Hitch weight?

[Chronicle]

I have a 2023 GX and am interested in transporting 2 ADV bikes and am looking for options. Each is approximately 500-600lbs. Where can I find the max weight for the hitch to see if a dual motorcycle hitch carrier will work?

 

[ericm979]

The GX's payload is about 1400 lbs. Just on that two adv bikes won't go unless you have nothing else in the car. They'd stick out a long ways and have their weight out a long ways. That weight would make the GX handle terribly. You need a trailer.

 

[rav8]

Pretty sure max tongue weight is 650lbs with the Class IV hitch. You need a trailer for those bikes or a different tow vehicle.

 

[Rednexus]

I'd pick up a basic utility trailer instead. You won't even notice it back there. You'd definitely notice 1200# of bikes on the hitch carrier.

 

[r2m]

Not an expert here, but even if you had a custom carrier that connected to the frame on, outboard, as mentioned above, 1200 pounds is an awful lot of weight.
Payload for a Tacoma is 1,685 lbs and that's a truck with a "truck" suspension.

Toyota Tacoma Towing Capacity | Payload Chart & Engine Specs | DARCARS Toyota of Baltimore

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www.darcarstoyotaofbaltimore.com

 

[WTITW]

Pretty sure max tongue weight is 650lbs

This

I pulled this from some jerk’s Youtube video on towing with a GX that lists all the specs:

 

[MeefZah]

Those dual bike hitch carriers are really only meant to work with lighter dirt bikes. When you say "ADV bikes" I am visualizing like a 600 pound GS1200 or something - but even a "light" ADV bike is 450 pounds, times 2 at 900 pounds, plus 100 pounds of hitch hauler.... no way would I put that setup on anything, especially a GX.

I have a single bike hitch hauler, but I only use it for a 300 pound WRR. Honestly even that gives me some anxiety.

Buy a trailer, or rent one from U-Haul if it's infrequent use. You can get a open trailer that will hold two bikes for like $25 a day.

 

[Chronicle]

Thank you for the replies everyone. It sounds like a single would work but that would still leave very little room for anything else back there. I'm considering taking a several day trip off road with some friends and wanted the ability to carry a bike if need be for some reason while out there. Hauling a clunkity-clunk trailer is something i want to avoid.

 

[WTITW]

Don’t give up so easily! This guy figured it out:

 

[Cold Iron]

Thank you for the replies everyone. It sounds like a single would work but that would still leave very little room for anything else back there. I'm considering taking a several day trip off road with some friends and wanted the ability to carry a bike if need be for some reason while out there. Hauling a clunkity-clunk trailer is something i want to avoid.

Easy solution is to not get a clunkity-clunk trailer

I just got home last night from Northern Canada pulling my Polaris Ranger, 500 miles straight North. It always amazes me seeing all the cheap harbor freight trailers running at 75+ mph with factory tires, those cheap tires are rated at something like 55 mph max. AKA maypops, they likely will blow at the worst possible time.

A decent trailer with decent tires you will not even notice it is back there. And with bikes on a hitch carrier your barn door is not going to work. Even with a trailer the door is a PITA stepping over the tongue and I had to move my spare from the trailer tongue to the bed tied down flat and run the buggy over it, thank goodness for ground clearance. No matter what the vehicle is.

Which ever trailer you decide on just break down and put Goodyear endurance trailer tires on it and call it a day is my .02 cents worth. And a trailer is your best option IMO as well.

Larger than you need but they make them a lot smaller and are very lightweight with an aluminum frame and composite body

 

[Rednexus]

Hey now. My HF trailer has been going strong since 2015. Although I've added around 300# of steel to it . The tires and wheel bearings it comes with are actually just fine and will pull 70+ mph for hours while only getting lukewarm.

In all seriousness, I was going to get rid of it but couldn't stomach $2k for a new one when I have a MIG and was able to rebuild the old one with $500 in materials.

