How much weight can the 1 1/4 inch hitch on the bumper hold

looking

Member
How much weight can the 1 1/4 inch hitch on the bumper hold? My dealer said we could insert a 2" with a 1 1/4 in hitch adaptor then attach our hitch mounted cargo carrier and carry things extra things on it, but I don't want the hitch to break off while we are going down the road. Are there any other "hitch receivers" that can abe mounted on the "bumper" that will hold more weight safely?

TIA,
Karen
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi Karen,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.

The hitch is rated at 150# maximum. And I would think that if you install an adapter that would extend the leverage of the carrier you would be mounting and would reduce the safe carrying capacity even more. The hitches are for a couple of bikes, not to pull or carry a heavy load.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
How much weight can the 1 1/4 inch hitch on the bumper hold? My dealer said we could insert a 2" with a 1 1/4 in hitch adapter then attach our hitch mounted cargo carrier and carry things extra things on it, but I don't want the hitch to break off while we are going down the road. Are there any other "hitch receivers" that can abe mounted on the "bumper" that will hold more weight safely?

TIA,
Karen
The only way your question can be answered correctly is to give more information. Who installed the hitch? Take a photo of the hitch and post it here if you can.
Like 'Jimtoo' stated I would not put more than 150 lbs. on it unless it states more the hitch itself.
 
It is not so much what the hitch can handle, but what the bumper handle. Like said before, it is intended for bicycles and not much more. By adding the hitch adaptor, you are multiplying the load significantly.
 
How much weight can the 1 1/4 inch hitch on the bumper hold? My dealer said we could insert a 2" with a 1 1/4 in hitch adaptor then attach our hitch mounted cargo carrier and carry things extra things on it, but I don't want the hitch to break off while we are going down the road. Are there any other "hitch receivers" that can abe mounted on the "bumper" that will hold more weight safely?

TIA,
Karen

Note also that the use of adapters usually derates the capacity by 50%. If you need the capacity for your bikes, I'd use a bike rack with a 1-1/4" tube instead of adapting an existing 2" model.

Jim
 

Jimmy

Well-known member
Speaking from experience, do not use the adapter to convert to 2". Also you would not believe how much the bike rack bounces and causes that much more stress on the bumper.
 

kevduf4

Member
I have the same hitch on my MPG 183, and want to use a 4 bike carrier, but 95% of the time will only be carrying 3 bikes. Would you all recommend weighing all the bikes and carrier or do you think the hitch is sufficient. Thanks, Kevin
 

kb0zke

Well-known member
My vote is to weight everything that goes in or on your trailer and your tow vehicle, especially if you are getting close to either the maximum weight to be towed or the maximum combined weight of the tow vehicle and the trailer.

Weigh the rack and each bike to go on it. Don't forget to weigh the chain and padlock. Remember that the weight back there will decrease your tongue weight. That might be helpful to you if you have some heavy stuff far forward that can't move back any.
 

kevduf4

Member
David, Thanks for your response. that's what I thought wood be best. I don't want to overload the hitch but it doesn't seem to be to useful @150 #capacity. I'm sure my bikes at holder will be over 150#. Kevin
 

Yellowreef

Well-known member
David, Thanks for your response. that's what I thought wood be best. I don't want to overload the hitch but it doesn't seem to be to useful @150 #capacity. I'm sure my bikes at holder will be over 150#. Kevin

You might have missed the answer from the factory ealier in the thread. It is 110 not 150. Have you seen the over/under hitch adaptors that allow you to tow and install a bike rack on your tow vehicle hitch?
 

Yellowreef

Well-known member
The hitch that is installed might be rated for 250, but my guess is Heartland is saying 110 because of where it is mounted on the trailer. I would follow Heartland's say on this.
 

kevduf4

Member
Yellowreef, Thanks for your input,and yes I have seen the over & under hitch brackets. I figured since this hitch is welded to the frame of trailer it had to be stronger than one of those type of hitches. Have you had experience with the over/under bumper type hitch? kevduf4
 

marc515

Well-known member
110 lbs including the bike rack.

FennerJ,

I called Heartland last week and spoke with Ryan, and he indicated the the hitch was good for 150 Lbs. So, which is correct; 110 or 150 Lbs?????

This is a safety issue, and would hope that you guys could get on the same sheet of music.

Thank you
 

marc515

Well-known member
Well guys,....

I called Heartland Customer Service yesterday and spoke to Ryan who I've been in email contact with. He did some additional research and it basically boils down to the hitch on the later model MPG's is rated at 150Lbs. Mine was made in September 2010 and is rated at 250 Lbs.

Apparently they lowered the rating because 250 Lbs was too much weight back there, and customers were putting more than 250 Lbs on the hitch

So, as I understood him, the fix was to lower the rating to 150 Lbs, which gives an extra margain of safety.

Good move I guess, but a bike rack with 2 bikes approaches 150 Lbs, and a bike rack with 3 bikes could exceed 150 Lbs.
 
Top