Can Hitch Mounted Bike Racks be Added to Hitch Mounted Cargo Carriers to Carry Bikes and Cargo Items

Updated 04/12/2024 | Published 05/10/2013

Question:

Would I be able to attach a hitch mount bike rack, like the Yakima Doubledown Ace, to the back of this or any other cargo carrier? From the pictures, it looks like there is a receiver on the back end of the carrier, but wasnt sure if this was functional or if attaching a bike rack would work. In case its useful info, I have a 2012 Toyota Highlander. Thanks.

asked by: Troy

Expert Reply:

We do have some options that will allow you to carry cargo and bikes on your 2012 Toyota Highlander, however, bike racks should not be mounted to a hitch mounted cargo carrier. The opening that you see on this cargo carrier is simply a hollow tube, not a receiver.

Adding a bike rack to a hitch mounted cargo carrier would place too much weight too far back from the trailer hitch. This will create additional stress that the trailer hitch and your vehicle frame cannot support. It is similar to using a pipe extension on a wrench to gain additional leverage to brake a rusty bolt.

To carry bikes and cargo on your Highlander, you will want to mount either the cargo carrier or bikes on the roof. We offer both roof mounted bike racks as well as roof mounted cargo carriers like cargo baskets, boxes or bags. Keep in mind, roof mounted accessories require a roof rack with crossbars that run side to side on a vehicle.

Once you decide if you want to mount the bikes or cargo on the roof, you can use a bike rack or cargo carrier with your trailer hitch. If you are interested in pursuing either of these options, let me know if your vehicle is equipped with a roof rack or not and I would be happy to provide some recommendations.

expert reply by: John H

Joe

3/23/2024

John, you seem to say no to the bike rack add without doing the math on the combined weight of cargo and the bike rack and bikes. Is it not reasonable to say given the 500 lb payload of the cargo rack that it would be within safe limits to carry say 150 lbs in the cargo rack and a total of 175 lbs of bikes and bike rack? I was thinking of welding a 6 inch or 9 inch receiver to the main tube of the cargo rack to accommodate the bike rack and bikes. Again, limiting the total load to 325 lbs . Sure seems safe to me. Thanks for your response. Joe

John H.

4/12/2024

@Joe I appreciate your thoughts on this Joe. My primary reason for saying no to a bike rack on this cargo carrier is because there is no receiver, so there is no actual way to mount a bike rack and adding a way to mount a bike rack would void the warranty, but the weight will be an issue too. The problem isn't necessarily with the math of the weight ratings of the carrier, but the physics of the distance the weight would be from the hitch on the car. The weak point would be the hitch on the car, not necessarily the cargo carrier itself. The further away from the car you place your weight, the harder it is for the hitch to support the weight. For example, trailer hitch manufacturers say if you extend the ball mount out more than 12 inches from a trailer hitch, you reduce the tongue weight capacity of the hitch by 50%. I'm sure there is a bit of "CYA" in that number, but nonetheless, the leverage created by weight too far away from the hinge point (the hitch), the more torque it puts on the hitch.