Flat towing with eBike

[6tires]

After recently reading in rv newsletter about dangers of towing heavy e-bikes on the back of travel trailer, I’m now concerned about my 80lb e-bike on the back of my tow vehicle. I’m driving a Jayco 24b Class C and flat towing a 2005 Jeep Liberty with my e-bike on back of Liberty. The news letter I read talks about swaying left and right and losing control at highway speeds. I’m assuming same risks possible with my set up, towed vehicle vs towed trailer. Anybody have experience or knowledge of this? I have a roadmaster tow bar installed by camping world.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

You should choose the proper e bike rack for your beefy bike. This is a great place to start and is a solid foundation for what you are doing. They are not cheap, but proper for the job. You can find some with a ramp that assists in loading onto the platform.

Hitch Bike Racks

1up-usa.com

 

[old RV guy]

An ordinary ebike is not nearly heavy enough to induce sway in a 4 down Jeep Liberty. If the hitch bike rack is rated for the ebike you're good to go.

 

[dvspl]

After recently reading in rv newsletter about dangers of towing heavy e-bikes on the back of travel trailer, I’m now concerned about my 80lb e-bike on the back of my tow vehicle. I’m driving a Jayco 24b Class C and flat towing a 2005 Jeep Liberty with my e-bike on back of Liberty. The news letter I read talks about swaying left and right and losing control at highway speeds.

I think adding weight well behind the axle of a towed trailer probably has a different effect than adding weight to the back of a flat towed vehicle. But you should make sure that your rack is rated for the weight of your bike and rated to be used on a flat towed vehicle. Most are not.

 

[435-fht]

Last year I read about bike racks that aren't RV rated. I'm still not sure what makes a bike rack RV ready, but I bought this one.

https://www.discountramps.com/biking/rack-carriers/2-bike/p/BC-4104-RV

I installed the rack on the back of my Jeep that was flat towed behind my RV. I hauled my ebike, and another bike several thousand miles without any problems.

 

[MagnusBjorn]

I bought the Hollywood RV bike rack and have been happy with it. I tow a Maverick behind my Class C with the bikes on the Maverick hitch, and it tows no problem. The rack is rock solid and moves very little.

RV Rider Hitch Bike Rack for Motorhomes & RV's | Buy Electric Bike Hitch Racks | E-Bike Rack

The RV Rider is a premium bike rack designed to transport 2 E-bikes (up to 80 lbs each) on the hitch of your RV motorhome, 5th wheel, or flat-towed vehicle. This heavy-duty bike rack features wheel holders that can accommodate tires up to 5 inches wide and secure them. Locking frame grabbers...

hollywoodracks.com

 

[FCB1313]

I got a dual hitch and put my ebike and rack between Rv and Jeep. I found when I put the bikes on back of the jeep and used a rain cover it blocked the taillights. I like this method instead of messing with additional plug in lights.

 

[435-fht]

I got a dual hitch and put my ebike and rack between Rv and Jeep. I found when I put the bikes on back of the jeep and used a rain cover it blocked the taillights. I like this method instead of messing with additional plug in lights.

With my current motorhome, I have to use a dual hitch. I considered mounting the bike there, but am concerned that the bike rack will contact my toad during a sharp turn. I guess I'll have to find a big parking lot and experiment.

 

[BWG-JAY]

What makes a bike rack RV compatible is it does not have a weak hinge held by a pin. A rack on the back of an RV trailer is bounced far worse than one on the back of a typical car or truck so it needs to be stronger and more heavy duty.
A rack on a typical tow vehicle like a Jeep isn’t bounced as badly as one on the back of a trailer, however; I’d still get an RV ready bike rack. They’re more expensive, but in my opinion they’re worth the extra cost.
Buy the $650 Hollywood rack mentioned above instead of the $188 discount rack. It might not be necessary for a flat tow vehicle, but why chance it?

 

[435-fht]

What makes a bike rack RV compatible is it does not have a weak hinge held by a pin. A rack on the back of an RV trailer is bounced far worse than one on the back of a typical car or truck so it needs to be stronger and more heavy duty.
A rack on a typical tow vehicle like a Jeep isn’t bounced as badly as one on the back of a trailer, however; I’d still get an RV ready bike rack. They’re more expensive, but in my opinion they’re worth the extra cost.
Buy the $650 Hollywood rack mentioned above instead of the $188 discount rack. It might not be necessary for a flat tow vehicle, but why chance it?

I don't know what makes a bike rack RV rated, but the $188 discount rack is RV rated and has held up for thousands of miles with my two bikes.

I didn't see the need to spend 3 times as much.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

I don't know what makes a bike rack RV rated, but the $188 discount rack is RV rated and has held up for thousands of miles with my two bikes.

