Wanted 40, 60, or 80 Series Bolt on hitch.

[HDavis]

Looking for a used bolt on hitch for my 80 series, like or similar to the images below. I will only be using this for my 1up bike rack on the back of my 80 series so no need for it to be rated to tow. Thanks!

 

[Corbet]

I probably have an 80 series class III receiver buried under 5’ of snow behind the garage. Probably no help until the weather warms up.

 

[HDavis]

I probably have an 80 series class III receiver buried under 5’ of snow behind the garage. Probably no help until the weather warms up.

Thanks! Funny enough, I've had two of the class III's. I'm looking for one of these smaller class II receivers.

 

[HDavis]

Dang man a fre wants like $250 for these. I wouldn’t pay that either

I know. That second image the guys sells on Etsy for $160 and I found one for $100 but figured I would ask around.

 

[Corbet]

It would be pretty east to make. I’m just not sure I’d trust it from anyone to hold the big cantilever that a bike rack is. Especially with 2-4 high end bikes, $10-20K.

I’ll be building a receiver to bolt on my swing out soon and mounting a 1-Up in that. I’d be lying if I said I was not a little nervous.

 

[HDavis]

It would be pretty east to make. I’m just not sure I’d trust it from anyone to hold the big cantilever that a bike rack is. Especially with 2-4 high end bikes, $10-20K.

I’ll be building a receiver to bolt on my swing out soon and mounting a 1-Up in that. I’d be lying if I said I was not a little nervous.

You nailed my concern right on the head. I don't know if I trust myself to weld it up, even though I have the skills. The class 2 rating is close with the 1up weighing 50lbs and the 2 bikes are a combined weight of 75lbs. So, I'm looking at 150lbs give or take. In a few more years we will be adding a 3rd bike so I'm keeping that in mind.

 

[Telly]

I'm looking for one too. @HDavis please share the most cost effective source if you end up buying one. I'll be using it for the exact same reason, 1up bike rack.

 

[DaveInDenver]

You nailed my concern right on the head. I don't know if I trust myself to weld it up, even though I have the skills. The class 2 rating is close with the 1up weighing 50lbs and the 2 bikes are a combined weight of 75lbs. So, I'm looking at 150lbs give or take. In a few more years we will be adding a 3rd bike so I'm keeping that in mind.

Just a point of consideration. We've had 1UPs for years (in fact I have an old 1UP trainer, too!) and have done a bit of chin scratching about them. You have to be careful about the weight since a trailer tongue is more like simple shear on the hitch while a bike hitch is completely a bending moment. The difference gets into structural engineering but essentially the issue is because the bike rack is completely just a beam (lever) supported at one fixed end while a trailer tongue is pushing more straight down and the draw bar is short and the other end of the beam isn't just floating in space but on a support of it's own. There's a definite moment with a trailer tongue, I don't want to gloss over that, but it's not completely that. Notice that if you ever have to use one of those hitch extenders they recommend reducing tongue weight? That's why.

Point being I'd be very careful about 3 and 4 bike configurations with a 1UP. I went down the path of a free body diagram even, which I just re-ran. Two bikes and the rack, assuming a 20 lb/ft load (about 60 lbs total considered uniform over a 3 foot length, the rack's weight) and two 35 lb point loads at 1.5 ft and 3 ft gives the expected 130 lbs shear but is already at 265 lb-ft moment, which is the torque trying to twist the hitch.

Expanding that to a 5 foot beam, also at 20 lb/ft (e.g. a 100 lb rack weight) and 4 point loads of 35 lbs at 2, 3, 4, and 5 feet that shear is 240 lbs (also expected, the combination of all the weight) but the moment is 740 lb-ft.

So just exactly where you overload your hitch is a bit of a guess. It kind of comes down to how the hitch is mounted and how much dynamics you want to assume. A frame hitch probably will tolerate this since the force is in compression at the mount. A unibody car the forces could be trying to tear stuff you don't want to tear. A swing-out is going to not like this when it's open but closed you'll get away with more while driving.

Without a lot of specific analysis you can't really say for sure so I'm only throwing it out there to think about. Using the 4-bolt mounting on a Cruiser rear cross member is a different thing, too. One thing that would concern me there is that they aren't very deep, so would it be enough for the 1UP tightening ball to even grip inside? I think it's about 4 inches minimum depth or something like that.

It's also not unique to 1UP with the only real exception being that they are very stout and heavy themselves and don't have a lot of flex. So where a different rack with 4 bikes might itself start to deflect and eventually bend the 1UP doesn't and expects the hitch to tolerate all the force. When you go to 4 and more bikes the North Shore approach starts to really be better.

 

[rover67]

I'm with Dave, kind of terrifies me given what that style hitch bolts to on a 80. Maybe you'd start seeing cracks before total failure.. or maybe even no issues.

Me personally..... I'd worry about it too much to run that kind of bolt on hitch on the rear cross member with a bike rack holding my junk..

A trailer would only put that hitch closer to a true simple shear with a load levelling setup... BUT even no load levelling setup it is still a very different bending moment (much less) that the bending moment it experiences that with a bike rack. Just think of the lever like Dave is describing,, a 8" long hitch with 200 lb tongue weight vs a bike rack sticking way out. Do a 4 place rack filled up with 35lb bikes and all of a sudden you've got a huge dynamic load back there TRYING to break something. It's not just a static 750 lb-ft load it is much higher (over and over and over again) when you hit that section of pavement with the endless expansion joints and whoops..

Watching the big pickups with slide in campers towing trailers utilizing those huge hitch extenders also terrifies me for the same reasons... exception being dropping a trailer on it's tongue seems way more paletable than having a rack with 10 or even 20k worth of bikes go flying.

 

[HDavis]

You are speaking my language here Dave. I was concerned about the moment but knew I would be running 1 bike on it the majority of the time and I would determine if it was going to work for 2 -3 bikes based on my experience.
Thanks for sharing your calcs, being trained in Architecture I know just enough to cause trouble. Now you have me wanting to figure out a solution to resist the force.

It appears we are not the only ones who want this option for our 80's. If you read the reviews of this product its seems to be what the majority of people are purchasing them for. I also think this one wraps around the bottom of the frame which would in theory resist bending.

High Clearance Hitch - Etsy

This Caddies & Holders item by MKAindustries has 19 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Bullhead City, AZ. Listed on Feb 12, 2023

www.etsy.com

 

[DaveInDenver]

I know enough to be dangerous. Marco and Nakman are your mechanical eng gurus.

 

[rckhound]

I had that style on my bj73 with 4 bikes on a northshore and went down a bumpy road and it bent my cross member significantly. You will need to box the cross member better and reinforce if you want it solid and dependable.

 

[HDavis]

Did you find a hitch? I might have one for you @HDavis

I have not, still sort of looking. I think a 5th gen 4runner/gx460/cruiser one might work. I like it because it wraps the cross member, and I can potentially install braces to the frame rails like was done on my Bump it off Road rear bumper on my 100 series. Thats a good point Steve. Thanks for reporting a real life experience.

 

[Corbet]

I’d still just use an OEM like receiver. No way I’d bolt that on to hold a bike rack.