Carrying a Motorcycle on Front Hitch

[Rzrbrn]

I sent an email to the fellow listed on the PGI Moto website. This is his response:

Some of our dealers have not gotten around to listing on their sites.

We do not plan on listing TOMOS products for sale online. We prefer a brick and mortar shop.

This being said, we are still growing and have not had a chance to branch into all markets. So, at this time we are offering pre-assembled mopeds shipped to areas where we do not have dealers yet. We have authorized our local TOMOS dealer, Second Stroke Mopeds, to perform the assembly and we ship them out.

If you are interested, let me know and I will forward you to a sales rep.

Thanks for contacting us!

Peter D'Addeo
President
PGI Moto
(718) 779-6686

[Tom 72]

I believe a true moped has bicycle pedals in addition to an engine, usually 49cc.

Scooters, usually have smaller tires than a motorcycle, and no pedals. But Honda's CT70 Mini Trail, discussed above has smaller tires. I think it is a motorcycle, maybe not. Many scooters are 49cc, and have no gear box. Mopeds and scooters under 50cc do not require license plates or a motorcycle endorsement in many jursdictions. If the nameplate says, Vespa, Piagio, or Geely, it is a scooter. The first two are Italian, the last is Chinese, I think. Geely acquired Volvo automobiles.

Scooters like those three are distinguished by frame design and engine placement. Generally, you swing your leg over the seat on a motorcycle. But in many scooters you step through. Many of most scooters have a floorboard, and splash guard in front to protect your legs. Women can ride scooters modestly in a dress. But men ride scooters too. Riding these scooters is more like sitting in a chair. Scooters may be best suited for urban riding.

Motorcycles often have larger wheels & tires which I think work better on rural roads. Motorcycle engines are mounted in the frame, midway between front and rear wheels. A chain or driveline transmits power to the wheel. Most scooter engines are mounted at the rear wheel, so no driveline, and a lower center of gravity for easier balance & control.

Motorcycles usually have manual transmissions. Scooters usually have no gears, or have some sort of variable ratio belt drive.

There is a big business in trying to sneak scooters with larger engines under the 50cc regulations. Mostly this is through modifications. Some scooters have 150, 250ccs, or more.

One reason I am exploring electric bikes, is that they are not prohibited on bike trails, and other off-road routes that ban motorized cycles. I like that Radpowerbikes.com offers a good price point by selling direct. But there are many others in Amazon, YouTube, and the web. Half the names will disappear in ten years. Enjoy.

[dmad1]

Honda CT 70 on Ebay



I tried to post a pic. of the CT 70

[Rick W in MI]

I have had many plow trucks and have always ordered them with the "plow Package". It gave me several options that are need like bigger alternator, a different wiring package but most of all more leaf springs to support the additional weight of the plow. Perhaps a visit to a specialty shop, like I use to frequent, that can make and add extra springs or in your case check to see if yours should be beefed up for the load. New springs/shocks? Think about it if your 200 pound mechanic stepped on the bumper it wouldn't go down much. Tie him on and go for a ride and see how it handles...NA don't do that.

I thought an early '60s Ford Econoline ramp side would make a nice tow truck just for this reason. Paint to match...would be fun.

Rick W

[Tom 72]

For reference, a Honda CT 70, or Mini Trail. This bike is widely cloned in China. For some reason the Trail 90 hasn't been copied. Seems to me someone could sell thousands. Oh well, I can ride on most bike trails with an eBike, but with a Trail 90, I can't. eBikes are also much lighter to lift & load.

[artsykaren]

Thank you for the addy for the RAD e-bike.....Very interesting....Enjoying this thread.

[John in Santa Cruz]

the chinese scooters and small motorcycles have notoriously unreliable engines and generally poor machining and metalurgy. but they are cheap.

[stude]

Originally Posted by dmad1

Interested in hearing from anyone that carries a motorcycle on a front hitch. I have a '17 Chevy Tahoe. The bike would weigh around 300 lbs. From what I understand, the receiver type hitch make for our Casita is not rated for carrying much weight due to the frame on the Casita. I have seen them on the front of class c motorhomes and pickups but not a Tahoe. Not sure how much the weight the front of the Tahoe can carry. Chevy dealership was no help. I guess they are afraid of the liability.

hy not install a tow hitch to the front end then make or buy a rig that the bike can roll up on and sit on or into. That way it does not affect the towing weight problems.
Stude

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by dmad1

Interested in hearing from anyone that carries a motorcycle on a front hitch. I have a '17 Chevy Tahoe. The bike would weigh around 300 lbs. From what I understand, the receiver type hitch make for our Casita is not rated for carrying much weight due to the frame on the Casita. I have seen them on the front of class c motorhomes and pickups but not a Tahoe. Not sure how much weight the front of the Tahoe can carry. Chevy dealership was no help. I guess they are afraid of the liability.

