# 1.25" hitch and 4 MTB's?



## AirKuhl (Jun 11, 2012)

The car is a VW Sportwagon TDi and it can only have a 1.25" hitch. I need to transport 4 bikes, so that means I can't use 1up, Kuat or NSR which all require a 2" hitch.

That leaves the usual hanger style racks, but at least 2 or 3 of the bikes I'll be transporting have funky bent top tubes or shock mounts in the way.

Are there any options out there? I'm about to go find a beat up $500 pickup truck, it'll probably be cheaper. 

Thanks,
--Pete


----------



## fgiraffe (Aug 30, 2004)

Two bikes on the hitch, two bikes on the roof. 
I'm no mechanical engineer or lawyer, but 4 bikes on a 1.25" hitch is just not wise IMHO.


----------



## CharacterZero (May 19, 2004)

There is a reason you don't find 4 bike 1.25" hitch racks.

Get a harbor freight trailer, hit up craigs or something like that. You could probably build something on this for pretty cheap...


----------



## wbmason55 (May 30, 2010)

Raxtor makes a 3 bike, 1.25" platform rack. There are no 4 bike 1.25" platform racks.


----------



## steadite (Jan 13, 2007)

Here's my solution for 4 bikes on a small car. Trailer is a Triton XTV (~200lb) and the wooden bike rack is homemade. Towed it ~1500 miles this spring and it was solid.


----------



## iridesl4 (Feb 24, 2011)

That looks like a really nice trailer! Good work!


----------



## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Even if you had a 2" hitch and could fit a 4-bike tray on there, it's a bad idea. That rack (a lighter one) probably weighs 50lbs, add 4 30lb bikes and you're at a pretty big weight for that towbar, but that's not the big issue, it's the fact that the weight is so far away from the receiver mount. When they calculate tongue weight, they are assuming that it's right on where the "ball" would be. When you put on a rack like that, you are putting a lot more stress on that part of the car than a trailer would cause, and it will make your rear suspension sag like crazy, and raise the front. If it was a 5000lb+ truck, SUV, van, etc, it would be a different story due to this not really being much if an issue with it's stiffer springs, overall sturdier construction and greater weight up front.


----------



## AirKuhl (Jun 11, 2012)

steadite said:


> Here's my solution for 4 bikes on a small car. Trailer is a Triton XTV (~200lb) and the wooden bike rack is homemade. Towed it ~1500 miles this spring and it was solid.


Nice!

Thanks for all the advice. The trailer idea is very tempting although it would create some minor storage and parking issues.

It looks like I'll probably go the hitch + roof route even though that looks like it'll be ~1200 bucks.  Maybe I'll get lucky on craiglist for various parts.


----------



## terrasmak (Jun 14, 2011)

AirKuhl said:


> Nice!
> 
> Thanks for all the advice. The trailer idea is very tempting although it would create some minor storage and parking issues.
> 
> It looks like I'll probably go the hitch + roof route even though that looks like it'll be ~1200 bucks.  Maybe I'll get lucky on craiglist for various parts.


Harbor Freight has a nice folding trailer, look into the 4x4 or 4x8 from them.


----------



## AirKuhl (Jun 11, 2012)

FYI, the trailer idea scared my wife off so we ended up biting the bullet and going with a 1up bike hitch carrier with the +1 add-on, along with a Whispbar/Yakima Highroller roof rig. Not the cheapest option but it will securely carry 1-4 bikes and 4 people and their stuff on road trips.










Thanks again for the help!


----------



## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

AirKuhl said:


> FYI, the trailer idea scared my wife off so we ended up biting the bullet and going with a 1up bike hitch carrier with the +1 add-on, along with a Whispbar/Yakima Highroller roof rig. Not the cheapest option but it will securely carry 1-4 bikes and 4 people and their stuff on road trips.
> 
> <snip>
> 
> Thanks again for the help!


Well done. Can't argue with that set up :thumbsup:


----------

