Jump to content

Class 1 hitch ok to tow bike and trailer?


Gixxus Christ!
 Share

Recommended Posts

44 minutes ago, jbot said:

stop being a biatch

 

Volkswagen-Golf-TDI-Towing-770x433.jpg

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

This is funny because I just overheard my facilities manager (also manages company vehicles) talking to a dealership about how one of our sales reps wants to tow his 32ft camper with his escape. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, jbot said:

stop being a biatch

 

Volkswagen-Golf-TDI-Towing-770x433.jpg

I went down a wormhole the other day looking up the ability to tow with my GTI.  It was interesting to see that the same vehicle in Europe is rated to tow more than here in the US.  And I get it Europe is smaller, doesn't have miles and miles of 70+ speed limit highways, etc, etc.  Didn't people tow campers with the big domestic station wagons back in the 80's?

But anyway...  I have  a friend that tows one of those single rail/fold up motorcycle trailers with his Mazda 3 wagon to track days; it looks sketchy as all get out, but it works.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, TimTheAzn said:

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

This is funny because I just overheard my facilities manager (also manages company vehicles) talking to a dealership about how one of our sales reps wants to tow his 32ft camper with his escape. :lol:

 

10 minutes ago, tall_tracy said:

I went down a wormhole the other day looking up the ability to tow with my GTI.  It was interesting to see that the same vehicle in Europe is rated to tow more than here in the US.  And I get it Europe is smaller, doesn't have miles and miles of 70+ speed limit highways, etc, etc.  Didn't people tow campers with the big domestic station wagons back in the 80's?

But anyway...  I have  a friend that tows one of those single rail/fold up motorcycle trailers with his Mazda 3 wagon to track days; it looks sketchy as all get out, but it works.  

 

the golf pulling the camper was an extreme example, and yet, it happens constantly in europe during holidays.  but dialing that back a bit, coupled with we're talking about pulling something a few times a year, tops.... i don't see the big deal.  yeah, if you're pulling stuff constantly, then get a big old truck or suv or whatever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, thanks for the input, guess I'll order the class I from advance. Ordered a class III from autozone that was supposed to fit my car, they shipped me a hitch that was as wide as my entire car. Instructions were for some Nissan truck i never heard of that had nuts already welded on the frame rails. This thing had also obviously been mounted or attempted to be mounted before, powdercoat was all scraped off on part of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, GSX-Sam said:

Ok, thanks for the input, guess I'll order the class I from advance. Ordered a class III from autozone that was supposed to fit my car, they shipped me a hitch that was as wide as my entire car. Instructions were for some Nissan truck i never heard of that had nuts already welded on the frame rails. This thing had also obviously been mounted or attempted to be mounted before, powdercoat was all scraped off on part of it.

Bought the hitch for ours on Amazon. It's a Curt brand I believe. No brick and mortar stores could even come close to the price 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, 2talltim said:

Bought the hitch for ours on Amazon. It's a Curt brand I believe. No brick and mortar stores could even come close to the price 

Amazon was out of stock. Bought a draw-tite off etrailer.com for $120. Curt one was $180. 

  • Beer 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

europeans don’t buy trucks. The lower tow rating in the US is designed to sell larger vehicles. 

With that said, they also buy more diesels with manual transmissions. That’s your weak link in towing with an undersized vehicle. A trans cooler is cheap insurance if you’re planning to do it often, or quickly. 

Plus i’m sure the camper pictured has trailer brakes. I don’t. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I towed to the track for many years in a Scion xB (the bigger second version). It was never tow rated in the US but had a 1,600lb rating in Austrailia. I figured it was good enough. 

No issues at all with the bike and gear. I probably only had about 80-100lb of tongue weight. I would pick it up and pull the trailer to the car in the mornings. 

 I tried 800lbs of topsoil once and it did not like that. Glad I only had to go about 10 miles. It was constant tug/pull the whole way, could never get it settled down. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pulled my FJR and cbr all over with my class 1 hitch and little car.  Can be done.  With Andy's element we took two sport bikes and two people and gear to Midohio no problem several times.  That has a class 1 hitch also.  Dont do stupid things with it and you'll be just fine. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎7‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 11:24 AM, tall_tracy said:

I went down a wormhole the other day looking up the ability to tow with my GTI.  It was interesting to see that the same vehicle in Europe is rated to tow more than here in the US.  And I get it Europe is smaller, doesn't have miles and miles of 70+ speed limit highways, etc, etc.  Didn't people tow campers with the big domestic station wagons back in the 80's?

But anyway...  I have  a friend that tows one of those single rail/fold up motorcycle trailers with his Mazda 3 wagon to track days; it looks sketchy as all get out, but it works.  

 

that trailer he has is definatly sketch

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As Todd said, no need for chock. Unless you are transporting other bikes that you won't have pins for.

I still have a Baxley that I can't bring myself to get rid of. Definitely going to be using it for the new bike until I decide to buy a trs for that bike.

Edited by TimTheAzn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, TimTheAzn said:

As Todd said, no need for chock. Unless you are transporting other bikes that you won't have pins for.

I still have a Baxley that I can't bring myself to get rid of. Definitely going to be using it for the new bike until I decide to buy a trs for that bike.

The vintage Honda will not work with the TRS, wheel chock would be nice in addition to straps. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, GSX-Sam said:

The vintage Honda will not work with the TRS, wheel chock would be nice in addition to straps. 

Canyon Dancers are the way to go with a chock imo. Hopefully they are wide enough for those vintage bikes you have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, MidgetTodd said:

You work in a machining job right? Pins are easy to make for bikes that PitBull doesn’t support. Make your own. That’s what I did for the Zuma 

I'm in quality, I dont run a machine. If I did I would still have to source material as the company I work for keeps tabs on those kinds of things.  Vintage bikes dont have hollow rear axles and thus cant be used with the trs anyway without fabricating something to clamp onto the swingarm, and then theres the possibility of the bike moving forward or back. Easier to use a chock and straps, or maybe whatever a canyon dancer is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, GSX-Sam said:

I'm in quality, I dont run a machine. If I did I would still have to source material as the company I work for keeps tabs on those kinds of things.  Vintage bikes dont have hollow rear axles and thus cant be used with the trs anyway without fabricating something to clamp onto the swingarm, and then theres the possibility of the bike moving forward or back. Easier to use a chock and straps, or maybe whatever a canyon dancer is.

The way pitbull gets around non-hollow axles is they machine a cap if you will that slides over the axle nut. 

 

Canyon Dancer:

image.png.834f3b4bec610f580bc67b17a5a41773.png

Edited by TimTheAzn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you’re going more than 50 miles on the highway, i’d Remove the gate and buy a cheap ramp. 

The drag from the gate will make an I4 struggle more on the highway than a second bike on the trailer. Seriously. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...