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Hitch-mounted ATV Carrier?

M

MrFish

Charter Member
Full Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2002
Messages
390
Location
Redmond, WA
Dad and I were talking about alternatives to loading my Honda Rincon into the bed of the Av. While it fits, it's a pain to remove/reinstall the hard cover mounts every time.

One idea was to fab a platform similar to the moped racks and rear carriers you see on occasion. This would be a lightweight platform to mount into the existing hitch reciever. To add stabilty and maybe more strength, I would plan to have arms extend up from the fore-most corners, up past the taillights, and mount to the truck in place of the grab handles.

The max tongue weight on the 1500 Z71 is 1000lbs. The Honda's dry weight is 600lbs even. Add oil and 4gal of fuel and it'd come up to about 640lbs.

Technically, this is possible. My only concern is that when hitting a pothole or speedbump, the Honda would weigh much more for a brief moment. I don't, though, have the math skills to figure out HOW heavy it could get.

Any thoughts or input? Could work? Couldn't work? You're a complete nutbag?
 
Fish, have you considered a small platform style atv/sled trailer? Seems like a lot less headache.
 
Sure. ?I borrowed one for a while when I first got the Honda, before I figured out how to make it fit in the Av. ?The problems I found with a trailer are:

* Where to store it
* They're expensive
* They're not as stable as having the quad "connected" to the truck (they tend to sway, bounce, etc)
* They need to be licensed (cheap, but inconvenient)

Having the quad in the truck is fine, really. ?This came up mostly due to my desire for the Sung-Top and Bedslide. ?Both of these options would make it impossible to load the quad into the truck. ?While a trailer is the "normal" resolution, this idea popped up as a possible alternative and was just wondering if it was reasonable.

Frankly, I keep having visions of the whole thingy pulling the hitch off my truck. ?There goes my neato-keen hitch platform, not to mention the $9000 quad, skidding and tumbling down the freeway at 60mph.

I'd likely end up with a trailer, but this is such a groovy idea that I can't quite let go of it.
 
I would strongly advise against putting that much stress on the hitch. The math escapes me at the moment, but the shock loading that your Av would be subject to would be many time the actual weight of your ATV, no to mention the torsional stress of the weight not being centered on the hitch.

I too share your frustration with the inability to carry an ATV in the back of the AV. My brother-in-law's Polaris Sportman 500 will not fit in the box of the Av at all. A trailer seems like the only resonable solution, although I rather be able to "travel light" without having to tow something behind an already sizable vehicle.
 
I have seen plenty of power carts for the elderly on much lower end hitches. My aunt has one on her Oldsmobile and the thing weighs around 280lbs.

A weight distributing hitch might make it work better.

The trailer might be easier to get, but IMHO this would be easier to use once all the details are worked out.
 
I'd advise against it too. ?The the tongue weight may be rated for 1000lbs, but that's nice square downward force.

If you put a 600lb ATV, about 4 feet off of that, with no support on the other side - picture what a 4' breaker bar with 600lbs of Sumo wrestler sitting on it would do. ?...and when you hit bumps, picture him jumping. ? :cautious:

:D:

Okay, bad example, but ya know what I mean!

If you were to go about this, I'd absolutely make some sort of support that would tie into the bed area.

Another thing to consider is how to load the beast with the supports in the way... ?:cautious:

I've been using my flatbed ghetto trailer for everything but my dirtbike. ?You can pick up something like mine for (probably) under $300. ? It's light enough for me to push around empty. ?With a little Wheaties, I can lift up one side of it to change a tire and what-not. ?It's dirt cheap to own and operate. ?I can back it into inanimate objects and not care (I *AM* on my second set of tail lights though).
 
marc_w said:
I've been using my flatbed ghetto trailer for everything but my dirtbike. ?You can pick up something like mine for (probably) under $300. ? It's light enough for me to push around empty. ?With a little Wheaties, I can lift up one side of it to change a tire and what-not. ?It's dirt cheap to own and operate. ?I can back it into inanimate objects and not care (I *AM* on my second set of tail lights though).
Click to expand...

That looks just like a snowmobile trailer I had back in NY. That would also tilt and swivel. You tilt it up drive on, then swivel, tilt down and drive off.
 
Mines very primitive! You're sounds sweet.

I almost take pride in how well mine does for it's crappy-ness. ? ;D

It's an old popup camper frame with aging plywood bolted down to it. ?

It's four different colors.

The tail lights are both crooked.

The license plate is held on with wire ties.

It needs inner bearing seals.

When I strap the streetbikes down on it, you can see the wood around the wheel-chocks flex... Hence the spider web of tie-downs. :)

For a while I was running it around town with a block of wood strapped ?in place of a broken leaf-spring mount. ?Some bone-head welded the hinge solid, so the flexing leaf spring cracked the mount right off the frame.

Can you believe it did a 2000 mile round trip, as seen with the bikes, withouth incident?

Someone was lookin' out for me!
 
chevroletavalanche, the tilta rack looks good to me.

i have had the idea, for a year, because the taligate, loading hieght of av is, so high.

and i can keep he bed covers on, and still bring my 350# cycle with me.

it seems to me, that if i can pull a 6-7500 lb boat on the hitch, and go over the same bumps, and road whatever, the wieght of a cycle, or quad , wont tear anything up!! i asked them for more info!

thanks for being in the av network.........got change
 
My brother-in-law's Polaris Sportman 500 will not fit in the box of the Av at all.
Click to expand...
Are you sure? The width of the 500 is listed at 46". My Rincon is 46.1" and fits just fine. Granted, I had to remove the side gutters from inside the bed, but they're easy to put back on. I don't notice any difference regarding water in the bed. I don't know that I ever saw water in the gutters anyway.

Might want to have him try again. It looks, from the specs, that it'll fit, unless he's added some aftermarket tires ...
 
Tiltarack makes several different models. The big/full size ATV rack is rated for 3/4 ton vehicles only. I was suspect of such a rack working. It weighs around 200lbs by itself and if you add a 4x4 ATV at 600lbs, you are talking about 800 lbs on that receiver and shifting a lot of weight behind the rear axle.

They make a smaller one that is 42" wide (which won't hold a large 4x4 ATV but will accomodate some smaller ATVs in the 250 - 400 cc range). That model will fit the 1/2 ton trucks with no problem. I have used that one with no problems. The smaller one is about 100 lbs and will hold an ATV up to 400 lbs for a combined load of 500lbs on the hitch. I don't think they show that model on their website... you need to call and ask for it.
 
I have seen platforms for various things hanging off the back of trucks and suvs. However it is usually lighter stuff, and I have not seen one that is wide enough to accomodate an ATV. But I am sure that it would be possible to do something like that, you just have to worry about stress to the hitch.

-James R. :cool:
 
Just found this thread... I have been contemplating a hauler (reveiver hitch platform) called versa haul ...

http://www.discountramps.com/atv_carrier.htm

It is rated at 700 max wt ... My hitch on my 1500 Z71 states a max tongue wt of 600# ... The versa haul is 117# .. My 400EX wet is 400 # ... That's still 100# or so under the max tongue sticker on the hitch ...

My dealership says it should be fine... But as some of you, the stresses would not be "conventional" trailer tongue stresses ... Still contemplating this one ...

11H
 
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