I didn't see the need to spend 3 times as much.

Several differences may not deal with the wording, but deals with support for a bike that weighs on minimum double what a conventional peddle only bike weighs. In a broader sense bike rack manufacturers do place a weight limit on their bikes for a reason, as a rule. While there are bike racks that costs 188 bucks and possibly works just fine, its important to look deeper into the general details of what someone might be carrying on them, whether you place the rack on your toad or on the back of your towed vehicle.

There are e-bikes that can weigh up to 80 pounds and then some. So if you place two e-bikes on a regular bike rack or an entry level e-bike rack, you do risk the loss of them and possibly additional harm to someone behind you when on the highway.

When you place a regular bike rack and two e-bikes beginning at 45 to 50 pounds each on a sewer hose bumper and head down the road, there is plenty of wiggling going on. Even manufacturers suggest that you don't do this.

A lot of manufacturers have actually converted to a more rigid receiver that mounts to the frame , probably because of lawyers and repeated issues with sewer hose tubes breakage. They have a very back tendency to rust from the inside and will break apart without anyone ever noticing a problem ahead of time.

Entry level e-bikes cost around 700 to 800 and can go up five thousands of dollars and then some. Each year they continue to improve the range for the batteries and in turn increase the weights when you put an upgraded one on a rack.

 

[435-fht]

Several differences may not deal with the wording, but deals with support for a bike that weighs on minimum double what a conventional peddle only bike weighs. In a broader sense bike rack manufacturers do place a weight limit on their bikes for a reason, as a rule. While there are bike racks that costs 188 bucks and possibly works just fine, its important to look deeper into the general details of what someone might be carrying on them, whether you place the rack on your toad or on the back of your towed vehicle.

There are e-bikes that can weigh up to 80 pounds and then some. So if you place two e-bikes on a regular bike rack or an entry level e-bike rack, you do risk the loss of them and possibly additional harm to someone behind you when on the highway.

When you place a regular bike rack and two e-bikes beginning at 45 to 50 pounds each on a sewer hose bumper and head down the road, there is plenty of wiggling going on. Even manufacturers suggest that you don't do this.

A lot of manufacturers have actually converted to a more rigid receiver that mounts to the frame , probably because of lawyers and repeated issues with sewer hose tubes breakage. They have a very back tendency to rust from the inside and will break apart without anyone ever noticing a problem ahead of time.

Entry level e-bikes cost around 700 to 800 and can go up five thousands of dollars and then some. Each year they continue to improve the range for the batteries and in turn increase the weights when you put an upgraded one on a rack.

I agree that bike racks should be in a frame mounted 2" receiver. I hate to see anything mounted to a sewer pipe bumper.

Like I stated earlier, I'm very happy with my discount rack that's RV rated and has a 200# capacity, but everybody should do their own research to match their needs.

 

[old RV guy]

I don't know what makes a bike rack RV rated, but the $188 discount rack is RV rated and has held up for thousands of miles with my two bikes.

I didn't see the need to spend 3 times as much.

Same here, mine is heavy duty, RV rated, carry fat bikes which weigh ~45-50 lbs each. I sure didn't pay any 5 or 6 hundred for it though, nor would I have.

 

[Spower001]

My ebike is also heavy ~70 lbs, I bought a motorcycle rack that has a ramp, $150 good for 500 lbs of weight. I put it on the back of my travel trailer. Have traveled many miles with no issues at all!!

 

[RobLO]

I'm assuming the battery is removable. Remove the battery and put it wherever you want. This could reduce the weight concern. But in your case it would only reduce the weight of your toad if you put the battery in the C.

 

[BuzzHD1]

After recently reading in rv newsletter about dangers of towing heavy e-bikes on the back of travel trailer, I’m now concerned about my 80lb e-bike on the back of my tow vehicle. I’m driving a Jayco 24b Class C and flat towing a 2005 Jeep Liberty with my e-bike on back of Liberty. The news letter I read talks about swaying left and right and losing control at highway speeds. I’m assuming same risks possible with my set up, towed vehicle vs towed trailer. Anybody have experience or knowledge of this? I have a roadmaster tow bar installed by camping world.

I drive a 30Z class C and flat tow a wrangler JLU with two 80# Aventon Aventure E-bikes on the back of the Jeep, with no problem towing, just get the

Young Electric 2-Bike Rack Mate R, Hitch-Mount Platform E-Bike Rack with Ramp, 200 lbs Capacity.​

The only issue was with with covers on the bikes the jeep tale lights were blocked from view! To solve that I used a

Custer LIW-LDTL (4-pin) 23" Wireless Light Bar with Transmitter and Charging Cord. Side Markers​

Both can be purchased on Amazon.