Bike Rack capacity?

[Tugboat]

Hi,

I recently bought a 2011 Caliber 265RLS TT. I was wondering what the maximum weight you can load on the bike rack? I have a Yamaha XT250 trail/road motorcycle that weighs 270#, that I wouldn't mind taking along. I can put the bicycles inside the camper.
Has anyone modified the racks with extra supports?
Any info or ideas would be appreciated.

Tugboat

 

[danemayer]

Hi Tugboat,

I think most bike racks are intended for light weight application. Maybe another North Trail owner will know the specifics.

 

[mbopp]

I've never used the pull-out rack on our NT. But without checking the owners manual I believe the rack has a capacity of 150#, or 100# if the spare tire is mounted on the bumper.

 

[JohnD]

We have the pull-out bike rack on our 2013 Heartland Trail Runner.

We were told when we did the PDI that total weight capacity is 250lbs . . .

I wouldn't push it, though . . .

When we were doing our PDI, a 5th-wheel was parked next to ours with the rear bike rack bumper like ours laying on the ground . . . broken off from the trailer.

The guy who was doing our PDI told me that the owner of that trailer was driving down the highway with his generator on the extended bumper.

 

[Tugboat]

Thanks everyone for the replies. The last thing I want is to look in the rear view mirrors and see the bike in the road!
When I get the time - I'll engineer a more substantial rack. It would be nice to take the bike along with me for trips to the store or a trail ride.

 

[pegmikef]

I had a 2011 North Trail Calibur Edition and the rack had a decal right on it stating the max weight limit was 200 pounds. I used it to carry my two Honda generators (55 pounds each) and a utility box (50 - 60 pounds) on the rack and it was great. I felt that it would accommodate more weight than I subjected it to.

 

[Tstartsman]

We have a 2013 22FBS with the slide out bumper. We slid the bumper out to about 3/4 maximum length and added a second bolt to each slide side to keep it from flopping up and down. Had to drill an additional hole in the rails and the rack underneath the trailer in order to do this. Also used thick nylon washers with each of the 4 bolts and a metal shim under each rail, again to keep the bumper from flexing up & down. Used the Heartland-supplied bike post to mount the spare tire up off the bumper. Then added a bolt-on 2" hitch receiver into which we insert a Swagman 2-bike rack. This allows us to remove the bike rack and put it onto the tow vehicle to transport the bikes once we're at the campground. We also store 4 Sterlite rubber boxes on the slide out bumper for light weight items (sewer connectors, wheel chocks, and kindling) which I secure with ratchet straps. Total weight is around 150 lbs. The extended bumper is one of the things I really like about North Trail. We've been looking at other trailers lately and when I ask the dealers if I can install my bike rack and bikes on the bumper the response has been: "not recommended".

 

[biddysere]

I'm still trying to figure out how the factory model works. Just a single post back there

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[JohnD]

I'm still trying to figure out how the factory model works. Just a single post back there

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I used to bungee cord the bikes to the post and anywhere else I could to secure them, then cable lock them to the trailer frame.

I found the whole slide out bike rack to be too much of a PITA to do all that and started carrying them inside the trailer.

 

[Gaffer]

Put a receiver on the front of your truck. You won't get all the bounce like you would in the back.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Put a receiver on the front of your truck. You won't get all the bounce like you would in the back.

Love front mounted hitches on my truck. I went with a 2 receiver setup, to eliminate all possible "rocking" from side-to-side. I carry a WR250 Yamaha dirt-bike on the front of my truck with this setup.