Will Using Dual Hitch Adapter for Bike Rack Affect Turn Clearance When Towing

Question:

I see the tandem hitches for adding accessories, in my case a heavy-duty Thule 2-bike holder. I tow a boat behind the RV and I was wondering how to determine clearance issues when adding the hitch and bikes? I am afraid that placing such a robust bike hauler aboard might cause jackknife issues contact of bike wheels to boats bow.

asked by: Norman K

Expert Reply:

A dual hitch receiver adapter like the Malone # MPG544 or the Curt Multipurpose # D210 (which features a ball mount on the bottom portion instead of an additional receiver) is a great solution for towing and attaching another accessory like your Thule Bike Rack at the same time. As you mentioned though, there are a couple of things you want to look out for including the potential to limit your turning clearance when everything is hooked up.

Your turn clearance is going to depend on a number of things such as the overall length of your specific Thule rack and just how much space you have between the rear of your RV and the boat. The best thing you can do to try and determine clearance is put your RV and boat trailer into a sharper turn (in an empty parking lot) and stop. You can then get out of the RV and measure just how much clearance you have from the center of the hitch pin hole on your trailer hitch to the closest point of the boat or trailer.

Then simply compare this measurement to the overall length of your Thule carrier to see how close you will be cutting it. Using a longer ball mount on the bottom receiver like the Curt # D-26 can also help to push the trailer back a bit to widen this gap.

Something else you need to keep in mind when using any hitch adapter like this is that it will reduce your trailer hitch's overall weight capacity by 50 percent. Just make sure that the combined weights of your boat trailer and loaded bike rack don't exceed your reduced limit.

I have attached a few short video demonstrations that you can check out as well.