• RME Gear & Apparel

Hitch carrier for a big adventure bike. Crazy?

J

J-mobzz

Well-Known Member
So where my mindset has been I really want to get a motorcycle that I can carry behind the van. I’ve been thinking anywhere from like 150 cc Chinese made scooter that I would throw some knobbies on to a smaller dual sport dirtbike. Something that I could go putt around some dirt roads on and cruise into the closest town to grab a few things with a backpack without having to break down camp.

But my mind keeps going back to the fact that I own a motorcycle that I really enjoy riding. A v-storm 1050xt. But she’s a big girl at 530 pounds.

So if I put airbags on the back of the van put a class five receiver hitch on and then built a pretty beefy hitch carrier that could handle the weight and probably tied into my rear bumper as well for load distribution and prevent sway. I don’t know part of me feels like I’m just asking for trouble trying to carry around that big of a bike on the back of an already loaded van, even with airbags. And part of me thinks it’s a really good idea to just use the bike I already have.

Am I crazy for thinking about trying this?
IMG_0367.jpeg
 
J

J-mobzz

Well-Known Member
Kevin B. said:
Get your box truck going and haul it in the back of the truck?
Click to expand...
Even with the box truck, it’s going to have to be a similar set up. There’s just no way to fit the motorcycle inside with the layout. I need to be sustainable for work and long-term travel.

But that’s also why I’m leaning towards trying to find a set up that will work with a big bike. it would be pretty easy just to buy $1000 scooter or $2200 dirtbike. But long term I would like to have my big bike with me.
 
moab_cj5

moab_cj5

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
The Village of Kay
J-mobzz said:
Either way, I think I will build a carrier similar to something like this that’s height adjustable. Obviously with the V Strom it would have to be pretty hefty.
View attachment 177170
Click to expand...
I have that style carrier for my dirt bike and I really like it. For a 530lb bike you'll definitely need to figure out how to control sway, and you'll need a beefy jack to lift it, but I really like my carrier.

IMG_2385_Original.jpeg
 
J

J-mobzz

Well-Known Member
Hickey said:
I think I would add two turnbuckles to the hitch setup, just like they use in the higher quality receiver hitch extensions. Added support and triangulation could really help.

View attachment 177191
Click to expand...
So instead of using an extension, I would just build the carrier to work with my set set up permanently. And then I planned on using some high-quality turnbuckles up to the shackles on the rear bumper. My thought is it would triangulate it as well as distribute some of the load.
 
J

J-mobzz

Well-Known Member
SLC97SR5 said:
You mentioned scooter...
I could be talked into letting this bad dawg go.😀
2016 PCX 300ish miles.
View attachment 177192
Click to expand...
I don’t think I’m ready to drop the kind of money on a namebrand scooter lol I’m sure that thing still worth 2500 bucks or more. If I went the scooter route, it would be something like this.

IMG_1023.jpeg


But I think I’ve gotten enough encouragement here that I’m going to move forward with ordering the airbag stuff this week and a class 5 hitch.
 
J

J-mobzz

Well-Known Member
Thanks to you good influence I’m going for it. I didn’t like the airbag kits I could find for the van so I ordered a few different mounting plates and a set of 2500 pound bags and I’ll just build my own mounts. Also ordered a class 5 receiver. I don’t trust the one I built into the rear bumper to handle that much weight.

IMG_1027.jpeg
 
J

J-mobzz

Well-Known Member
I have zero experience running airbags on anything. But searching Google today getting ready for some ideas on building my set up. I came across airbag cradles. They apparently allow you to not have the bottom of the bag attached to the axle. This seems like a really nice things specifically because of how much I take the van off road and that is a big concern of mine over articulating the bags.

Does anyone have these? I’m thinking I should run them?
IMG_1095.jpeg
 
BlackSheep

BlackSheep

baaaaaaaaaad to the bone
Supporting Member
Location
South Carolina....no public land
you'll definitely want to stabilize that bad boy. My 300# XT250 on the hydraulic rack bounces around A LOT! Now with the stuff I've attached to the van's rear doors I can actually run a couple of straps from the rack up high on the ladder on one side and the rack on the other. It really helped when I put the rack on my Jeep - I ran a couple straps up to the roll bar.
 
dutchman

dutchman

KI7KSV
Location
Boise, Id
J-mobzz said:
I have zero experience running airbags on anything. But searching Google today getting ready for some ideas on building my set up. I came across airbag cradles. They apparently allow you to not have the bottom of the bag attached to the axle. This seems like a really nice things specifically because of how much I take the van off road and that is a big concern of mine over articulating the bags.

Does anyone have these? I’m thinking I should run them?
View attachment 177354
Click to expand...
I ran something similar on my Tundra when I had it. Not sure if they were really needed, but it gave me piece of mind. I have yet to add a set on my F-350, but they're on the list.
 
UNSTUCK

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
I use harbor freights big motor cycle carrier to haul my son’s dirt bike around. I think it’s rated for like 600 pounds. There’s no way I would carry that much on it.

If I was to build something myself I would not use a single receiver. Instead I would weld a receiver tube on either end of my hitch and then build a carrier that would slide into both of those receiver tubes. That would make it way stronger and take all the wobble out of it. I would also make it stick out a bit further so it wasn’t so close to the truck. That would give me more room to triangulate my straps.
 
J

J-mobzz

Well-Known Member
UNSTUCK said:
I use harbor freights big motor cycle carrier to haul my son’s dirt bike around. I think it’s rated for like 600 pounds. There’s no way I would carry that much on it.

If I was to build something myself I would not use a single receiver. Instead I would weld a receiver tube on either end of my hitch and then build a carrier that would slide into both of those receiver tubes. That would make it way stronger and take all the wobble out of it. I would also make it stick out a bit further so it wasn’t so close to the truck. That would give me more room to triangulate my straps.
Click to expand...

I have also had one of the harbor freight ones. It was loose! I currently have this one in the picture below and it’s quarter inch wall main tube. But I don’t want to push that big heavy bike up so I think the adjustable one is probably the route I’m going to go.

I did think about your idea of doing the double receiver hitch. I did a big rack on a friends RV earlier this year and we did that set up. So that’s something I’m definitely still considering.
And with the spare tire and storage box, it’s going to stick out from the back of it quite a bit. I’ll be able to do some good quality tensioners to the rear bumper.

IMG_1099.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top