| Author | Message | ||
     Vecchio_lupo |
I am trolling for somebody else's experience so I can learn from it. I am considering the Harbor Freight Receiver Hitch Motorcycle carrier for $129 USD. I have heard to replace the chinese bolts with good old American steel and use steady straps. My real doubt is the rating of 400lbs. I am thinking of my 1999 X1, it is spec'd at 440lbs Dry. I was thinking if I removed the battery, fuel tank, seat and maybe muffler, I'd be at or under 400lbs. Has anybody ever attempted this, and if so, what were the results? I'd be using the class III 2" receiver Hitch on my Honda Element for a straight run down I-65 from Indianapolis to New Orleans. I suspect that even an unladen X1 is too much offset weight. I'd still like to hear from anybody with experience, or a friend of a friend told me that his cousin did that once....... | ||
| Jim2 |
No experience but I've seen these with a higher rating. Your vehicle is not even on their charts. The HF one is aluminum and the others are steel. http://www.versahaul.com/index.php I personally wouldn't want to push the boundaries of limits. | ||
| Jcs64 |
I could never try it! To think of the force generated from hitting a pot hole at 65 mph just makes me say NO! | ||
| Devil_car |
My thoughts on these aluminum type carriers from HF are that aluminum has terrible fatigue strength characteristics when compared to steels, not to mention the fact that they are already much weaker and less stiff. Driving down the road, you always see these carriers bouncing all over the place, and I can't help but think that eventually people are going to have fatigue type failures as a result of the cyclic motion. If I were you, I'd steer way clear of this item, as a broken carrier could result in significant damage to your bike, as well as to someone else's vehicle, property, or body. I once heard a story about someone pulling a small utility trailer with a couple of quads on board using a HF three ball trailer hitch. The ball sheared clean off! Don't get me wrong, there are some items that I will buy from HF, but not all of the items are worth even their super low prices... Just my $0.02. | ||
| Buellathebuzzer |
Any engineer that didn't consider those forces when designing a product like this isn't doing their work. I the Harbor Freight is priced at about $130. The most comparable Versahaul is priced at over $300. Can that price difference be an indicator of quality difference? I've been looking for a way to haul my M2 around too. I live in an apartment building with limited parking available. No room for a trailer. There is plenty of room for this kind of carrier in my parking space. But then there are the towing carriers? | ||
| Vecchio_lupo |
I agree that it is very attractive to not have the expense of versahall. I have spent some time searching other forums for reviews/experiences. The KLR650 guys use the HF Carrier with no issues as do the Ninja 250 and 500 riders. Many have replaced the HF butter bolts with good grade 8 stuff, but there have been no reported failures that I have found. I always hoped that Engineers had a 1/3 extra factor built into load ratings because Americans will always overload. The KLR is 50 lbs lighter than an X1, I don't know if that is the proverbial 50lbs that broke the camel's back or not. | ||
| Devil_car |
Engineers have to use safety factors to ensure that the products are safe to use and to incorporate additional margins to compensate for variances (tolerances, variations in surface finishes, variations in material properties, etc.). The amount of safety factor required depends on the product, how the product is used, and the quality of the materials used. Aerospace and defense components usually have lower safety factors than industrial and consumer products, because the materials used in their production are produced to a higher quality with well known material properties. Additionally, these products have typically undergone higher levels of analysis and testing to ensure they will perform over their expected life. One area where you can get an idea of safety factors built into products is in pressure vessels and pipes. Typically, the working pressure is far below the burst pressure. The product should be able to maintain the burst pressure without rupturing, but may undergo deformation (plastic yielding). It would not be safe to use the product at this pressure, but it shouldn't rupture. There should be a margin of safety or factor of safety involved here as well. If used at the working pressure, provided the vessel was in working order, the part should easily perform without any deformation. Having said that, I would not count on HF using much engineering in the design of their products (with the exception of winches and similar products). The products they sell are typically knock-offs of products that have been around for a long time. As a result, I'm sure most of their engineering involves "reverse engineering". They take a product apart to see how it works (if necessary) and then mimic the competition (often with cheaper internal components and material). I could very well be wrong, but I typically like to