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Can Swagman Swivel Hitch Extender be Used at Rear of Flat Towed Vehicle  

Updated 02/09/2026 | Published 01/30/2026

Question:

Can the Swagman Swing-Away Hitch Adapter be used with an RV specific e-bike rack on the back of a travel trailer or flat towed vehicle? I am not sure if the addition of the swing arm will voidinch the safety precautions built into the RV bike racks intended to be used in the back of a travel trailer.

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Expert Reply:

Hey Debi, the Swagman swing away adapter # S86SR wasn't intended to be used at the rear of travel trailers for sure but a flat towed vehicle I wouldn't think would be a problem at all. It's listed as only being rated for use at rear of Class B motorhomes as they have a really close chassis design as just a standard van but we have several reviews from people with RVs with pictures of the rack adapter in the hitch of an RV in our review section and those people haven't had issues. Not that that makes it okay from our perspective but people do use it for this and have good results.

expert reply by:
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Jameson C
Dan H. profile picture

Dan H.

2/4/2026

We added this to our travato b van so the back doors could open. It is rock solid with two ebikes on a platform rack or when using out tray carrier. We moved one bracket on the bike tray ahead a bit to reduce the leverage moment. Also consider how the weight of the swing arm calculates into the total gvwr of you vehicle. The arm is solid and as such has some weight to it. Overall, A+. Etrailer is great to work with. All parts of our solution came from them (and many others too). Enjoy!!

Jameson C. profile picture
Etrailer Expert

Jameson C.

2/4/2026

@DanH thanks for the kind words!
Jay C. profile picture

Jay C.

2/4/2026

We have one on our Jeep Wrangler that's towed behind our Jayco C class. It's worked just fine. I did put a set of magnetic tail lights on the bike rack because the bikes block the jeep tail lights.

Jameson C. profile picture
Etrailer Expert

Jameson C.

2/4/2026

@JayC good idea! Which magnetic lights are you using?
Chris P. profile picture

Chris P.

2/4/2026

We added the swagman adapter to our new class B camper van to have full access to the back doors. It works incredible well. And with the option to flip installation you can have it swing out either direction, passenger or drivers side. We installed a hitch type spare tire carrier and full size spare tire. The big issue of adding on any hitch type apparatus to this adapter like a hitch carrier or bike carrier is weight. The tongue weight of the hitch installed on a vehicle is rated at the ball of the hitch. Once it is extended out 10, 12, 16 inches from the ball, the original rating is diminished substantially. What was a 500 pound rating is now 225. Be careful, pull the graphs online and consult experts where possible.

Ed H. profile picture

Ed H.

2/4/2026

I bought this to go on the back of my Jeep Wrangler. I use it with an RV approved e-bike rack carrying a 72 lb e-bike. I flat tow the Jeep behind a Class A motorhome and it all works great. Recently finished an 80 day trip around 20 states and it worked great. I needed this in order to have accessibility to the back of the jeep. I also secure, with straps, the e-bike to the rear hanging tire for rigidity and open the Swagman and Jeep tailgate in unison. This works really well. I would not suggest adding this to the back of a travel trailer as it all gets very heavy.

Vic T. profile picture

Vic T.

2/4/2026

We added the swing out hitch to the rear of our Scope van on a Ram Promaster 1500 chassis, I also have spare tire mount and storage box mounted on the rear of my van. I was able to add the swing hitch without an adaptor plus my ebike rack and two ebikes, The swing out hitch has the clearance and makes accessing the rear of the van effortless, keep in mind the swing hitch has weight limits, but my application was well under the hitch max

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