Hauling two ebikes

60356jai

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Feb 13, 2022
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Leawood Kansas
I have to believe someone has gone through this but could just be me. We have a 2022 GD Solitude 310. It has a receiver hitch in the rear and we decided to get ebikes for our next big trip. GD customer service will tell me it has 300-pound tongue weight. The Hollywood bike rack we found for fifth wheels specifically says it is only to be used with 350-pound tongue weight. I also found one with Swagman bike racks that said it was suited for fifth wheels. It didn't have a TW rating on it so I plan on calling Swagman to inquire. GD customer service could not tell me if my rig had a class 3 receiver. I really don't know if I do or not but most or all of these racks require a class three.

Going down the road we all know some roads and even stretches of major interstates can be rough going. Should I forego the notion of taking ebikes with? Anyone have experience with something that worked? Do fifth wheels GD makes include a class 3 receiver? I will say mine looks sturdy.
 
I have to believe someone has gone through this but could just be me. We have a 2022 GD Solitude 310. It has a receiver hitch in the rear and we decided to get ebikes for our next big trip. GD customer service will tell me it has 300-pound tongue weight. The Hollywood bike rack we found for fifth wheels specifically says it is only to be used with 350-pound tongue weight. I also found one with Swagman bike racks that said it was suited for fifth wheels. It didn't have a TW rating on it so I plan on calling Swagman to inquire. GD customer service could not tell me if my rig had a class 3 receiver. I really don't know if I do or not but most or all of these racks require a class three.

Going down the road we all know some roads and even stretches of major interstates can be rough going. Should I forego the notion of taking ebikes with? Anyone have experience with something that worked? Do fifth wheels GD makes include a class 3 receiver? I will say mine looks sturdy.

We haul 2 eBikes on the back of our 315rlts with no issues. I strip the batteries, seats, and utility bags to reduce weight. Handle bars on the inner bike must be rotated 90 degrees to avoid contact with the rear window. Rack is a dual 1UP heavy duty. Total weight is about 130lbs.

Bear in mind some receivers are rated in lb-ft like a torque spec. This means you multiply the dead weight (center) x the lever arm (distance from the center of the weight to the center of the hitch mount on the frame). In my case, 130lbs x about 2 ft = 260 lb-ft, which is under the 300 lb-ft rating.


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https://1up-usa.com/product/2-heavy-duty
 

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We haul our Blix Aveny bikes on a Hollywood rack rater for 5th wheels. Like others, we remove the battery and any cargo bag(s) (and have to rotate the handle bars.

Look up your bike's specs and get their weight without battery. I'm pretty sure you will find they are under 300 lbs.
 
We haul 2 eBikes on the back of our 315rlts with no issues. I strip the batteries, seats, and utility bags to reduce weight. Handle bars on the inner bike must be rotated 90 degrees to avoid contact with the rear window. Rack is a dual 1UP heavy duty. Total weight is about 130lbs.

Bear in mind some receivers are rated in lb-ft like a torque spec. This means you multiply the dead weight (center) x the lever arm (distance from the center of the weight to the center of the hitch mount on the frame). In my case, 130lbs x about 2 ft = 260 lb-ft, which is under the 300 lb-ft rating.


View attachment 51665

https://1up-usa.com/product/2-heavy-duty

I have the same unit 315rlts and haul two e-bikes no problem with batteries left in. Round trip last year to Yuma from Prince George absolutely no issues, although I did install extra brake and signal lights below for added visability from the bikes blocking the view of the original lights. I have a weather covering over the bikes.
 
Swagman rack for my 2 ebikes
Added extra lights since the bikes cover the ones on the coach.
 
We haul 2 eBikes on the back of our 315rlts with no issues. I strip the batteries, seats, and utility bags to reduce weight. Handle bars on the inner bike must be rotated 90 degrees to avoid contact with the rear window. Rack is a dual 1UP heavy duty. Total weight is about 130lbs.

Bear in mind some receivers are rated in lb-ft like a torque spec. This means you multiply the dead weight (center) x the lever arm (distance from the center of the weight to the center of the hitch mount on the frame). In my case, 130lbs x about 2 ft = 260 lb-ft, which is under the 300 lb-ft rating.


View attachment 51665

https://1up-usa.com/product/2-heavy-duty

Thanks - sounds like it works well. Grand Design told me if I used a rack that was rated for 350 pound TW I would void any warranty for the frame should something happen. It makes sense that you took the battery out and lightened the weight even more.
 
We haul our Blix Aveny bikes on a Hollywood rack rater for 5th wheels. Like others, we remove the battery and any cargo bag(s) (and have to rotate the handle bars.

Look up your bike's specs and get their weight without battery. I'm pretty sure you will find they are under 300 lbs.

They are under 300 pounds for sure. The bike shop and GD has me second guessing this but it sounds like many have made this work well. Very helpful.
 
