Is Tongue Weight Rating of Hitch on 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Enough for Hitch Bike Rack

Question:

I have a 2018 Chevy Silverado 1500 short bed 2 door pickup. Is the stock standard hitch that came on the truck able to support a two bike carrier if I do not exceed 90 lbs. Thank you.

asked by: John W

Expert Reply:

Your 2018 Silverado 1500's factory 2-inch hitch should have plenty of tongue weight capacity to allow use of just about any hitch type bike rack. There should be a sticker on the hitch that provides weight capacity ratings, including the tongue weight (TW) rating, which is what matters for using a bike rack.

Tongue weight is down-force on the hitch from the item installed in it. This means that you would want to check the total combined weight of your chosen bike rack, such as the Yakima HoldUp # Y02443-2 that you referenced which weighs 98-lbs, plus the weight of the loaded bikes themselves. As long as the total load remains within the hitch TW capacity you're good to go.

The Yakima HoldUp can hold 4 bikes up to 50 pounds each bike for a total of 200 pounds.

expert reply by: Adam R