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Old 07-18-2017, 10:51 AM   #1
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Name: Joe
Trailer: Someday
Oregon
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Opinions appreciated on tow question.

Hi. I have not yet purchased my Casita 17, but am soon on the hunt. So this is a hypothetical question I'm hoping to answer.

We will be buying a Honda generator (i2000) and placing this in a locking tongue box above the propane tanks along with a one or two gallon can of gas. I want it here so it's locked and fumes are out of the way and out of the tow vehicle. The tow vehicle is a 2008 Durango V8 with plenty of capability for towing this trailer.

The question is, if I choose to use a bike rack that mounts up on the tow vehicles receiver hitch ( you know, with one of those accessory double recover stingers) which would essentially put the bikes between the tow vehicle and the trailer, would the weight of the rack and the two bikes be added to the hitch weight calculus?

I understand I want my hitch weight to be 10% to 15% of total loaded trailer weight. So the generator will count obviously on the hitch weight, but since the bikes would be resting on the tow vehicles receiver and forward of the tow ball, does it count toward the 10-15 % number or not?

We already have great bikes and I just want to haul them economically and efficiently. To get a quality roof rack for the tow vehicle is pretty spent and access stinks. To get a hitch on the tail of the trailer is an option but I've read where every pound you put on the tail of the trailer takes off like a pound and a half from the tongue. I don't want to be light up there. And a good smooth tow is a must ( incidentally I flipped and totaled an old travel trailer menu years ago in a swaying situation which nearly ended my life and others.... It was terrifying and Ill have none of that ever again)

So please forgive my over thinking this problem... But I have history.

Opinions are so much wanted. Thank you.
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Old 07-21-2017, 11:16 AM   #2
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Name: Dick
Trailer: '15 17' LD Casita and '17 Tahoe LT
Texas
Posts: 321
We carried our two Honda Gens for 6 years in the back seat area of our pickup without a fume problem at all. The vent cap on the Hondas doe a good job of keeping the fumes inside the gen. The problem is carrying your fuel cans especially if they are the plastic variety. They will balloon and leak very easily. We currently have a !7' Casita and are facing the same situation since we are now pulling with a Tahoe instead of a pickup. I have a 6 gallon flat fuel tank for the gens. and am considering carrying them on the luggage rack and empty until I get to where we are headed. Then fuel them and if there is any fuel left when we break camp, pore it into the Tahoe. Camping has lots of trade offs!
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Old 07-21-2017, 11:27 AM   #3
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Name: Charlie
Trailer: 2014 Lil Snoozy
North Carolina
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Quote:
Originally Posted by easygojoe View Post
Hi. I have not yet purchased my Casita 17, but am soon on the hunt. So this is a hypothetical question I'm hoping to answer.

We will be buying a Honda generator (i2000) and placing this in a locking tongue box above the propane tanks along with a one or two gallon can of gas. I want it here so it's locked and fumes are out of the way and out of the tow vehicle. The tow vehicle is a 2008 Durango V8 with plenty of capability for towing this trailer.

The question is, if I choose to use a bike rack that mounts up on the tow vehicles receiver hitch ( you know, with one of those accessory double recover stingers) which would essentially put the bikes between the tow vehicle and the trailer, would the weight of the rack and the two bikes be added to the hitch weight calculus?

I understand I want my hitch weight to be 10% to 15% of total loaded trailer weight. So the generator will count obviously on the hitch weight, but since the bikes would be resting on the tow vehicles receiver and forward of the tow ball, does it count toward the 10-15 % number or not?

We already have great bikes and I just want to haul them economically and efficiently. To get a quality roof rack for the tow vehicle is pretty spent and access stinks. To get a hitch on the tail of the trailer is an option but I've read where every pound you put on the tail of the trailer takes off like a pound and a half from the tongue. I don't want to be light up there. And a good smooth tow is a must ( incidentally I flipped and totaled an old travel trailer menu years ago in a swaying situation which nearly ended my life and others.... It was terrifying and Ill have none of that ever again)

So please forgive my over thinking this problem... But I have history.

Opinions are so much wanted. Thank you.
We carry our Honda 2000i in the back of our Expedition with fuel in it. Withe the vent closed there is no fumes. I also carry a full one gallon metal safety can. I carry the gen in a plastic bin with a lid and keep the safety can covered and out of the sun.
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Old 07-21-2017, 12:41 PM   #4
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Name: Mike
Trailer: 2012 Escape 19
Oklahoma
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Yes it counts in your hitch weight.

