Rear hitch reinforcement

[Firmn74]

Hi there, I have a 2018 303rls with the rear hitch. It is rated for 300 lbs of tongue weight I believe. Has anyone beefed one of these up, or would I be better off replacing it with something stronger? I would like to carry a motorcycle on a carrier up to about 500 lbs. thanks for the help!

[Cate&Rob]

Hi there, I have a 2018 303rls with the rear hitch. It is rated for 300 lbs of tongue weight I believe. Has anyone beefed one of these up, or would I be better off replacing it with something stronger? I would like to carry a motorcycle on a carrier up to about 500 lbs. thanks for the help!

Hanging 500 lbs off the back of a 303RLS is asking a lot. I think you are going to need to reinforce more than just the hitch. I am surprised that the relatively light frame rails can take even 300 lbs bouncing around back there. Then, there is the reduction in pin weight that this will cause, to be considered.

Rob

[warsw1]

You may want to find out if the frame is up to the task before you make too many changes. Just a thought.

OOPS......Rob beat me to it....Oh well..We're on the same page at least.

[tubastew]

I saw your thread and was wondering if you ever completed your hitch beef-up, and if you did, how did it work out.

[Firmn74]

I saw your thread and was wondering if you ever completed your hitch beef-up, and if you did, how did it work out.

No I didn’t. It’s been a while, but I after looking under there, it seemed like you could only do so much. The frame rails are just not that beefy on that trailer.

[tubastew]

Thanks for the reply. I have a 2017 303. I have used my receiver hitch loaded with a cargo rack with 4.5k inverter generator with a full tank for 20k miles or so. Without any any damage, and at the end of my 3-year warranty, I am going to beef up my existing hitch in order to tow a small cargo trailer loaded with my bike. I estimate a total weight of 2000 lbs, tongue weight of 300 lbs. My hitch is an 18k Reese. I will let you know how it works out, but it may be several months before I get everything together.

[jbarnes4868]

I welded plates to the hitch and bolted the plates to the frame. Ran four years with cargo trailer behind me. Never had any issues.