Tongue Weight Question for Pelicangineers:

[Crowbob]

My hitch has a max. tongue weight capacity of 500# and 2" receiver. I have two scooters each weighing 186# that I want to carry on a hitch mounted carrier (AMC 600-2). The carrier is basically 2" square steel stock 55" overall length coming out of the receiver with two perpendicular racks, one for each scoot. I think the farthest back rack is 48" or so from the receiver. Can anyone tell me what the total tongue weight is with both scoots mlunterd ont he rack? I think the carrier itself weighs 60#. Google AMC 600-2 for detailed pictures. Has anyone any experience with these carriers?

[Dave L]

Im no expert but the tongue is a lever and the axel of the trailer is the fulcrum. If you have no axel then you have 100% of the weight on the tongue. Normally if the tongue is too heavy you would put some of the weight towards the back of the trailer.

[island911]

more than 500 pounds

48" -That is quite A moment arm.

[Crowbob]

Thanks, Dave. The weight of the second scoot, because of it's distance from the receiver, has to be way more than 186#, I would think. 186# hanging out on a lever 48" long seems like it would be pretty heavy.

[island911]

Here ya go... a first order approximation of the higher torque put on the receiver.

- it more than doubles what 500 lbs would do (assumptions made)

[red-beard]

It will simply be the weight of all equipment plus the weigh of the carrier. The moment arm will not increase the weight. The moment arm will cause bending of the carrier, but if it is rated for 500 lbs, then you will be fine.

What is the rating of the carrier?

[Crowbob]

Holy Moly! Does that mean there's 1,054# with this set up? Fold up trailer here I come.

Thanks, Island!

[Crowbob]

Carrier is rated @ 600#.

[red-beard]

[island911]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Holy Moly! Does that mean there's 1,054# with this set up? Fold up trailer here I come.

Thanks, Island!

Actually a bit more... about equivalent to 1270 lbs, where the hitch-ball would be. (using my assumptions)

Red is likely right; that you'll be able to get away with it. personally, I would rather have a trailer. (loading not such a pain).

I'm glad to help you. fwiw.

[Crowbob]

That's it, James. Might raise the front end of the vehicle quite a bit = steering instability. Plus, it sticks way out in the back. I've no place to store a trailer. The carrier comes with a ramp. I think I'm going for it. I guess I was thinking the lever principle would somehow magically increase the gross weight; like borrowing my way out of debt.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by island911

Actually a bit more... about equivalent to 1270 lbs, where the hitch-ball would be. (using my assumptions)

Red is likely right; that you'll be able to get away with it. personally, I would rather have a trailer. (loading not such a pain).

I'm glad to help you. fwiw.

Whether it is a good way to load thing, I am not sure. But I doubt that it will rip the receiver off the bottom of the vehicle, or make the car/suv/truck unstable. Personally, I would do a 1000 lb trailer.

A trailer adds a lot more money and complexity, since it has to be registered, inspected, etc. In NY, my trailer had to be inspected and registered yearly. It will be much more versatile.

[red-beard]

BTW, if you do buy it, put the heaviest stuff closest to the back of the vehicle.

[911boost]

I had one similar to that, Moto Tote or something. I didn't like it at all, it would rock back and forth. I carried my Cr250r on it. I sold it for 100 bucks just to get rid of it, and bought a small 5x8 utility trailer.

[Crowbob]

BSiple,

Apparently they have an anti-rocking device which is essentially a clamp to prevent the problem you refer to.

[Tim Hancock]

What kind of vehicle are you looking to put this gizmo on? It "might" be OK on a SUV or full size pick-up, but that will be too much weight on that long of a lever for most cars IMO. Of course you will have to evaluate whether the hitch reciever and it's mounting are beefy enough to withstand the "overload". If I were to build one of those contraptions, I would custom build it so that the scooters were crowded as close as possible to the tow vehicle.

[MotoSook]

That won't solve the problem. It just allows you to make it not rattle.

Besides the dead load be mindful of shock loading / dynamic loading as you go down the road. With a 48" arm and as much weigh as you're probably no going to be happy with the setup.

BSiple,



Apparently they have an anti-rocking device which is essentially a clamp to prevent the problem you refer to.

[Crowbob]

Tim,

A Toyota FJ Cruiser will be hauling this thing, if I buy it. Now I'm all ascared to. That's what happens on this board; you ask a question and get real answeres which are usually not what you want to hear.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Tim,

A Toyota FJ Cruiser will be hauling this thing, if I buy it. Now I'm all ascared to. That's what happens on this board; you ask a question and get real answeres which are usually not what you want to hear.

Can you alter/adjust the scooter ramp/wheel channels closer to the vehicle or are they fixed with the furthest aft one at 4'? How wide are the scooters? Can you crowd them closer to one another by folding footpegs and maybe face them in opposite directions?

[CurtEgerer]

I don't think tongue weight is an issue. With a short wheelbase vehicle like the FJ your main problem is going to be handling - the tail wagging the dog syndrome. For simplicity, there are 'sideways' moment arms between the front axle / rear axle and rear axle / hitch ball (or carrier center) that are countering each other. The longer the wheelbase, the better the vehicle is at resisting sideways forces at the hitch ball. Short wheelbase vehicles, OTOH, can be a handful to drive with a load on the back. The steering will feel light and it will seem like somebody is pushing back and forth on your rear bumper as you're going down the road.