3 ebikes on a 31-foot Class C

[poihths]

It's a 2018 Coachmen Leprechaun 41FSS.

It has a receiver hitch rated for 7,500 pounds tow weight, 750 pounds tongue weight.

I love what I see online about the Quik Rack Mach 2. But Quickr says to use their system for no more than two bikes on an RV, while their system allows four bikes on an ordinary minivan or SUV.

I see the same thing from other manufacturers as well, such as Hollywood. No more than two bikes on an RV, up to four on ordinary large cars

Why?: What's the key factor here? What am I missing? Rack, bikes and all, call it 250 pounds on a 750 pound hitch. Yes, the bikes will get shaken on a bumpy road, but so also on an SUV/minivan. What don't I see here?

I'm attempting to contact Quickr but they make it sound like they're not going to get back to me very quickly.

[Steve-W]

The difference between the rack mounted on a MH vs a car is the distance from the rear axle to the rack. On a MH that distance is much greater so the forces from bouncing are far more that when the same rack is mounted on a car.

[Webefine]

What Steve-W said!

[poihths]

OK, I can see that. The lever arm is definitely longer--4 feet on my Pacifica, 10 feet on my Leprechaun. So the force exerted on the rack is greater. But how much force is there to begin with? The bike already puts up with the forces generated by my 200+ pound body when I ride down a bumpy dirt road. How much worse would the bouncing from the RV be? Mind you, I'm looking for education here; not trying to prove anybody wrong.

[Reverse_snowbird]

It might have something to do with the strength of that mount and how much flexing/bouncing it can take with more than 2 bikes.

[767driver]

Originally Posted by poihths

OK, I can see that. The lever arm is definitely longer--4 feet on my Pacifica, 10 feet on my Leprechaun. So the force exerted on the rack is greater. But how much force is there to begin with? The bike already puts up with the forces generated by my 200+ pound body when I ride down a bumpy dirt road. How much worse would the bouncing from the RV be? Mind you, I'm looking for education here; not trying to prove anybody wrong.

You’re already at 250 lbs right? A good 2.5-3g whoop bump with that longer lever arm and you’re bikes are toast and causing an accident for those behind you.

Now, let’s talk reality. Their website says 160 pounds for 3 bikes. So at 250, you’re already over the manufacture load limits, so it sounds like the carrier will fail before the tongue weight

[poihths]

The listed capacity for a 1.25" Mach2 is indeed 160 pounds for three bikes, however, the capacity for the 2" Mach2 is 300 pounds. Scroll down to the second chart under "What is the weight capacity of each of the four trays?" on the FAQ page at https://quikrstuff.com/faqs/. I think those charts are for non-RV applications.

To clarify: Quikr doesn't give a capacities for an RV application; the just say use the 2" system with no more than 2 bikes. On their chart, the 2" system, I think they mean not on an RV, shows a 240 pound total capacity. I have to assume they're thinking of less than that on an RV.

Also to clarify: my 250 pound figure includes 2 bikes at 60 pounds, one bike at 50 pounds, one Quikr base unit at 30.7 pounds and two Quikr add-on units at 22.7 pounds, per the FAQ. For the bikes alone it would be 170 pounds total.

Question: what would be an example of a bump that would cause a 3G acceleration? My understanding, based on 50-year-old high school/college physics, is that would be about 96 feet/second/second, i.e., three times the acceleration of a normal falling object?

Question: If 3G bumps happen routinely, and a 250 pound weight on the tongue will cause the hitch to fail if the rig hits a 3G bump, how can the hitch be rated for 750 pounds?

[nvs4602]

Originally Posted by poihths

It's a 2018 Coachmen Leprechaun 41FSS.

It has a receiver hitch rated for 7,500 pounds tow weight, 750 pounds tongue weight.

I love what I see online about the Quik Rack Mach 2. But Quickr says to use their system for no more than two bikes on an RV, while their system allows four bikes on an ordinary minivan or SUV.

I see the same thing from other manufacturers as well, such as Hollywood. No more than two bikes on an RV, up to four on ordinary large cars

Why?: What's the key factor here? What am I missing? Rack, bikes and all, call it 250 pounds on a 750 pound hitch. Yes, the bikes will get shaken on a bumpy road, but so also on an SUV/minivan. What don't I see here?

I'm attempting to contact Quickr but they make it sound like they're not going to get back to me very quickly.

Put a receiver on the front for the 3 bikes. Or 1 on front and 2 on back. Problem solved.

[camaraderie]

Might be one of the Swivel Wheel units would be an option for you.
Swivelwheel Carrier / Hauler Transportation Systems

[ependydad]

I'm also looking for the ability to carry 3, if not 4, bikes on the rear of my RV. Just bicycles, not e-bikes. I read a statement from one bike manufacturer (and sadly, I'm having a hard time finding it now) that the oscillations from the bouncing end up fatiguing the metal of the bike rack. Eventually that fatigue ends up causing the bike rack to fail.

Typically, you can find more options for the rear of your toad if you have one. But even then, I've seen a couple of racks literally say- "not for the use on the rear of any towed vehicle".

We tow a little pickup truck (Colorado). I got a tailgate mat and place them so they front wheel is over the tailgate. I'm not sure it's a good solution for e-bikes, though, because it requires a lot of arm strength to lift them into place.

[ependydad]

That all said, if you really want the word from the horse's mouth, why not ask the horse? Contact Quik Rack directly and see if they answer with their reasoning why 2 bikes are OK but more are not?

[poihths]

I have. No response yet.

[poihths]

Originally Posted by nvs4602

Put a receiver on the front for the 3 bikes. Or 1 on front and 2 on back. Problem solved.

Problem solved, but not understood, which is my goal here.