Hitch-Mounted Hauler

[ChrisK]

Anyone use one? Yays, nays?

[Speeddog]

I've helped load and unload bikes on them, and it was a PITA.

No real secure method to tie the bikes down.

And they just seemed really sketchy in every way.

For a sub 300# dirt bike, yeah, okay.

<caveat> Perhaps the ones I've seen and dealt with are cheeseball models, and there's better stuff out there.

[ChrisK]

I went ahead and purchased one, it was fairly cheap and I needed something to easily haul my bike back and forth from the track on the back of my Suburban. The one I purchased comes with a ramp section and it also has a front wheel chock that will hold the bike upright once in place. It's supposed to be arriving at my door tomorrow so when I get it assembled and on the burban I'll take some pics and update this thread.

[ChrisK]

Well my first impressions are bitter-sweet. The package showed up completely beat to shit. Unsurprisingly I pulled the contents out to find them badly scratched, dented, and bent. I'm going to come back to that at the end though.

The unit all bolted together very easily, pretty straightforward. It was a little clumsy getting it setup for the first time, but now that I know what to look for it will be smooth sailing. My first qualm with the unit is that the integrated wheel chock doesn't do a very good job of holding the bike upright. I was hoping the chock would easily hold the bike so that I could mess with ratchet straps, but you can't rely on it. So you really have to have straps ready to go and in place before you roll the bike up on to the carrier, not too big of a deal. Once I had the front secured I was pretty impressed with how sturdy it already was. I didn't have two more ratchet straps so I set off to drive across town, with the bike in tow, to get two more. On the way over (just city driving) the bike seemed pretty secure. I did hit one large bump and when I got to the store and checked the bike the rear wheel had hopped quite a bit up onto the side of the track. Good thing I was at the store to buy two straps to secure the rear of the bike. With all four straps on, the bike and carrier were very solid on my drive back home. I should mention I have a 2003 Chevy Suburban 1500.

One thing that I'm pretty impressed with is that I can push the bike up the ramp and onto the carrier by myself really pretty easily. I was planning on needing a second person there, but I don't, so that's nice. It all goes pretty smooth if you have your straps in place and you just take your time.

Now back to the quality issue. Yes, the unit arrived really banged up. It's banged up enough to look as if it was used for many years before it arrived at my door. It would have been nice to receive a brand new unit. THAT SAID... I only paid $180 for it. Shipped. To me, that's a great value, to each their own. I have not been able to find another one that cheap. Bought on ebay. Seller says they accept returns, but I don't plan on returning it because it would just be too much of a hassle to get the thing packaged up again.

I'm sorry about the quality of these pictures, it was getting dark while I was using it for the first time:

[rgramjet]

I've got one.  On the back of my Avalanche, the truck squatted big time.......more of a function of the overly soft suspension.

On the Escalade with self leveling rear, it was great.

[Speeddog]

That's a way better unit than the ones I've dealt with.

[ChrisK]

I won't use it again until May 10th but when I do I'll take some more pictures in better light.

[Skybarney]

We just bought one for my uncle to get his 175lb Aermacchi/HD around on.  My single largest words of caution are to watch big dips in the road.  It can be pretty easy to drag the rack when transitioning uphill.

[SpikeC]

 Very cool! As my bike weighs about the same and I have an Expedition it would work for me.
Does it have a brand name?

[He Man]

what class hitch are you running with that? Id feel like you need a class 3 minimum unless its support at other locations.

[Slide Panda]

what class hitch are you running with that? Id feel like you need a class 3 minimum unless its support at other locations.

Yep - 3+ they fit a 2" receiver

[ChrisK]

Yeah my hitch is plenty sturdy on my 03 Suburban 1500 chassis. I've taken it to two track days now and it's performed flawlessly.

The seller I purchased it from was on ebay: titan attachments

An update to the issue I had with the seller in an above post: they ended up giving me a $25 refund for the damages to the unit. So all-in-all I paid $155 for the thing, great price for how sturdy it has been.

[Capitalview]

I have a hitch hauler and have found it pretty easy to use.  It is heavy as hell though!

Pic of it loaded.

Has tail lights also.  They do sell a leveling kit that keeps it more stable while driving.  I just run a tie down to one of the cleats in the bed of my truck.  When it is strapped down it doesn't move at all.  I can also unload it by myself.  I haven't tried loading it alone yet though.

I had borrowed it to a friend last year who used it for his race bike.  He loved it.

I only need to use front tie downs also to keep it secure.

[ChrisK]

Where does the ramp get stored?

[Capitalview]

It is behind the bike.  It is held down with a wingnut and a tab.