 

[Cold Iron]

Hey now. My HF trailer has been going strong since 2015. Although I've added around 300# of steel to it . The tires and wheel bearings it comes with are actually just fine and will pull 70+ mph for hours while only getting lukewarm.

In all seriousness, I was going to get rid of it but couldn't stomach $2k for a new one when I have a MIG and was able to rebuild the old one with $500 in materials.
View attachment 3732126
View attachment 3732127

Ha! I knew someone would come along and say that I should have figured it would be you LOL. Yeah you can modify them to create a really beast of a trailer. I considered it at one time and bookmarked some HF trailer mods but wanted the weight savings in the end. And then I got the buggy which changed my needs.

I'm on my second Ranger thanks to Covid I sold my last one for more than I paid for it. And right after I got my Trail Boss they came out the XP1500 including Northstar version (both of mine have been Northstars with cab, AC, heat, etc.) and the XP1500 has 15" of ground clearance from the factory. At only ~$40K, that is a lot of coin. But.... maybe someday. If I ever do get a Northstar 1500 I'd probably move up to tandem axles and brake controller. What the hell might as well get a GX 550 then too. I'll wait until the 550 has been out for a few years to see if I would consider it an upgrade over the 460 or not.

 

[Chronicle]

Pretty sure max tongue weight is 650lbs with the Class IV hitch. You need a trailer for those bikes or a different tow vehicle.

I could not find this info anywhere in the manual for the 2023. I should have looked first on the OEM hitch and there is a sticker - 500lb when used as a carrier and 650lb when used for weight distribution (paraphrasing).

Reese hitches website for example says this for Class III and IV

Class III hitches used as weight carrying are rated up to 6000 lbs. gross trailer weight (GTW) with a 600 lbs. maximum trailer tongue weight (TW).

Class IV hitches used as weight carrying are rated up to 10,000 lbs. gross trailer weight (GTW) with a 1000 lbs maximum trailer tongue weight
Is the OEM class III or IV? Would that be stamped on the hitch itself?

 

[Rednexus]

The OEM hitch is indeed a Class IV, but the GX itself is not rated to tow more than 6,500# and the tongue weight can't be more than 650#. Those are both based on the rig's suspension, braking system, and engine/transmission. It's a different rating system than the rating for the components that go into the hitch (ball hitches, weight distribution hardware, other accessories, etc) that aren't vehicle specific.

One thing to consider is that the 650# tongue weight rating is at the actual hitch ball. If the bikes 600# each and are say 1 ft and 2 ft beyond the hitch, they'll actually be applying 1,800# of vertical force on the hitch itself (due to the effects of leverage caused by the hitch), which would actually put you over the Class IV hitch rating. With that much leverage on the back of the rig, you'd also be hitting the rear bump stops often and you'd be removing a lot of weight from the front axle, thereby making both the steering and braking much less effective and the vehicle potentially unsafe to drive.

 

[Chronicle]

The OEM hitch is indeed a Class IV, but the GX itself is not rated to tow more than 6,500# and the tongue weight can't be more than 650#. Those are both based on the rig's suspension, braking system, and engine/transmission. It's a different rating system than the rating for the components that go into the hitch (ball hitches, weight distribution hardware, other accessories, etc) that aren't vehicle specific.

One thing to consider is that the 650# tongue weight rating is at the actual hitch ball. If the bikes 600# each and are say 1 ft and 2 ft beyond the hitch, they'll actually be applying 1,800# of vertical force on the hitch itself (due to the effects of leverage caused by the hitch), which would actually put you over the Class IV hitch rating. With that much leverage on the back of the rig, you'd also be hitting the rear bump stops often and you'd be removing a lot of weight from the front axle, thereby making both the steering and braking much less effective and the vehicle potentially unsafe to drive.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I understand this better now.

 

[r2m]

Don’t give up so easily! This guy figured it out:

Betcha he does wheelies taking off from a street light with a heavier bike...
Better get wheelie bars with those little wheels.