Bike rack

[russelld]

Looking to use a dual receiver for pulling my 13' Scamp and mounting my bike rack on dual receiver. Any concerns I should be aware of. Thanks.

[john warren]

the distance between the tug and trailer. don't want to be tight enough to pinch your bikes in a tight turn.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by russelld

Looking to use a dual receiver for pulling my 13' Scamp and mounting my bike rack on dual receiver. Any concerns I should be aware of. Thanks.

I have a rack on the tongue of my 13 which I have used for several years with great satisfaction. You don't say what you have for a tow vehicle, but assuming a class three hitch, properly attached, you should do fine.
The additional length of the draw bar could slightly change the towing dynamics of the trailer but probably less than a bike rack on the rear of the trailer.
Of course, the weight at the hitch will be increased by the weight of the rack and bikes, but it would be cargo weight on the TV and not actually the tongue weight of the trailer?

[russelld]

Towing with a 2010 Subaru Forester. Do you have any pictures showing bikes on? Thanks Lee

[mary and bob]

I had to modify my Yakima 4 bike rack to use it on the dual receiver, otherwise the bikes were back toward the trailer too far. Now with our CT13 Uhaul I have a rear bike rack on it, and with our teardrop camper I mount a rack on the tongue. Bob

[russelld]

I have Thule 2 bike rack so I should be OK. Thanks everyone who offered suggestions.

[fidgetboy]

Don't forget that the weight of the bikes will add to your tongue weight as well and may take away from what you can tow.

[mcbrew]

That's going to add a lot to your tongue weight. Like my Outback, your Forester has a 200 pound tongue weight limit. you might want to consider putting the bikes on the roof of your car instead.

[Carol H]

Thats what I did - got nice racks from Subaru - they had a sale - two bike racks for one.

[Panoz77]

My CT-13 has a receiver on the rear bumper (installed by a previous owner), I use that for the bikes, found a great 4 bike rack on CL for $40.

[Colin77]

Be careful about loading too much behind the axle. That can lead to major swaying issues! You need a certain amount of tongue weight. I had too much weight on my bumper and got into an accident in the fall! My trailer swayed uncontrollably causing my rig to jack knife on the highway! Thank God I didn't hit anyone and no one hit me! I did hit the centre barrier though! The trailer survived but the bikes on my rear bumper were destroyed! These light trailers are very sensitive to load balancing.

[Panoz77]

Yeah, I do notice it has a tendancy to want to sway at higher speeds a little more with the rack and bikes on, however I can feel when any swaying starts (with or without the rack) and if you let off the gas it will settle back down. I've never had it sway bad, but as soon as I feel any sway I always back off the gas.

[mary and bob]

I haven't had any sway problems with two bikes on the rear of our Uhaul, but James also has the spare tire and air conditioner back there for additional weight. Bob

[Panoz77]

My rack also sticks out quite a bit throwing the center of gravity further to the rear and the rack alone is pretty heavy.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Panoz77

Yeah, I do notice it has a tendancy to want to sway at higher speeds a little more with the rack and bikes on, however I can feel when any swaying starts (with or without the rack) and if you let off the gas it will settle back down. I've never had it sway bad, but as soon as I feel any sway I always back off the gas.

Yucks.... James if your tow is swaying with or without the racks its an indication your tongue weight is way to light to be safe and a real good recipe as some others here have discovered for writing off you trailer and very possible your tug as well. The backing off of the gas isn't going to fix it for you in all situations. Travel safe.

[Panoz77]

I'm not an expert on sway, but I don't think I have a "sway problem". I have felt what I think is sway on a couple of occasions (not severe, but a light rhythmic pull from right to left), but it has never worried me to the point that I thought it was a problem.

[Carol H]

IMHO if you are actually feeling the trailer pulling the tug right to left you have a sway problem but others may not agree on that....

[russelld]

After reading all the issues with rear bumper receiver I convinced to go with the rooftop bike rack. I'm 70 with some shoulder issues but I think it will be worth the effort. Hey, maybe I could have my wife do it! ;-). lol. Thanks everyone for your input. Lee

[Carol H]

Or do what I ended up doing - get a new hybrid bike with lots of carbon fiber components to really keeps the weight down. No way could I get my old mountain bike up on the roof on my own - new one not a problem.