One additional question - are all of you using the 2 inch receiver that came with your GD rig? Is it a class three receiver?
 
One additional question - are all of you using the 2 inch receiver that came with your GD rig? Is it a class three receiver?

We are using the factory installed receiver. I have no idea what “class” it is. It is marked 300lbs. The last trailer I had was the same. It is bolted to the frame rails on both sides and looks ok for a bike rack. It is not rated for towing.

IMG_3670.jpeg
 
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One thing to be really careful about is how far out the center of the total load is from the center of the receiver mount to the frame. The longer this “lever arm” is, the more twisting load on the receiver. There is a huge difference between 300 lbs on a 1ft “lever arm” and 300 lbs on a 2ft lever arm.

It’s also not just dead load. Bouncing down the highway with a big dead load on a long lever arm puts enormous stress on the receiver. That’s why I have read the rating on these receivers is really lb-ft. Imagine the extreme case where the load is cantilevered 10 ft back from the receiver. A 300 lb load would result in 300 lbs x 10’ = 3,000 lb-ft of torque (twisting) dead load on the receiver. The dynamic load bouncing down the highway would be multiple times greater.

The moral to the story is to keep the bikes as close to the receiver as possible. Use the distance between the center of the bike + rack load and the center of the receiver frame mount to “discount” the stated capacity of the receiver accordingly. So, a 300 lb rated receiver could safely handle up to a 150 lb load IF it is centered 2 ft back. Only 100 lbs if it is centered 3 ft back.
 
One thing to be really careful about is how far out the center of the total load is from the center of the receiver mount to the frame. The longer this “lever arm” is, the more twisting load on the receiver. There is a huge difference between 300 lbs on a 1ft “lever arm” and 300 lbs on a 2ft lever arm.

It’s also not just dead load. Bouncing down the highway with a big dead load on a long lever arm puts enormous stress on the receiver. That’s why I have read the rating on these receivers is really lb-ft. Imagine the extreme case where the load is cantilevered 10 ft back from the receiver. A 300 lb load would result in 300 lbs x 10’ = 3,000 lb-ft of torque (twisting) dead load on the receiver. The dynamic load bouncing down the highway would be multiple times greater.

The moral to the story is to keep the bikes as close to the receiver as possible. Use the distance between the center of the bike + rack load and the center of the receiver frame mount to “discount” the stated capacity of the receiver accordingly. So, a 300 lb rated receiver could safely handle up to a 150 lb load IF it is centered 2 ft back. Only 100 lbs if it is centered 3 ft back.

Thank you. Good info. I'm going to call Hollywood and Swagman tomorrow to ask about this distance. I'll post what I end up getting.
 
Thank you. Good info. I'm going to call Hollywood and Swagman tomorrow to ask about this distance. I'll post what I end up getting.

We have carried (2) Aventon Pace 500 e-bikes for the past (3) years without any issues. We use the Swagman RV approved E-Spec bike rack (S94FR). To eliminate the movement from the clearance between the receiver and the bike rack we also install the anti-rattle clamp. This creates a solid connection eliminating the added stress on the bike rack or the hitch from inherent clearance movement. As mentioned we do spin the bars 90 degrees and remove the batteries. This also helps for installing the bike cover. When viewed from the rear camera the bikes move very little. Very happy with this setup.

Dutchman2
 
Mine says on towing weight is 3000 pounds and tongue weight is 300 pounds. So on a 22 Solitude one could tow I think. I'm not ever going to do that though. Seems much could go wrong.

I seem to recall some of the 5th wheel frames/receivers are designed for actual towing. Not on my bucket list, but to each his own. I don’t recall seeing a bumper pull designed/rated for this, but perhaps some exist.
 
I have yet to pull the trigger on a rack but my research has led me to the Hollywood RV rated unit if I do decide on one. My e-bikes are pretty heavy, wish I had looked into this a bit more. I would also use the anti rattle adapter to keep it from additional movement, I did this with my aluminum rack on my old Solitude when I hauled my generator or regular bikes, no brainer IMO. I like the looks of the UP1 rack but I didn’t see it was RV rated and each tray only holds 65 pound which eliminates my e-bikes unfortunately. I do like how close to the back wall they are, seem to be closer than the Hollywood but I have no verification of this. My other issue is I have the back door on my 382WB and use it quite often, don’t want to have to unload bikes just to get in there. I suppose careful packing/loading could help avoid this. But low and behold no matter how I do it I will end something back there, that’s just my world…

Interested to hear which direction you end up going - please share if you would.

Safe travels!
 
You can always put a front receiver on that SuperDuty. One of the available models has comically high capacity rating! You'll need to travel with bikes uncovered to maintain good airflow of course. We have the Swagman eBike rack and more than 18,000 miles with eBikes on our 3350's receiver. Like everyone has said, no batteries, no gear holders, and we're just below 300# rack and both bikes. That said, I will tell you that on some of our 'best' American roads I have put the rack in the front receiver I have on my RAM as added precaution.
 
