Does a Hitch Mount Motorcycle Carrier Reduce Tongue Weight Capacity Like a Hitch Extender

Updated 05/25/2020 | Published 12/25/2016

Question:

Just reviewed your explanation regarding considering tongue weight limits and hitch extenders vs motorcycle carrier racks. Am still unclear about how to regard the motorcycle carrier and tongue weight. I have an SUV with a Type 3 hitch receiver with a 400 lb. max tongue weight. The SMC600 weighs 85 lbs with a max tongue weight of 600 lbs exerted at a point 25 inches from the hitch receiver. The question is: can I safely load a 300 lb. motorcycle on the SMC600 at 85 lbs for a combined weight of 385 lbs? My amateur calculation is that 385 lbs at 25 inches is equivalent to about 800 ft lbs of torque. Or, is that not applicable in this case? Thanks for your response.

asked by: Sam B

Expert Reply:

We are talking about 2 different animals. A motorcycle carrier does not reduce the tongue weight capacity of a trailer hitch like a hitch extender does. So if the tongue weight capacity of the hitch AND vehicle is greater than the combined weight of the bike and motorcycle carrier then you are within the capacity and will be good to go.

You might consider a lighter carrier such as # e98873 which weighs about 58 pounds so it would reduce the stress on the hitch.

expert reply by: Michael H

Charles J.

5/22/2020

I have a keep commander . I Am pulling macho kiwi hybrid 2900 lb . Question is this . Could I use dual hitch to load a motorcycle carrier ? I would like to take my Suzuki Bergman on the trips . It weighs 450 lbs .

Chris R.

5/25/2020

I'm not sure a dual hitch adapter can be used in this case. Any adapter like this is going to reduce the capacity of your Commander's trailer hitch by 50 percent. It's highly unlikely that this leaves you with enough tongue weight capacity for both the loaded motorcycle rack and trailer. A better solution will be to try to load the bike inside the trailer or even add a hitch at the rear of the trailer, such as the Curt # C13701, to use with the rack.