Cargo Carrier

[Flueki]

Hi,
I have a cargo carrier. It is a carrier that goes in a hitch and you can "haul" stuff on the back of your car/truck. So, my question is, what do you think would be damaging to my RSS SE to have an after market hitch installed and use that??? I would not be towing to damage the transmission and engine. I would of course need to be careful about the weight I add. I just think this would be a great idea for my weekend camping get-aways on the byke! Please give me your thoughts... Thank you, Linda Fluekiger Reno NV.

First time posting, I hope I can in the correct area.

[AZSPYDER]

Hi Linda,

I have an 09 GS, and recently bought a hitch. Our intension is to tow a small trailer for our getaways. The aftermarket hitches that I have seen have a ball mount only, and the cargo carriers need a class II or class III hitch. With a small trailer you can load it to distribute tongue weight, with the carrier, all the weight is on the tongue. Not sure about adverse handling either.

[spyderpoop]

I use a hitch cooler carrier bolts on under the ball cost $66 on ebay from Greenville SC easy to remove when not needed I put my suitcase on it and strap it to it no trailer is needed

[Bob Denman]

BMW Larry posted this picture of his setup... :thumbup: 69550

[Chupaca]

check back on threads I believe there have been some on this type of carriers. They must have mentioned the performance....l travel light if it doesn't fit in my pocket it doesn't go....:roflblack: Good luck..!!

[Flueki]

Hi Linda,

I have an 09 GS, and recently bought a hitch. Our intension is to tow a small trailer for our getaways. The aftermarket hitches that I have seen have a ball mount only, and the cargo carriers need a class II or class III hitch. With a small trailer you can load it to distribute tongue weight, with the carrier, all the weight is on the tongue. Not sure about adverse handling either.

Oh, you are so right! It is just a receiver. I'll have to look at the other ideas here. Thanks!! Linda

[cbell1]

This can mount to a ball hitch or a 1 1/4" receiver. The weight limitation on an RT is 40 lbs., I think. That would include the carrier and cargo. This carrier weighs 16 lbs. You didn't mention which model you have but your manual should give you the weight limitation for the hitch. http://theusatrailerstore.com/products/accessories/quick-release-cooler-rack.html

[Shriar]

I apologize for bumping this old topic, but I have done quite a bit of research on this, so I want to share my experience.
The problem is how far your load is away from the mounting points of the hitch. You have a huge torque that the hitch was not designed to handle. It is absolutely doable, but not advisable.

Lets say the rated tongue weight is on a normal hitch like for example Vault Cargo https://wheelstips.com/best-hitch-cargo-carriers notionally 1 foot from the mounting point. The hitch is rated at ~350 ft lbs of torque before it is expected to fail. T=r x f

If you add the extension and the carrier, it will move the center of weight out to about three feet. f =T/r the maximum force is before we expect it to fail is now ~ 115 lbs. The carrier and the extension probably weigh about 50 lbs, so you are down to ~50lbs of capacity. This assumes you are using the max rated weight of 350#. Most people say the realistic and safe range is closer to 250#. If you use 250# you have no reserve capacity.

Additionally all that metal is going to have some flexibility in it. As a result you are going to have a springing affect. If it starts bouncing that 50# could easily become effectively 3x to 4x the actually weight.

There are ways around it. A bigger hitch or a small trailer are much better options.
On YouTube there are a lot of interesting videos on this topic, I will share with you, one of them, hope this will help someone. Good luck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqDkYBGtfvY

[blacklightning]

I apologize for bumping this old topic, but I have done quite a bit of research on this, so I want to share my experience.
The problem is how far your load is away from the mounting points of the hitch. You have a huge torque that the hitch was not designed to handle. It is absolutely doable, but not advisable.

Lets say the rated tongue weight is on a normal hitch notionally 1 foot from the mounting point. The hitch is rated at ~350 ft lbs of torque before it is expected to fail. T=r x f

If you add the extension and the carrier, it will move the center of weight out to about three feet. f =T/r the maximum force is before we expect it to fail is now ~ 115 lbs. The carrier and the extension probably weigh about 50 lbs, so you are down to ~50lbs of capacity. This assumes you are using the max rated weight of 350#. Most people say the realistic and safe range is closer to 250#. If you use 250# you have no reserve capacity.

Additionally all that metal is going to have some flexibility in it. As a result you are going to have a springing affect. If it starts bouncing that 50# could easily become effectively 3x to 4x the actually weight.

There are ways around it. A bigger hitch or a small trailer are much better options.
Since you brought the topic back up, here is the option that I have used with my RT, and will be using with my F3T. This is the Doc Humphries rack. The shape moves the weight further from the rear and distributes it better. I used this 2 years ago and it worked great. Looking forward to my trip to Maggie Valley in 3 weeks.165902