Best compact SUV to carry 2 ebikes on a trailer hitch rack

[Jerome Daoust]

Seeking advice...

Endless-Sphere: Best compact SUV to carry 2 ebikes on a trailer hitch
rack
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14020

Thanks,
-- Jerome

[OptOut]

"Compact SUV" is an oxymoron. Or is this what we used to call "jeep"
which came from "GP", a general purpose vehicle? I'm just breakin
them on ya. The popular gas guzzling big (ie hummer) SUV craze makes
me cringe to think of carrying ebikes on them.
I confess my first 4 wheel vehicle was a '50s Willis Jeep that was
more tank then car.

Best,
Joe (mobile)

On Nov 4, 2009, at 3:11 AM, Jerome Daoust <eyesto...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[deerfencer1]

Hmmm...There's inherently a certain amount of bounce and play in this
type of rack IMO, but it's hard to say what's normal and what's
concerning. I have a Saris hitch-mounted rack on my Honda Pilot and
even with the heavy 2" tubing there's some decent rack movement when
you hit rough patches of road. My guess is this jounciness is
amplified by the short wheelbase of your Suzuki. ANY short-wheeled SUV
will probably produce similar action and it's difficult to say if
buying a compact SUV with larger hitch tubing will make a big
difference.

I'd try a few things before ditching your current vehicle:

1) Try shimming the male 1 1/4" tubing to reduce the movement inside
the mount itself. I get similar play with my 2" tubing but not enough
to concern me--the noise is annoying but I've learned to live with it.

2) Add bungees and/or nylon cord tiedowns to the rack/bike connection.
I do this as a matter of routine in case a violent jarring bounce
causes the Saris wheel clamps to pop loose. Reinforcing both wheels'
rack cradles and tieing everything down to the bottom cross pieces
buys a LOT of peace of mind and only takes a minute or two if you use
bungees. I run the cords in X-fashion from the bottom of the rack to
the top of each wheel/tire and back down again.

3) Do a tiedown test run over rough roads with a beater bike on back.


LH

[Jerome Daoust]

Thanks Larry,

Already shimmed the receiver, added a tab welded to the internal
frame. Problem is the torsion load on the bike rack:
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=208753#p208753

I'm thinking that if I'm having problems now with 106 lb of ebikes,
I'm asking for trouble when upgrading them and seeing a load of about
150 lb.

[deerfencer1]

I guess I misunderstood the nature of the problem. If the bike rack is
already permanently twisted
from the torque, I agree it's fair warning that any more weight would
be ill-advised.

I'm usually hauling a lighter load than yours by far, usually just my
SX without the battery pack or front battery hub wheel--so probably
just 60 lbs or so. Have you looked at any of the rear carriers
designed for hauling motorcycles? Not sure if there are any set up for
two bikes though :(

LH

[plasmadust]

Ref: movement in the receiver.
We have three of the Saris racks in the "family". Make that four.
If you did not get the cycle-on pro, with the the center knob to
tighten up against the hitch pin, you can do what we did here.
We found a plastic nut holder and inserted a nut inside the rack mount
tube, then used a grade 8 bolt to draw up the bar tight against the
receiver, then put a nyloc nut on the other side to keep the bolt from
backing out. We have done this on 2" and 1-1/4" hitches.
One other thing you need to do. Take the carriage bolts out of the
wheel cups and dispose of properly. Replace with either stainless
steel or grade 8's. We have broken many of the factory installed bolts
there and deem that the weak link in the Saris rack.
I have hauled TF bikes with the Saris rack for 6 years or more with
only the above mentioned probs.
DC

[plasmadust]

Oops, did not answer the original Q.
Must it be an SUV, or something like an SUV.
We went to the auto show at the State Fair of Texas (side note:
biggest fair and biggest auto show, all in one).
Of all the vehics we looked at, two were on my short list.
1. The Nissan Cube. I am tall, and this had more leg room and head
room that most full sized trucks. I was told you can put a 1-1/4"
hitch on it.
2. The Ford (cough cough) Transit. You can get it with two extra rows
of removable seating, or I would bolt a couch in there for trips. We
figure we can carry 5-6 bikes inside and two on a rack. The best part
is it gets 30MPG. I can see this becoming the party wagon of the age,
like those VAN peeps in the 60's and 70's. All tricked out with killer
sound system and 50 inch plasma TV. Now there is a road trip just
waiting to happen.
DC

[Jerome Daoust]

Thanks DC.

I found this link for the Saris CycleOn Pro:
http://www.saris.com/p-302-cycle-on-pro.aspx
Specs:
Carries two bikes out of the box.
Carries up to 60–pound bikes.
Available in 1-1/4" and 2" hitch sizes.
Carries 3 or 4 bikes with the optional add–on kits.
If I understand correctly:
Total weight the carrier can handle is 240 lb (4x60)
But each bike must not exceed 60 lb.
Could be good-enough.

Ford transit: Website says 22 mpg city, 25 hwy, but that's still very
good for its cargo capacity.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/

-- Jerome

[Jerome Daoust]

On Nov 4, 4:07 pm, Jerome Daoust <eyestothe...@gmail.com> wrote:
> If I understand correctly:
>    Total weight the carrier can handle is 240 lb (4x60)

More like 190 lb:
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=208877#p208877