Recommended Solution to Carry 2 Bikes On Front of Tear Drop Trailer

Question:

Hi I have a homebuilt 1000 lb tear trailer on a 5x9 custom welded steel chassis and my vehicle can handle up to 300 lb tongue weight...currently trailer puts ~100 lbs on it and would like to mount a 2 bike carrier on the tongue rather than the rear and would also like to be able to use the carrier in my toyota highlanders 2 inch receiver when Im not towing and for that purpose a tilt frame would be important. One of the bikes is a 40lb step through ebike Faraday Cortland the other bike would be a standard bike weighing less than 40 lbs. I know vistabule similar shape to mine uses the swagman xc 2 bike carrier mounted on the tongue. What would you recommend for my situation?

asked by: Marguerite

Expert Reply:

I have a solution for you, but I don't believe that carrying the bike rack on the trailer tongue is going to give you the flexibility you're seeking in this case. In order to mount the bike rack on the tongue you'd either need to use something like the Stromberg Carlson Bike Bunk Trailer-Mounted Bike Rack Carrier for A-Frame Trailers - 2"-100 lbs # CC-275 to provide a 2 inch receiver to allow you to use the Swagman XC2 # S64650. The Stromberg Bike Bunk # CC-275 only has a 100-lbs total capacity and the XC2 weighs a little under 30-lbs; as long as you don't exceed 100-lbs total with the 2 bikes and carrier, the Bike Bunk would work, but I'm not sure you'll have the clearance on the front of the trailer. You'd want to measure the A-frame portion to determine where the frame is 12" wide and determine if the Bike Bunk could be placed there without hitting the trailer.

In this case, I think the best solution is using the Curt Multipurpose Ball Mount with 2" Receiver for Bike Racks and Cargo Carriers - 7,500 lbs # D210, which gives you a receiver to mount the bike rack and has a ball mount to tow your trailer with and can carry up to 750-lbs of tongue weight. If you were to use this receiver alone without towing a trailer it would lower the tongue weight capacity of the tow vehicle by 50%, but as long as you're towing this shouldn't be a concern. Since the bikes and rack will weigh roughly 100-lbs and your trailer tongue weight is 100-lbs, you're well within the limits of this ball mount and your vehicle's tongue weight capacity.

I've linked some review videos of these parts for you to check out.

expert reply by: Erik B