How Many Bikes Can a Class I Hitch Carry
Published 07/14/2015
Question:
Are there any trailer hitch bike racks for a Class 1 hitch that can actually carry 4 bikes? What if two of them are smaller/lighter kidsfoot bikes? It seems like the bikes + rack would still be below the 200-lb tongue weight limit. What would happen if one loaded the rack with 4 bikes? Thanks!
asked by: Christy
Expert Reply:
Class I hitches can only carry up to 2 bikes. Even if the bikes are kids bikes that would be lighter than adult bikes I can't recommend you carry more than 2 bikes on a Class I hitch. The problem is the additional weight of the bikes and the distance away from the hitch where the weight is placed. It ends up putting a lot of leverage on the hitch.
Most likely if you carried 4 bikes on a Class I hitch the hitch or the attachment points for the hitch would become damaged. A lot of Class I hitches attach to the bottom of the trunk pan of the vehicle. Recently a customer emailed us saying his trunk pan started to bend in when carrying his bike rack. He didn't say he was carrying more than 2 bikes, but I would suspect that he did or was carrying very heavy bikes.