FWIW, the 1UP HD racks are all RV rated. I would be surprised if your ebikes exceed 65lbs each, but maybe so. It’s best to strip the batteries for transport, which removes considerable weight. Also, remove anything else like saddle bags or whatever. It’s pretty tough to lift even 40-50lb ebikes onto a carrier. Less overall weight reduces stress on the receiver and rear frame also.
 
Bike rack

I have yet to pull the trigger on a rack but my research has led me to the Hollywood RV rated unit if I do decide on one. My e-bikes are pretty heavy, wish I had looked into this a bit more. I would also use the anti rattle adapter to keep it from additional movement, I did this with my aluminum rack on my old Solitude when I hauled my generator or regular bikes, no brainer IMO. I like the looks of the UP1 rack but I didn’t see it was RV rated and each tray only holds 65 pound which eliminates my e-bikes unfortunately. I do like how close to the back wall they are, seem to be closer than the Hollywood but I have no verification of this. My other issue is I have the back door on my 382WB and use it quite often, don’t want to have to unload bikes just to get in there. I suppose careful packing/loading could help avoid this. But low and behold no matter how I do it I will end something back there, that’s just my world…

Interested to hear which direction you end up going - please share if you would.

Safe travels!

Based on the research I did and talking with the bike shop near us I bought the Swagman Espec rack. They are $499 on their website and the bike shop where we bought our Aventon Ebikes were able to get it in for me. The bikes are 60 lbs and we would take the batteries out. The rack rate is 63 lbs. So, with a 300 lbs. tongue weight noted on the receiver this seemed to be the option for us and our Solitude. It will bounce while hauling so I wanted to be careful. I called Swagman and they did not have a Tongue weight noted for the rack but said many people use it as we are planning on. I suppose I trusted the gentleman over the hone phone with Swagman. Interestingly we originally thought the Hollywood rack you mentioned would work. With this one, the tongue weight was clearly noted for use with receivers having a 350-tongue weight noted so I decided against that one based on that. I did some reading on their website and others have had good success with it on their fifth wheels. We are supposed to get the rack and bikes this week and will be hauling it for the first time in November. My thought is the first time trying to just put one on it as a test. Perhaps if it doesn't work (and I think it will just fine) there would be less to go wrong with just one bike on it. The second one I plan on strapping on the King bed. We plan on stopping a few more times to check on everything but I believe it will be good. I may be overthinking the one on the bed too much and just put them both on. Still a process I'm working on.

Hope some of this is helpful. I will post my success or failure here. Would be interested in yours as well. I have to believe these rigs can handle this and it seems others have been successful with ebikes and Grand Design I'm optimistic of this arrangement. I also plan on being even more diligent on rougher roads. Even if this means a longer route to get to where we travel to.
 
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Based on the research I did and talking with the bike shop near us I bought the Swagman Espec rack. They are $499 on their website and the bike shop where we bought our Aventon Ebikes were able to get it in for me. The bikes are 60 lbs and we would take the batteries out. The rack rate is 63 lbs. So, with a 300 lbs. tongue weight noted on the receiver this seemed to be the option for us and our Solitude. It will bounce while hauling so I wanted to be careful. I called Swagman and they did not have a Tongue weight noted for the rack but said many people use it as we are planning on. I suppose I trusted the gentleman over the hone phone with Swagman. Interestingly we originally thought the Hollywood rack you mentioned would work. With this one, the tongue weight was clearly noted for use with receivers having a 350-tongue weight noted so I decided against that one based on that. I did some reading on their website and others have had good success with it on their fifth wheels. We are supposed to get the rack and bikes this week and will be hauling it for the first time in November. My thought is the first time trying to just put one on it as a test. Perhaps if it doesn't work (and I think it will just fine) there would be less to go wrong with just one bike on it. The second one I plan on strapping on the King bed. We plan on stopping a few more times to check on everything but I believe it will be good. I may be overthinking the one on the bed too much and just put them both on. Still a process I'm working on.

Hope some of this is helpful. I will post my success or failure here. Would be interested in yours as well. I have to believe these rigs can handle this and it seems others have been successful with ebikes and Grand Design I'm optimistic of this arrangement. I also plan on being even more diligent on rougher roads. Even if this means a longer route to get to where we travel to.

Here are a few pictures of our setup with Aventon Pace 500 E-bikes. Handle bars turned 90 degrees on both using the Swagman bike rack. Solid setup that has served us very well. Took a few trips to figure out the best peddle orientation around the vertical support. Once you have that part figured it is less that 10 minutes load or unload the bikes. And a little more if you add a bike cover as we do. That too is very easy and straight forward. The cargo net & hooks are another story - as I think it hates me every time I try to straighten it out to go around the cover. :)

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Dutchman2
 

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