Originally Posted by stude

hy not install a tow hitch to the front end then make or buy a rig that the bike can roll up on and sit on or into. That way it does not affect the towing weight problems.
Stude

That is exactly what the OP wants to do. So we are back to the original question. Several people carry smaller bikes that way on different vehicles. I hope you find someone with the same set-up as yours, but the likelihood is small.

That is the first question. Check the label in your door jamb for the GAWR for the front axle and the GVWR. Then take your rig, hitched and fully loaded as you normally travel, to a CAT scale and get a front axle weight and tow vehicle weight (trailer off scale). See if you have enough remaining capacity for the total weight of front receiver, rack, and bike. I agree with John that the weight added to the front axle could be more than the total weight of all the parts due to the lever effect.

You also have have to determine whether there is a front receiver made for this vehicle and what it is rated to carry.

After weight, the remaining hurdles are visibility and cooling. Careful measurements will help you determine whether there will be visibility or headlight interference.

Hard to say about cooling. It depends on how open the frame of the bike is, the distance between the bike and the grille, how much excess cooling capacity there is, ambient temperatures where you plan to tow... Towing the trailer already adds cooling demand to the system. Vehicles have electrically-controlled fans to increase airflow across the radiator. Normally they don't run much at highway speeds, but cycle often when idling and creeping in traffic. With airflow restricted you may find they are running more. Don't know what the long-term effect of that might be. This is one of those questions where it is good to have a working relationship with a smart, experienced independent mechanic.

On top of everything else, this is a near-new vehicle still under warranty.

The ideal solution in my mind would be a whole new frame under the Casita with an extended tongue to carry the bike and a WDH.

[Rzrbrn]

Jon,
A whole new frame under the Casita? What company has the expertise to accomplish such a task? I wonder if Little House Customs might do it, seems like a big job. And expensive. Might as well just get a toyhauler, if having a motorcycle/ATV is that important.

[Ian G.]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Jon,
A whole new frame under the Casita? What company has the expertise to accomplish such a task? I wonder if Little House Customs might do it, seems like a big job. And expensive. Might as well just get a toyhauler, if having a motorcycle/ATV is that important.

There will soon be a solution for this. The 3D printed trailer uses a mounting system that attaches to a standard flat deck trailer. You could get any length of flat deck, mount the trailer shell and have room for the "toys". When you arrive at the campsite you pop off the trailer (yes the mount is designed to do this), then you have a flat bed trailer to tow your quads or bikes or boat to a different location.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Jon,
A whole new frame under the Casita? What company has the expertise to accomplish such a task? I wonder if Little House Customs might do it, seems like a big job. And expensive. Might as well just get a toyhauler, if having a motorcycle/ATV is that important.

Agree on all counts. I just see a lot of potential issues with the front hitch solution. We're not talking a small moped here. A 300# pound bike plus the weight of the receiver and rack... 450-500# maybe? I've only seen larger bikes on the front of heavy duty pick-ups, which the Tahoe is not.

Having invested $20K+ in a new Casita and $50K+ for a new Tahoe, another $3-5K (just guessing) for a new frame to do this right and safely is not totally crazy. Okay, maybe a little crazy... A competent welding fabricator could do it.

I am very good at spending other people's money...

If there were a molded toyhauler (larger than the Happier Camper), I would have suggested that.

[CSelf]

https://www.casitaforum.com/invboard...-groovy-paint/

Casita mounted on dual axle car haul trailer. Ran across this over on another site.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I used to carry about 100-150 lbs of rack+4 clunker bikes on the front of our 2001 E150 van, while towing a 2000 lb tent trailer. it made the van feel nose heavy, and it was *EXTREMELY* annoying at night when your headlights would reflect off the mess of bikes and leave all kinda glare on your windshield.

I'm guessing a Tahoe, which is based on a Chevy 1500 pickup chassis, is similar to the E150 in this respect, except the E150 probably had a longer wheelbase (which helps with stability)

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by dmad1

Here is a couple of links to a couple of alternatives. I wonder if a Casita might support the tongue weight of one of these with a receiver hitch?

The ultimate single wheel trailer system.

that looks sketchy as heck. also, not legal behind a trailer, as thats technically a double trailer.

[dmad1]

I don't think it is considered a triple hook up since it does not pivot. I is mounted solid to the trailer and considered part of it. But I may be wrong. I often am...

[stevebaz]

those little wheels are really spinning at 60 mph.

[Tom 72]

The trailer dolly in post 35 does have interesting potential. I agree with Steve that the bearings on those wheels might get pretty warm.

Additionally, if you put Harleys or maybe an ATV on it, you'd have roughly half their weight on the back of the trailer. If that isn't enough, imagine it bouncing off a pothole, then hammering down with several times the force. Shock absorbers?

[dmad1]

Quite a few small boat and utility trailers at one time had 8" wheels.

[k0wtz]

steve I had a trailer I pulled behind our motorcycle with wheels like that 60 was it for me!! bob