Can Bike Rack be Used in Front Hitch of Truck

Published 03/06/2019

Question:

Hi! I have the etrailer front mounting hitch on my truck, which is great and your installation video was perfect, I do have an old school bike rack I currently use with an extender, so the bikes are further away from my grill. All of your examples are rear mounted and just wanted to know would there be any reason I could not use this rack on a 2inch front mount hitch? In the reviews people have said they can open their tailgate which I am assuming the clearance should be fine. Thanks

asked by: Tomd

Helpful Expert Reply:

Installing a bike rack in the front hitch of a vehicle is definitely possible. It's not as common of an application as the rear hitch setup but it's done pretty frequently. Things to keep in mind though are you may be blocking air flow to the radiator and you may also block headlights or turn signals. Typically this isn't an issue but it's something to consider. Also when you use a hitch extender you end up cutting the tongue weight capacity of the hitch by 50 percent.

expert reply by: Jameson C