Carrying 4 Bikes and Towing a Trailer at the Same Time with 2011 Toyota 4Runner

Question:

Driving a 2011 Toyota 4Runner Sport and towing an 18foot Aliner Expedition with electronic brakes and a 2inch receiver on the bumper. I am looking for the best recommendations for being able to take 4 adult bikes 30-35#s each with us camping. We took a trip last year not paying attention much to the weight added to the back of the trailer nor the rating for the rack that we had had for close to 10 years. We had just upgraded from 2 adult and 2 kid bikes to 4 adult bikes. We experienced quite a bit of sway at the start of the trip which was remedied when I shifted more weight to the front of the trailer of course, we are new to this. On our way home, I discovered the vibration actually pulled a couple screws off of the rack and we almost lost all 4 bikes. They were pinned to the trailer with a bike lock that I had installed. I ended up having to lay them in the trailer to get them home. The tongue weight of the trailer is 335 and my truck is rated for a tongue weight of 500 for towing. I am not opposed to a putting a weight control system on if this would allow for a 4 bikes on the back of the trailer, but need to be money cautious at this point. Another thing to note, the top of the Aliner has 4 skylights and therefore will not handle anything added to the top. Suggestions?

asked by: Jeff

Expert Reply:

Only certain bike racks can be used at the back of the trailer. The one that you were using may not have been compatible. We do have several 4-bike carriers that are rated for use at the back of a trailer.

My top recommendation is the Swagman XP, # S64940. A very simple single arm design, this rack features rotating cradles to handle a variety of bike styles. I have included a link to a video review of this carrier for you.

You would have to make sure that both the bumper and the bumper mounted hitch on the trailer are rated higher than the combined weight of the bike rack and bikes.

The other option is to use a multipurpose ball mount such as # D210. This will allow you to use a bike rack in the upper receiver and tow the trailer with the lower ball mount. The overall tongue weight capacity of this ball mount is 750 pounds with a 7,500 pound gross trailer weight capacity.

The combined weight of the trailer tongue weight, bike rack, and bikes, cannot exceed the 500 pound tongue weight capacity of your 4Runner. Also, with this type of set up it can limit the turning radius between vehicle and trailer since the bikes will be closer to the front of the trailer.

expert reply by: Michael H