This way the hitch wouldnot have to take all the weight, and some of it would be transfered to the front where you would need it.

to answer your first question i dont particulary relish the idea of sticking a bike in the bed of a truck, especially a crew cab s-10 of all things, and if i wanted to take it on long trips i wont have room for the luggae as well, as for your second question i dont have access to the neccassary tools and material to fab something like that up, the wife is slowly coming around to this idea at all, i dont think now is the time to try to sneak a welder into it. it's an idea though, what ways are available to bef up the rear suspension so that it doesnt sag so much?

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 9:55 pm

Adding leaves to the rear springs would beef up the rear, but that is not going to add any to your hitch.

If you really travel that much and need the space, and the bike must go, it would be wise to invest in a trailer.

You can get a small enclosed trailer if storage and weather are concerns. If parking space is at a premium get a small single axle collapsable that can be leaned up against a building.

The trailer will be handy for many things, and probably a better option in the long run.

kf6kmx · Post by **kf6kmx** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 11:58 pm

smokinjoe wrote:it may be on the site but i couldnt locate it, i'm working the wife over into allowing me to get a bike, and i would like to get one of these Mototote i figure it would be easier than and cheaper than a traier big enough to fit a crotch rocket

What hitch do you have on it?
I dont have the 'factory' hitch. I went with a DrawTite.. I plan to later this year replace the 29ft 5th wheel that I used to use with my old 1-ton, with about a 22 or 24 travel trailer and wanted to have the full 5600lbs traile capacity available (even though the trailers I've been looking at come in at the high 3k's, I want the reserve available

)
These are the specs for the square tube drawtite hitch:

DrawTite wrote: Square Tube Maximum Rated Capacity
Weight-Carrying Up to 500 lbs. TW Up to 5,000 lbs. GTW
Weight-Distributing Up to 800 lbs. TW Up to 8,000 lbs. GTW

The weight-carry would be the one that the carrier would fall into.
With the Drawtite it should handle the full 500.. The truck shouldnt have any problems with the 500 on the back.
I dont know what the hitch retails for, a friend owns an RV dealership and he sold it to me at their cost

But I dont think its more than $100-$125 from Drawtite..

Oh, and the Drawtite is also a Class III hitch.. Its a 75XXX series, they also have Max-E-Loaders that are 600lbs capacity, 41XXX series, but I dont know if they have that one for the CC S-10..

smokinjoe · Post by **smokinjoe** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 1:08 am

my hitch came from the dealer so i assum it's a valley

smokinjoe · Post by **smokinjoe** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 7:50 pm

HenryJ wrote:get a small single axle collapsable that can be leaned up against a building.

i've never heard of one of these, would you happen to know where i could find one or a good website to research them?

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 8:10 pm

Here's a quick one from JCwhitney- Trailer in a bag and some more , Stinger folding trailer , Wee haul , Kendon trailer

I'm sure if you do a little searching, there are a ton of them out there

kf6kmx · Post by **kf6kmx** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 8:12 pm

smokinjoe wrote:
HenryJ wrote:get a small single axle collapsable that can be leaned up against a building.
i've never heard of one of these, would you happen to know where i could find one or a good website to research them?

Harbor Freight
1175lb capacity
1800lb capacity
990lb capacity
Those are all 4x8 frames.. They have smaller also, just go a search for 'trailer' on their web page.
A friend bought one to pull behind his '71 Mach1 mustang to car shows using a hidden trailer hitch.. He said it works great, and pulls very well.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 8:35 pm

Harbor freight even has one for under $200 - 990# trailer

kf6kmx · Post by **kf6kmx** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 8:48 pm

HenryJ wrote: Harbor freight even has one for under $200 - 990# trailer

That one would probably be a good choice also becuase its a tilt-deck. Just put some rails on it for the motorcycle (can mount two on a trailer this wide) and you can tip the trailer back instead of having a longer ramp.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 8:54 pm

...or buy the motorcycle rail kit and the $139 mini trailer...

So many possibilites

smokinjoe · Post by **smokinjoe** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 9:11 pm

all of this stuff is awesome, ive got alot of new information to think about, i appreciate it all

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Tongue wait of an 03 crew with a class III hitch

Tongue wait of an 03 crew with a class III hitch

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