1990 HR hitch rating seems way too low, why?

[1990HR]

Hi guys and gals. I want to make a motorcycle lift carrier that attaches to the receiver hitch.
The bike weighs almost 500 lbs so I looked at the 2" receiver to see what the tongue weight limit was.
It's a 2" receiver hitch rated at only 200 LB tongue weight and 2000 LB gross trailer.
It seems to be the stock hitch as insulation is sprayed and touching it in some areas.
The hitch is welded to the frame and the frame seems beefy enough to hold a lot more than 200 lbs.


I thought about adding two more 2" receivers, one on each side about a foot off center so the carrier had three points to hook up to. Then weld a brace across all three receivers on top and bottom.


Any thoughts on this hitch?
Thanks

[Rickf1985]

The rear added on frame section will not hold it. If you follow that frame forward on both sides you will be amazed when you see where the rear section was welded to the front section. There have been many cases of the rear frame breaking and dropping the tail end of the coach down, basically destroying it. That hitch was made for pulling a toad and that was it. A LOT of people will say " WELL I have towed a 20,000 lb. trailer. Yup, maybe you have, and what does the gap look like where the rear cap meets the main body? Now, If you can get in there and do a proper reinforcement of the frame you might be able to do that but adding 500 lbs. far behind the axle is never a good idea. You have a 33 footer so you will be grossly overloading the rear axle while also taking far too much weight off of the steering axle.

[1990HR]

I'll have to get under there tomorrow and take a look. Lots of room under there to work.
It does have a tag axle so that would help a lot also.

[Froggy1936]

You will probably  be better off with a trailer for the bike  Frank

[1990HR]

I do have a 12' enclosed trailer and all these problems would go away if I just hooked it up.
But traveling with a trailer is a pain and I really want to make this work.
Tomorrow I'll check the subframe and see what needs to be done there.
Rick brought up the subframe reinforcement.

[TerryH]

Travelling with an far overweight carrier and bike and hitting a bump and having everything break off at the frame extension would likely be a far greater pain.

[tmsnyder]

Where did you see the rating on the hitch, or in the owners manual?


They put the potable water tank right at the back on these, that's like 600lb full, and HR's are well built, so I doubt there would be a frame strength issue.


How about a lighter bike?

[1990HR]

The label on the hitch.
I looked through the owner's manual and found nothing on hitch load limits.

[Rickf1985]

The tag axle and all of the suspension will be attached to the original frame and I will bet that water tank is on the original side of the frame also. The frame split on mine is real close to the back of the gas tank and wedged in tight to the side cabinets so it will be pretty hard to do anything in a hurry. It will take careful planning and the best way to do it is 8 interference bolts or plug welds on a fishplate. Welded straight across like they do is the worst possible scenario for any frame repair since when the frame flexes it will crack in a straight line right across the frame. And you will most likely find that the rear section is not the same size as the original front so it will not even be fully welded.

[circleD]

My camper has a 2" ID square tubing coming out on each side of the frame ( left and right side )along with a standard 2" tow hitch in the middle. My uncle had those made and installed to hold his two seater scooter so they could ride around when traveling. So he also had a rack made to fit the two outside ones. He used the center one to pull his half ton truck when not carrying the scooter.

[1990HR]

Rick, I just crawled under there and the tag is actually just behind where the two frames come together.
There is about 2 1/2 feet where the two frames overlap and bolted together. Both frames and pretty heavy.
Also there is more bracing coming down and across.
I'm no mechanical engineer but just a motorcycle mechanic but I can't see bending this frame unless it fell off a cliff.
Just above the hitch is the back frame support about 3/16 of an inch thick. I can weld some support brackets to that.
They really made this thing like a tank.

[Rickf1985]

If the frames overlap and are bolted then you have no worries about it breaking but you still have the weight distribution issue. You hang that much weight on the off the rear and it rains and you will have no front brakes or steering, just sliding tires. For the most part these coaches, no matter what brand, are overloaded as soon as you fill the tanks and load them with people and supplies. It is still a P30 chassis and nothing changes that. It sounds like you are going to do this no matter what anyone says so all I can say is drive very, VERY carefully!

[1990HR]

Rick this made me chuckle because a 500 lb bike is not going to make the motorhome do a wheelie.
It then made me think of two fat people in the back bedroom doing the deed and making the motorhome's front end bounce. 

[TerryH]

Just my 2 cents worth but think 'lever and fulcrum'. The further beyond the fulcrum point (where the frame extension meets the P30 frame) to the centre of the added weight, the greater the downward force. It is an exponential quantity that should be taken into account. For you, your family and all those travelling behind and beside you.
"Give me a lever and I can move to world".

[1990HR]

Hi Terry, I know about levers. I have used cheater bars a time or 1000.
The bike won't be hanging out very far. Here is a video of what I plan on making.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=946Sl_dd2dw


The bike moves up and tuck close to the motorhome.
I do thank everyone who has chimed in with their thoughts. Like I didn't think about the subframe but it will be fine after looking at it.
My main concern now is the hitch twisting but I'm drawing up plans now to reinforce it from doing that.


I'm not an engineer but I did work with a lot of engineers at Harley Davidson as a production line motorcycle mechanic.
I'll probably over engineer it as I don't want to play with all the formulas in the machinist handbook LOL

[Rickf1985]

Remember to add all that over engineering weight into the weight of the motorcycle. Here is an example of what a little extra weight can do in this exact type of scenario. I have a Dodge 3500 diesel dually with a 4,000 lb. camper on the back. Weight distribution is 55/45 so the camper is perfectly distributed. I have a Torklift 12,000 lb. class 5 hitch under the truck and I also have the rated twin tube extension. The extension is 36" and is rated to carry 1200 lbs. tongue weight. My trailer had 800 lbs. tongue weight. It started raining and with very little brake application the front tires started sliding. Luckily this was at slow speed and in a straight line and I had the presence of mind to stand on the brake even harder to get more rear brake to stop. Now, That was a vehicle with a total weight of pretty close to what you have and a total extension from rear axle to trailer hitch of 5 feet.


By the time you are done building your hitch and the weight of the bike you will be right there in the 800 lb. range and a LOT further from the rear axle. Joke around all you want, I have been there, done that. I also drove heavy wreckers for many years and saw all of the accidents caused by overloaded RV's in all forms. A LOT of broken rear axle housings usually right after a dip in the road.


You came here asking for advice then you choose to ignore everything you are told. Doesn't bother us because it happens all the time. Your coach, your choice.  Good luck in whatever you decide.