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Class 1 hitch ok to tow bike and trailer?


Gixxus Christ!
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Because of circumstances, my own choice to pre-register and weather, I was not able to attend the track day at mid ohio. I want to make it very clear that I place no fault on anyone for this. 

   I've been wanting to get on the track for years. My barrier for entry was getting my bike there without having to ride it home, best case exhausted, worse case wrecked. The turn of events yesterday has caused me to seek alternative means of getting my bike to the track. Some of you have been to my house for the spring meet and greet. I have a short driveway and 2 car garage I share with my wife. During the summer my car is in the driveway and my bikes are in the garage. In winter I store my bikes at my dads house and park inside.

No room to store a trailer. I don't own a pickup.

I own an impreza. I can put a trailer hitch on it and could get this bike hauler. 

https://www.discountramps.com/smc-600-motorcycle-hauler/p/SMC-600R/

 

Anyone go this route? I'm a bit apprehensive about just strapping my brand new bike to the back of my car but I don't see a better way to get myself and my bike to the track on my own.

Edited by GSX-Sam
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You won't find a trailer hitch for an Impreza with a tongue weight that can support the carrier loaded with a bike.

Most car hitches are only good to about 250lbs on the tongue. And those carrier styles are all tongue weight.

Go over 200lbs and the whole hitch will rip off on the first bump.

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Something you could do. Get the hitch on the car. Rent a uhaul motorcycle trailer just for the track days. Not too expensive and nothing to store. And your hitch will handle that no problem.

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if you wanna test it/borrow it, i recently got basically that exact same hitch carrier.  you'll have to drag your ass up here to get it though.  It's setup for 2" hitch.  It is very sturdy.  I've heard you need to add some locking nuts for the stabilizer block.

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1 hour ago, wolfeman28 said:

You won't find a trailer hitch for an Impreza with a tongue weight that can support the carrier loaded with a bike.

Most car hitches are only good to about 250lbs on the tongue. And those carrier styles are all tongue weight.

Go over 200lbs and the whole hitch will rip off on the first bump.

Found one rated for 600 lbs. Bike is 460 wet I think. Might be better off renting a uhaul traile tho.

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3 hours ago, CrazySkullCrusher said:

Found one rated for 600 lbs. Bike is 460 wet I think. Might be better off renting a uhaul traile tho.

Problem you'll run into even with 600, is that on any type of bump, even small, all the force from the weight of the bike and carrier (which is now magnitudes higher, physics and shit) will all be put on the few bolts that hold that hitch together. It will surpass the tongue weight no doubt.

A properly weighted trailer takes all that stress and distributes it, mostly to the wheels 👍

Cars and bikes are big investments, ain't worth breaking both!

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5 hours ago, motocat12 said:

Who dropped their ninja off one on the way to the gap 1-2 years ago? Of course bikes fall off 2 wheel trailers too 😝.

I used to rent moving trucks with the hydraulic lift for$90 a day.

That was me. I didn't have a problem getting it onto hitch carrier. But trying to strap it down by myself it ended up falling off. 

I think it would be hard to find a hitch for the car that will carry the weight. Even on my tahoe the weight of the bike on the hitch was enough to effect the steering. It caused the front wheels to feel really light. I went out and bought a trailer shortly afterwards. 

They have small trailers that can store upright against a wall that will work. Or you can rent a pickup truck for a day and haul the bike in the bed. 

20160602_222034.jpg

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5 hours ago, CrazySkullCrusher said:

Found one rated for 600 lbs. Bike is 460 wet I think. Might be better off renting a uhaul traile tho.

Even IF you found a class 3 hitch to fit your car, just because you can dosn't mean you should. I'd be cautious to put that much load on the back my my full size Tahoe and it has a class 4 on it and can handle a shit tone more weight than your Impreza.  I would strongly advise not doing what you described above and not make us play our "i told you so" card later. I'm 99% sure that car can't handle that kind of weight directly on the rear. 

Look into the folding HF trailers it probably a good option for you . heavy-duty-foldable-trailer.jpg.f92e8b6f21de27a18332da7147ca11ea.jpg

Edited by 2talltim
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Welp I couldn't find a link to a HF trailer anywhere, not listed on their site anymore. Come to find out there is a huge recall on the tires they put on them and they had to pull all trailers off the market. Now I need to go home and see if my ties are part of the recall for my HF trailer. 

http://www.rubbernews.com/article/20171024/NEWS/171029982/harbor-freight-tools-recalls-173000-trailer-tires

Edited by 2talltim
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31 minutes ago, 2talltim said:

Even IF you found a class 3 hitch to fit your car, just because you can dosn't mean you should.   I would strongly advise not doing what you described above and not make us play our "i told you so" card later. I'm 99% sure that car can't handle that kind of weight directly on the rear. 

She'll be alright, he just needs  front counterweight

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The folder up trailer is the best answer. You have plenty of room on either side of your garage to put up against the outside and the just secure it to the garage at the top.

I would do a track day or two first, just to make sure you are going to keep doing it though. Just rent a trailer the next couple of times.

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Ok, fair enough. I was worried about the weight being shifted off the front tires too, I've driven overloaded pickups before and they steered like a boat because of the uneven weight distribution. Guess this wasn't a bright idea...looked good on paper though!

 

Small trailer might be my best bet. 

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45 minutes ago, MidgetTodd said:

You can buy a cheap truck for the price of a trailer too. Then you have it for other shit when needed. Plenty of Rangers, S10 and older 1500 Chevys out there for 500-750. You’ll have that into a trailer 

until shit starts going wrong because old truck. then you're in it for much more than a 4x7 trailer. 

also insurance + yearly registration costs. 

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1 hour ago, MidgetTodd said:

You can buy a cheap truck for the price of a trailer too. Then you have it for other shit when needed. Plenty of Rangers, S10 and older 1500 Chevys out there for 500-750. You’ll have that into a trailer 

I barely have room to store a small trailer. Zero room to put an additional vehicle unless it was parked on the street. Last vehicle I parked on the street got side-swiped by a semi in a hit and run. Plus it's another mouth to feed, maintain, registration, insurance etc. 

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4 minutes ago, TimTheAzn said:

If you are looking to pinch pennies and be "smart" with money. Track Days are not for you. :lol:Don't try and introduce logic to track days and racing. 

Not trying to pinch pennies, more of a storage space issue than anything.

 

Tons of small trailers on craigslist for less than $600. Maybe after a track day or two I'll revisit the idea....still need to keep the damn thing somewhere. Would make it a lot easier to get my bikes to and from my dad's pole barn, just back the trailer in and leave the whole thing there for the winter.... 

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I have the Smc600r but also have an F150 to pull it with but it still makes me nervous even though it has worked fine for me. As you can see in the pic it still has a slight bend to it. My class 3 hitch says its rated for 500lb toungue weight and my bike wet plus carrier is 505lbs. I wouldn't trust it with a car.

20180531_213148.jpg

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