A 17' Casita deluxe (front bath) tends to be very hitch heavy. If that is what you are getting, consider a way to put the bikes on the trailer's rear... it will help balance things.
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Old 07-21-2017, 12:59 PM   #5
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Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
NW Wisconsin
Posts: 4,500
Our 17 ft Casita SD has a tongue weight of approx 430 lbs carrying 2 tanks of propane and a few gallons of water in the black tank.
Adding bikes , a generator , a generator rack , and a couple gallons of fuel to the tongue could push your tongue weight over 500 Lbs
Once you get over the 500 lb tongue weight threshold , your choice of tow vehicles is much smaller.
A truck which allows you to haul the generator , fuel and bikes in the bed may be a good option
I am not a fan of hauling gas powered equipment and fuel tanks in an enclosed vehicle or trailer.
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Old 07-21-2017, 03:51 PM   #6
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Name: Bryan
Trailer: Casita "Cozy-Casa"
Central Virginia
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You need to think about a few things.... The bike rack on the receiver hitch will require a special stinger to allow this to happen and will be of weaker construction. It will have to be a longer stinger and that means for every inch it is longer than a regular stinger you reduce the amount of carrying capacity for the hitch due to the leverage effect. The bikes will be protruding out a good bit and will cause interference with the trailer when backing. I would say the best choice would be to get the OMW hitch on the back of the Casita and put your bike rack back there - the 17 has a heavy tongue - mine is 535lbs with the bikes on the back. Oh - and the answer to your question - the bikes mounted to the hitch are not part of the trailer tongue weight - they are part of the direct weight on the hitch itself - that needs to be looked at - some hitches only allow for a few hundred pounds of weight on them - others 1000lbs or more WITH weight distribution. You will want to check your cargo carry capacity for the tow vehicle in question. I have seen full size Dodge trucks with as little as 1300lbs CCC - that means all passengers and cargo total capacity. This number assumes full fluids so that does not count BUT hitch weight does! SO - 2 fully clothed adults = 400lbs, Receiver hitch = 70lbs, Stinger/ball = 25lbs, Stuff in the back seat of the truck that you take camping could be 250lbs easily, REALISTIC tongue weight of 17 Casita = 500lbs, etc,,, You see you are now very close to being overweight for CCC but not necessarily towing capacity which could be 7500lbs. The hitch itself has ratings to be aware of too. Look at the tag on the hitch to see what the ratings are. Also look at your door jamb sticker to see what your CCC is - it will likely be on a sticker with the picture of a tire on it. You are not allowed to legally exceed this amount for either front axle, rear axle or combination of both or for towing capacity. Should something happen you could be found guilty for overloading.
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Old 07-21-2017, 04:20 PM   #7
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Here is a link to the capacities for the 2008 Durango --- http://www.rambodybuilder.com/2008/docs/hb/mlup.pdf
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Old 07-21-2017, 05:18 PM   #8
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Name: bob
Trailer: 1996 Casita 17 Spirit Deluxe; 1946 Modernistic teardrop
New York
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[QUOTE=bsedwebt;651617]You need to think about a few things.... The bike rack on the receiver hitch will require a special stinger to allow this to happen and will be of weaker construction

I have one of those double hitch adapters (don't use it though), it is well made and quite heavy. It does move the ball farther from the vehicle receiver than with a normal stinger only. I made a "T" shaped piece from 2" square steel to keep the bike rack close to the tow vehicle, actually closer than if I was using only the bike rack and not towing a trailer. The trailer I was towing was our 700 lb teardrop. Didn't like this setup and ended up with the bikes on the trailer tongue.
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Old 07-21-2017, 08:20 PM   #9
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Please know that every inch longer the stinger is it diminishes the amount of tongue weight you can safely put on your hitch per its ratings and the tow vehicle ratings. A crude example of the physics of this - the longer the stinger the further back the down force is pushing - like a seesaw with the tow vehicle axle being the fulcrum. There is extra stress on the rear and weight transfer will be thrown off giving lighter steering. This can be somewhat remedied with a weight distribution hitch but is not ideal. The weight distribution hitch adds even more weight to the CCC equation - somewhere between 75-125lbs on a light weight trailer system. I have one of those double neck extenders but do not use it for this purpose as it is not safe for all the weight back there - even heavy duty ones, I used it to make my bike rack higher off the ground - nothing else. I would only consider that bike rack with the double tube adapter something I would use on a very light utility type trailer. For safety and comfortable towing experience I finally decided on a F150 since it had a CCC of over 2200lbs, 1200lbs hitch weight and 9200lbs trailer weight. I know this is overkill but after I started adding up everything that I wanted to do and carry I could not justify the purchase of a Jeep SUV with a CCC of 1000lbs that I wanted or the GMC Canyon for that matter with 1500lbs CCC. I would love to have a smaller vehicle for practicality but at what expense? The F150 tows wonderfully with lots of power and decent gas mileage - I have seen upwards of 29mpg at times without towing (but usually 24-5mpg) and when towing at normal highway speed around 15mpg is a good average. What floored me was the less than 1300lbs CCC rating (per the door sticker) I saw on FULL size Dodge pickup a fellow camper who was wondering why his truck handled so poorly. He was towing a small trailer so he did not think he was over weight and nobody would have thought it either because it did not look overweight at all -- but with the 100lb camper shell, 200lbs of hitch, antisway, weight distribution, ball, stinger, etc... 30lbs bed liner, 300lbs of tools and such in a large tool box, various camping supplies of about 250lbs, tongue weight of about 500lbs, 2 occupants of about 400lbs clothed, 100lbs of stuff in the cab of the truck, etc... it added up to new truck needed - not air shocks - that is a fake way to handle the issue. Adding suspension items can certainly help but in NO way is it legal or safe to exceed the CCC or towing capacities designated by the manufacturer on the date of production.
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