Recommendation for a Bike Rack for Use When Towing a Trailer with a 1996 Jeep Cherokee  

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There are a couple of options for you to carry a bike a rack and tow a trailer at the same time. First, you can use a towing rack. I recommend the Curt Clamp-on, part # C18013. It fits around a ball mount shank.

A couple of things to note about this method are the ball mount length and the tongue weight. This bike rack requires that the ball mount have a distance of 10 inches from the center of the hitch pin hole to the center of the ball hole. If you need a ball mount that is compatible, you can use # 2736, # EA40, or # D-28.

Regarding tongue weight, the weight of the bike rack, about 13 pounds, and the weight of the bikes loaded on it will count as additional tongue weight to be added to the tongue weight of the trailer. You will need to check the tongue weight capacity of the hitch and vehicle and make sure the combined weight of the trailer tongue, bike rack, and bikes does not exceed the tongue weight capacity.

The second option is to use a Dual Hitch Receiver, # D210. With this receiver you would place a bike rack in the top part and tow the trailer with the bottom part. The tongue weight capacity of this part is 750 pounds and the same tongue weight rules apply as explained above, except that the receiver portion of the ball mount is limited to 350 pounds.

The benefit of this method is that you have more bike rack options. I would go with a very light bike rack to free up some tongue weight capacity. The Kuat Beta, # B202-2 weighs under 13 pounds so it would be a good choice.

expert reply by: Michael H

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