bike rack system trillium 1300

[wolfie the trailer]

my husband and I would love to bring our bikes to go camping, right now we put our daughters (she's 8) in the trailer when we travel but we would like to bring ours as well.

Any ideas of safe options to bring the 3 bikes?

[Steve in NY]

If you have a stought vehicle that can handle it, they make a rack that has an extension for a hitch. take a look at this. http://www.amazon.com/Maxxtow-Towing...itch+extension

[mary and bob]

This subject has come up many times. That hitch extension decreases the capacity of your vehicle's receiver. I noticed a difference even towing our 650 lb teardrop that has a tongue weight of less than 100 lb.

[Carol H]

Kuat makes very light racks that I use and even though its light it beats the heck out of my much heavier Thule racks! VERY stable. Not much wiggle at all. The Kuat 2 bike one is called a Beta and it weighs only 11lbs!

They use to make a 3 bike rack same style called a Kuat Alpha which weighs only 13lbs that you can still buy on Amazon and such places.

[whip2001]

Hollywood makes a three bike rake which is aluminum and very strong and like.
we've used ours for thee years. the issue then becomes can you mount three bikes to the back of the trailer. if each bike is 30 lbs and the lite weight rake 20 lbs. 110 lbs. you be the judge.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by whip2001

Hollywood makes a three bike rake which is aluminum and very strong and like.
we've used ours for thee years. the issue then becomes can you mount three bikes to the back of the trailer. if each bike is 30 lbs and the lite weight rake 20 lbs. 110 lbs. you be the judge.

Thats true of many light weight racks which is why I LOVE the Kuat rakes! Although the Kaut Beta only weighs 11lbs it has a carrying capacity of 80lbs for 2 bikes & does it well.

Gear Junkies did a side by side comparison of the Kuat Alpha (3 bike rake) which weighs only 13lbs with 90lb carrying capacity to the Thule 971st rack (3 bike rake) that weighs 21lbs.

With Alpha's 90lb carrying capacity that means you are not going to be able to put 3 heavy old school mountain bikes on it - but you can put 3 new school light road or hybrid bikes on it.

[wolfie the trailer]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Thats true of many light weight racks which is why I LOVE the Kuat rakes! Although the Kaut Beta only weighs 11lbs it has a carrying capacity of 80lbs for 2 bikes & does it well.

Gear Junkies did a side by side comparison of the Kuat Alpha (3 bike rake) which weighs only 13lbs with 90lb carrying capacity to the Thule 971st rack (3 bike rake) that weighs 21lbs.

With Alpha's 90lb carrying capacity that means you are not going to be able to put 3 heavy old school mountain bikes on it - but you can put 3 new school light road or hybrid bikes on it.

those are nice but the problem is, how do you attach them to the vehicle/trailer if you have your trailer hooked up to your vehicle. I think I am missing something?

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by wolfie the trailer

those are nice but the problem is, how do you attach them to the vehicle/trailer if you have your trailer hooked up to your vehicle. I think I am missing something?

You attach them to the receiver on the rear of the trailer, assuming you have one.

[wolfie the trailer]

Originally Posted by Carol H

You attach them to the receiver on the rear of the trailer, assuming you have one.

we have the steel bumper off the back

[wolfie the trailer]

The Green Grape

this isn't our trailer but this is what the rear of our trailer looks like

[mexbob5150]

Do they make a rack that goes on the front of the vehicle ? Or could u make one ?

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by wolfie the trailer

The Green Grape

this isn't our trailer but this is what the rear of our trailer looks like

Which is pretty standard. What you would need to do is add a receiver to the underside rear of the trailer. It would look something like the one for a Casita. It attaches the underside frame and rear bumper of the trailer. Most of the trailer manufactures offer them as an option.

You might want to check with Trillium Outback in Calgary to see what they might offer.

[TomK]

We have a factory mounted receiver on our Scamp 13, but still didn't feel comfortable putting that much weight in the back. We ordered a couple Dahon folding bikes that only weigh 22 lbs while camping down in Florida last winter. They fold or unfold in 10 seconds and ride just like a full-size bike. We fold them and they ride inside on the bed, safe, secure, and out of the weather. They seem to settle into the memory foam topper and don't shift around at all.

Tom

[Gail H]

We have a 1975 Trillium 1300 and 2 adult size bikes. We felt it would be too bouncy and too much weight to mount the receiver and bike rack in the rear. We have issues with too little tongue weight anyway. We got a hitch extension, like the person in post #2 suggests, and it has worked out very well for us. I'm not sure what the person in post #3 is referring to....decreased capacity??? The bikes sit up a little higher and we have to watch that our SUV liftgate doesn't hit the bike handlebars, but other than that it has worked great.

[mary and bob]

Gail, the leverage principal. move the ball farther out from the receiver puts more strain on the hitch. Someone on a related thread had a percentage figure for how much it decreases the hitch capacity. But it's your trailer and if it works for you, go for it. Bikes can be the biggest pain in the ### to transport and I've tried several options, including that hitch extender which I no longer use

[David Tilston]

In post #3 Bob is saying that the tongue weight limit is reduced by using an extended hitch. Also if sway has been a problem, an extended hitch will only make it worse.

I drive a van with a raised roof, so my trailer is completely in the wake of the van. There are no alternating vortices to generate sway:
Kármán vortex street - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Due to poor packing, I have driven at highway speeds with a tongue weight of ~30 lbs. No sway was noticed, but the trailer was pulling up as much as down. It felt really weird. I stopped at a weigh scale to check my tongue weight, then loaded up all the water containers I had and put them in the gaucho. The trailer felt much better after that.