murrellington

I'm going to buy a 1up usa bike rack that holds 2 bikes and i'll probably buy the extension for a 3rd or 4th bike. I sent questions to etrailer and some of the answers are below:

"The Curt hitch is the least expensive, but Curt's warranty stipulates that all non-trailer loads like bike racks and cargo carriers be secured with a stabilizing strap like part # 18050. This would present an extra expense and hassle, therefor I'd recommend the Draw-Tite # 24866 which has no such stipulation.
The hitch and bike rack manufacturers all agree that no more than two bikes should be carried in a rack used in a Class I hitch, due to the low 200 lb tongue weight capacity of the hitch. Adding a third or fourth bike would place the weight of the bikes too far away from the receiver opening, which would apply leverage to the hitch that it wasn't designed to withstand. This leverage can bend the hitch or cause the hitch attachment points to the vehicle to fail, which would be bad."


Do you guys like curt more or the draw-tite? not worries about price, which one is better? Also, Can I get a class 2 hitch for my jetta to not have to worry about the tongue problems of having more bikes? What setups do some of you guys have?

murrellington

Or maybe a roof rack would be better and cheaper? I haven't even looked into those. I think I will check them out now.

osco53

200 pound max tongue weight,,, 4 bikes, heavy bikes at 30 Lbs each,, 120 pounds,,,the bike rack is what 30 pounds ?

A little leverage,,, I cannot see 4 bikes and a hitch mount rack bending a class I receiver....

A class I receiver Is designed to pull a 2,000 pound trailer and trust me that will push and pull some serious torque.
Not to mention when you hit a bump towing a 2,000 trailer that tongue weight can surge beyond 200 pounds...
But then again I'd have to see for myself how it mounts to the car..
I'd do some more Investigating...

If using a class I receiver I'd make sure the mounting bolts were grade 8...


No one, no sane person would mount a class II receiver on any car. I doubt you could find one to fit..
The class II receiver would be far too large for your car..

Canker

The only racks they make rated to handle 4 bikes only work with a 2" hitch. Their 1 1/4 hitch racks can only handle up to 3 bikes which would be fine with a class 1 hitch. The base rack for 1 bike weight 23lbs and each add on is 18lbs so 77lbs for 4 + 120lbs of bikes comes to 197lbs.

I just installed a curt hitch on my 04 jetta and bought a 1 up rack and love it. I never saw anything about needing a stabilizer strap but I only have one rack and might in the future add a second so I'm not worried. 4 bikes on the roof might not work either just due to space. You might have to mix and match with two on the roof and two on a hitch rack. I left my roof rack on the car after buying the hitch setup just incase I need to haul another bike or two.

murrellington

Thanks guys, yeah after doing more research i figured out my concerns were lame. Class 1 hitch is fine. I was overshooting not knowing what a normal car should carry. I got all the info i need. Thanks again for taking the time to help out.

murrellington

Awesome to hear you have the 1up and love it. I'm going to get the double rack and have 1 add on for now. And yeah i guess weight is no problem because I actually don't have mountain bikes. I have a fixed gear that is like 18 poundsso i'll probably never exceed the 200 pound tongue limit.

Canker

It isn't just the tongue weight limit you have to worry about it is the limit of the 1 1/4 rack. It can only handle 3 bikes/add ons. You are putting a lot of leverage on a small bit of aluminum.

osco53

Very Informative thread,, I didn't know 1 1/4 inch bike rack mounts were not steel,,,,wow.. I'd mod that right at the get go ..

Fit me a solid aluminum chunk inside or convert to steel..

Canker

The 1up usa rack is all aluminum no matter what size you get it in and it is great. And when I said small bit of aluminum it is actually rather chunky but not nearly as strong as the 2" version. I'm sure there are other racks out there that are also aluminum but the vast majority are steel.

corrado33

I have an 1.25 inch hitch on my old Audi A6. I installed it myself. It's bombproof. It's literally bolted inside of the frame using 4 massive bolts and probably 1-1.5 feet of overlap. I could easily load me and all of my friends on it and I'd never budge. I towed a much too heavy trailer full of freaking tools across the country using that hitch and it's still perfectly fine.

I have no doubt that my hitch could carry 4 bikes (if I had a 4 bike rack.)

Also, whoever posted above that all 4 bike hitch racks require 2 inch receivers is wrong.

RIDGEBACK 4 | Yakima

murrellington

Why do they make bike racks that hold 4 bikes and fit a 1-1/4 hitch then if this size hitch can't support 4 bikes? That doesn't make sense.

• Maximum gross trailer weight: 2,000 lbs
• Maximum tongue weight: 200 lbs

If it can handle 200lbs of tongue weight, why can't it hold 4 bikes?

Canker

Because we were talking about a specific rack the 1up usa bike rack which can only hold 3 bikes in their 1 1/4 version.

murrellington

Oh, gotcha, was confused because I was wanting the double rack which can accomodate up to 4 bikes.

Canker

they only offer the double in a 2" hitch version. Did you find a 2" receiver for your jetta?

murrellington

Iwas planning on having a 1-1/4" hitch but getting an adaptor for the 2" rack to fit on. I emailed 1up and they said the 2" rack only fits on a 2" receiver. I asked why an adaptor on a smaler hitch wouldn't work and they said it would but they just don't recommend it.
I really want the option for 4 bikes but they said they don't recommend it. Not sure what would happen but I might just have to settle for the 3 bike option.

corrado33

The reasoning they stated is pretty obvious. Bike racks slide into the hitch a good 6-12 inches. Your adapter would have to have 6-12 inches of 2 inch receiver, which would make it stick back from the car at least that far, which then would make the bike rack hang off of the back of the car about 2 feet. That would not be stable in any way-shape-or form.

murrellington

Makes sense. Okay I think I got it all settled now. I'll get the single rack with 2 ad ons to be able to hold 3 bikes. If I ever need to carry a 4th i'll install a roof rack.

koolerb

Sounds like you know what you want to buy, I'm going to plug etrailer.com as a good place to buy it. Prices and installation videos are really good. I just bought a hitch and wiring harness for my wife's car last fall from these guys and they had installation videos for both. Super easy.