Using Adjustable Width Hitch, Part # 13703 to Mount Bike Rack on Rear of Trailer

Expert Reply:

Using this hitch for a bike rack will present a few obstacles. First of all, it sounds as if you have a bike rack for a 1-1/4 inch receiver. In order to use this rack with the hitch, you would need to use an adapter like part # 80300 to convert the 2 inch receiver on the hitch to a 1-1/4 inch for the bike rack. The good news is that using the adapter will gain you approximately 7 more inches of clearance to get past the rear of the trailer. The bad news is that using the adapter lowers the hitch tongue weight capacity by 50 percent. Without using the adapter, the tongue weight capacity of the hitch is 350 pounds. With the adapter, the rack and the bikes placed on it could weigh no more than 175 pounds.

Another consideration is the fact that a bike rack placed on the rear of a towed vehicle is subject to a considerable amount of shaking and jarring, much more than the rack would experience when mounted to the front of the vehicle. We carry bike racks specifically designed for use on towed vehicles, using a different rack can result in failure of the rack and loss of the bicycles. I will provide a link below to our selection of bike racks that would be safe for use on the rear of your trailer.

Anything you would do in the way of fabricating a riser to raise the rack up higher would be up to you, but I could not speak to the safety or weight bearing capability of anything you would come up with.

expert reply by: Mike L