E-Bike rack with Toad

[Kenosfan]

I have a Gemini and my toad is a Fiat 500 and I have two EBikes and my slide is also rear. I use a blue Ox tow bar and face plate on my Fiat I have no moving around on my toad behind the MH it tracks well. I have a bike rack on a receiver hitch on the back of my Fiat I bought from Amazon the bikes are heavy but I take the batteries off to reduce the weigh I do use a couple of buggies to reduce any movement if I was to hit a pot hole etc. I travel every winter to Fl 14 hrs and have had no problem I see no signs of wear. When not towing I put the bike rack on the MH and take the batteries out again I do this a lot again no problem of course I can’t put the slide out until I take the bikes off.

[Yaktop]

Originally Posted by Kenosfan

I have a Gemini and my toad is a Fiat 500 and I have two EBikes and my slide is also rear. I use a blue Ox tow bar and face plate on my Fiat I have no moving around on my toad behind the MH it tracks well. I have a bike rack on a receiver hitch on the back of my Fiat I bought from Amazon the bikes are heavy but I take the batteries off to reduce the weigh I do use a couple of buggies to reduce any movement if I was to hit a pot hole etc. I travel every winter to Fl 14 hrs and have had no problem I see no signs of wear. When not towing I put the bike rack on the MH and take the batteries out again I do this a lot again no problem of course I can’t put the slide out until I take the bikes off.

Thankfully my rack tilts and can barely clear the top of the bikes when I put the slide out. But it clears. Phew.

[Chance]

I friend had a 4-bike hitch carrier which he used successfully behind his van. No issues whatsoever.

On a cycling trip to the Texas Hill Country, where a group of us were camping together, he towed his large pop-up trailer behind his van. He towed that trailer frequently also without issues.

Being a welder, he added a 2” receiver to back of pop-up camping trailer so he could carry four additional road bikes for himself and friends traveling with him. Bikes were probably around 80 pounds, and total added weight in the order of ~ 150 pounds, with most of the mass at least 2 feet behind trailer.

Anyway, structurally there was no problem, but the added mass at very rear made the trailer very unstable as he approached 60 MPH. It would start swaying uncontrollably as speed increased. Hanging weight at back of a trailer can change towing dynamics in a bad way. This is not the case with a toad.

Due to liability concerns, it’s probably easier for manufacturers to defend broad statements prohibiting use behind any towed vehicle if prohibited at all.

Having said all that, I wouldn’t go against manufacturer due to liability even if I knew it was perfectly OK. They just wouldn’t get my business.

[houche]

We have a pair of electric bikes we routinely haul. We use a Thule bike carrier good for 130 lbs. The bikes weight 60 each. No problem putting the bike carrier on the back of our toad or on the hitch for the rv. If the bikes exceed 60 lbs just pull the batteries when mounted on the carrier. All good.

[Jim Jacobs]

We use a Yakama HoldUp for 2 e-bikes. One is a RAD City step-through, the other is an eLux Newport. We take the batteries out which makes the bikes under 60 lb. each and also makes it easier to lift the bikes onto the rack, one of us on the front tire, one on the back. Because the eLux has a much longer wheel base, we had to modify the innermost lower support by drilling a 5/16" hole all the way through the support channel and putting in a stainless bolt with washers and a lock nut. The support does have adjustable slots, but they weren't long enough. This allowed us to have the eLux centered on the toad, only hanging over about 3" on both sides. The RAD City is much shorter and fits easily without hanging over.

We were going to get the eLux Tahoe with super fat tires for my wife because the ride was so smooth. However, the 4" tires didn't fit into the Yakima carrier, so we went with the Newport model instead which has the same 2.3" width as the RAD. The big advantage of the 4" tires is the ability to use them on sand, but we don't plan to go riding along the beach so getting the Newport model was no great sacrifice.

We would have used a 2" receiver for the Yakima, but that wasn't an option for us, so the bike rack is in a 1 1/4" receiver on our Scion xB which we tow with our Thor 29.2 ACE. Although in the weight range of 120 lbs listed by Yakima, because of the smaller hitch size, we also use 2 ratchet flat straps from supports inside the car, crisscrossed to the lower outside support on the bike rack. When we use the Yakima rack with our Chrysler minivan, we connect the straps to the roof rack, but the Scion doesn't have any but it does have rear seat belt connectors which are a good anchor point. Since the straps are flat, they fit well with the doors closed. This prevents the rack from twisting back and forth going down the road so there is less wear on the receiver hitch. In fact, the ride is quite stable. The principle problem is that the bikes obscure the tail lights (and to some degree the towed license plate). So far, we've not been stopped, but then we've only been out during the day. To make it safer, our next project is to install a 4-way flat trailer connector on the Scion which we will run to a set of trailer lights which we will mount on the bike rack such that when it's in the down (i.e. in the carrying) position, the lights can be clearly seen from the rear. This will be for night running and brake lights.