err on the side of being conservative. I will be honest that I haven't even looked at the HF motorcycle carrier, so I'm just taking previous comments that this part is aluminum. And again, I have quite a few HF tools at home that have worked great for me (engine hoist, scissor transmission jack, air rotary cutoff tools). Heck, my cheap HF breaker bar has taken a beating, even removed my bike's drive pulley nut, which is no joke, with no problems. I just haven't counted on it to always work. I know some day it will break. Sure I'd like to have the high quality tools, but my budget like everyone else's doesn't allow it. I'm sure this is part of the reason you are considering this carrier. My thoughts, and they are solely an opinion, is that you are pushing the limits of what that product was designed to do, and it is a product known to have lower quality standards. The fact that you know you have to replace the fasteners right off the bat is a good indication that the quality is questionable. Even if someone else did get away with it once, the variation in quality may result in a different experience for someone else. It sounds like you're only really needing this product to be used once. With that in mind, you'll more than likely be OK with using it, it's the fatigue (repeated movement of the part up, down, and side to side, that will occur while driving) that will cause it to fail, if it does. I just know that for me, I'd rather spend $200 more for the peace of mind than to risk losing thousands. | ||
| Vecchio_lupo |
I see a trailer in my future | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
If it is a one time thing, maybe you could look at renting or borrowing a trailer? You mention going Indy to NO, maybe go by and see UHaul about renting a cargo trailer for the day/weekend, it'll be cheaper than buying the rack and half less worry With a max load rating of 400 and your bike is 440 dry, I dont see you taking off 40lbs in those three things. Devil had, in my opinion, a really good post. THat many times there is margin for error in products but there may not be as much in the HF stuff. As far as people feeling like they should replace the bolts instantly with G8 hardware, has there been failures or is it just being safe? Either way, its only a few bucks in hardware and well worth it just to make sure. Personally I am very interested in one of these, or from Northern Tool. But I am wanting it for a KLX140L, weighing like 200lbs, half of the weight limit. I've seen other brands online for much more money, but dont see there being much improvement for my needs in spending 2X+ more | ||
| Xl1200r |
400 pound tongue weight on a Honda Element? Sounds like a big no no to me, even if the hitch can handle it. The Element is rated for a 1500lbs towing capacity. Tongue weight should around 10% of total giving a tongue weight of 150 lbs + or -. My guess is 400 lbs hanging out behind the rear bumper is going to tax the living hell out of the rear suspension, let alone the carrier. | ||
| Huck_farley |
No way would a hitch hauler work on a Honda. I use one on my Durango with my 300 pound Drz and even with the 5000 tow rating the Durango is still sagging a little bit in tthe back. I also agree I would never haul a street bike on a hitch hauler unless it was a real quality made unit rated for 5-600 pounds. A harbor freight trailer would work fine with the Honda tow rating, look for one with 12" wheels to go on sale. The only downside to these trailers is a bit of assembly time, and in my state you have to jump through hoops to get a title and tag, filling out forms, signed off by inspection station, and photos. If you have a place to store it I'm sure you'll get a lot of use out of it, it will turn your little Honda into a mini pick up truck. | ||
| Socrace |
You could look at using a dolly hitch: http://www.ebay.com/itm/110856674307 Not sure about how different state laws might view these things. | ||
| Vecchio_lupo |
Thanks for the dolly hitch idea, that may be the solution. I agree with the majority, the Honda would be overstressed even though hitch and rack may be OK. I was looking for ideas and opinions and I got what I was looking for, thank you. I own a very nice fully decked, 3 rail, single axle trailer. Unfortunately it is in New Orleans and I am in Bloomington, IN. I was going to make a detour and meet some friends either on the way down or on the up trip, we plan to ride the Smokies. I was looking for a cheap solution that would allow me to haul my X1 down and then back up north on my trailer. U-haul wants $250 bucks for a one way trailer rental, I would buy a trailer in a bag/port-a-chopper type trailer but they are like a grand. I will go dolly or maybe another solution will present it self. I even toyed around with removing the wheels and placing the X1 on a wooden axle cradle and slipping inside the cargo area, I have not taken exact measurements, but it looks pretty good. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
elements are pretty good size and buells are short wheelbase, might work. Problem will be lifting the crate into the car and removing it. Let us know how it works out bud |