The bikes are relatively new (2019 models), and we haven't yet encountered rain, but the electronics are exposed to the elements when the batteries are removed (i.e. being carried in the RV so we can be charging them). We need to come up with a waterproof covering for the battery holders. It does not appear to be a difficult problem for the eLux as the battery is mounted in a flat carrier over the rear wheel. The RAD, on the other hand, poses an interesting problem because the pins which slide into the battery point up at the bottom of a well on the main down stem. Rain water will happily sit in that well and there does not appear to be a drain hole. Further, we take the seats and attached tubes out of the frames for security when traveling since they are only secured with a hand clamp. This, however, leaves the tubes exposed so that rain would happily fill the frame with water. The eLux has a drain hole at the bottom of the frame. The RAD does not appear to have one. The simple solution is to place a small, waterproof bag over the top of the tube and secure it with a strong rubber band. I plan to ask RAD if they have any suggestions for securing their bikes against water damage while towing. Their manual says the bikes, while not waterproof, are weather resistant and can survive a rain storm while being carried, though they need to be dried out and maintenance will be increased to avoid rust, corrosion, etc. I have contacted RAD about the proper method of preventing water damage during towing and am awaiting their response.

I will note, by the way, that the electric bikes are a "gas" to ride. They're more fun than the proverbial barrel of monkeys. If you haven't tried one, you really should and I recommend getting one with both a throttle and pedal assist. The throttle allows you to just twist and take off. The bike quickly stabilizes itself. Then you begin pedaling and the assist kicks in. In the blink of an eye, you're up to 10 mph and scooting right along.

Yesterday, for example, we drove to the Dismal Swamp state park in Virginia. They built a new Rt.17 highway and decided to leave 8 miles of the old highway along the swamp canal which connects to the Intercoastal Waterway. We packed some sandwiches and flew through the 16 miles with ease, averaging 12 mph without breaking a sweat. We could have gone faster (and many times further) on the old paved highway (from which cars are now excluded), but we were enjoying the lovely day and the cool breeze beneath the towering trees. We stopped at a rest area and fell into conversation with some 45+ year olds on 3 sailboats that were tied up to a wharf. They admired our bikes but said they didn't want to try them as it might make them envious of the bikes they had which are small on account of the limited space on the boats. They're each taking off 4 to 6 years to roam around the world to see the sights and they had only just met earlier that day. We talked about how they were doing, via the water, what we're doing via the land using a RV. Interesting similarities.

[markgable]

What an excellent bunch of information in the this thread. Many different things to consider. We plan to tow a Grand Cherokee V8, with a 2017 Thor Vegas 24.1, which I'm hoping both vehicles will work in our favor if we decide to go with a two bike carrier on the Grand Cherokee. The overhang on the Vegas is one of the shortest around and the wheelbase compared to overall length really gives the coach a good bit of stability for towing without a lot of tail wag. The cherokee towed four down would not notice 150 pounds on the hitch i would not think. I will however, read some more on why most racks are not recommended for the rear of a towed vehicle. Thanks so much for all the excellent information provided here!

[Yaktop]

From Hollywood, i’d Check the fine print on any. Any trailer or trailered vehicle (including 5th wheel type) has a slight side to side motion that's very low frequency (1 to 1-1/2 times per second) that fatigues the steel from which the racks are manufactured.
The fatigue first happens at a molecular level, but eventually (several thousands of cycles later) a visible crack will appear. Once the crack has formed, it will enlarge, finally to the point where the rack drops off the vehicle and the rack (and bikes) impact the roadway.
This is also a dangerous situation for whoever may be following the trailer on the highway.
We have seen 100+ incidents where the consumers/end user has not taken this advice and suffered disastrous results.

[Ejohn2317]

Bought this on Amazon. It is very well made. When I travel I remove the battery and the seats. I cover the battery terminals on the bikes with two small pieces of aluminum duct tape and a plastic bag over the controllers. Curt Dual 2" Receiver Tube Adapter, 8" Extension or Malone 2" Dual Purpose Hitch Receiver probably work. The 2 bikes plus rack is probably 150 LBS.

[Sk8nmike]

we have two Specialized ebikes. When we travel with them we take the batteries out and wrap the battery socket with plastic food wrap. Keeps the dirt and water out..

[rcharrette]

As someone else said, I would imagine a TOAD would act a bit differently than a Travel Trailer or 5th wheel going down the road. That said, we had a 27'TT for 5 years. I had a bombproof receiver hitch professionally welded to my frame. I purchased a KUAT rack and we had 4 MTB's on it (Not E-Bikes). In 5 years our rack failed 2 times. Both times it was the pin that releases to fold the rack up and down. That is definitely the weak point in the system. After the 2nd time I ended up drilling holes there and installing (2) 3/4" bolts and fixed it in the down position. Problem solved!
Last year we sold the TT and we now have a Thor Outlaw 37RB so our bikes are in the garage.