I originally posted this a couple of days ago on the Kawasaki site, but no one has had any experience. I have this receiver hitch hauler to take my quad out west hunting, so I thought I would post it here. Any ideas?


Has anyone gotten any experience with a receiver mounted ATV hauler? You know the kind that slips into the receiver hitch on your truck and has no wheels? I have seen several companies that make them now (search the net) and they vary from tilting models, to models with ramps, to one that actually has an electronic lift that drops the hauler to the ground and then after you drive on, it raises up 18 inches. Most of these advertise a weight limit of 750 to 1000 lbs.

I thought this looked like a good idea to haul my 650 out west without having to worry about pulling a trailer, flat trailer tires, fryed wheel bearings, etc. My brother and I did a little research and, being cheap, ended up building one. I used it for the first time on Sunday bringing the 650 home from IA. The thing rode fine, and my truck got 19.3 mpg with the receiver hauler instead of the 15 or so I get when I pull my trailer. (less rolling resistance and wind resistance)

The only disconcerting thing about the hauler is how it allows the ATV to bounce up and down, mostly at slower speeds while hitting city bumps. On highways, it doesn't react that was as much. We used a thick wall 2" square tubing for the center main frame (which I believe all the manufactured ones use as well) which I don't believe will bend, but it is 4.5 feet out beyond the back of the truck and so it will flex a bit. Does anyone have a factory made one? Do they flex as well? Even though I have an F350 Powerstroke, with a factory tow package, I was a bit concerned about the weight. I called one of the manufacturers and they say that they have mounted theirs on a 1/2 ton Supercrew, but that it works better on a 3/4 or 1 ton. When we built ours, we put the 2" tube in the receiver and then put about 600 lbs on it and measured how much it dropped. It went down about 4.5 inches, so we V-cut the 2" tube, bent it up to compensate for the drop, and then welded the tube and put a reinforcing collar over the shaft. Without the ATV on the hauler, (and even with it on) the ATV sits at an angle, but the rear is raised up enough that I should be able to go through a certain amount of ditches or washes without it hitting.

Even with my F350, my hitch is rated for a lot of weight, but with a load distributing hitch. I am putting a reinforcing strap around the end of my receiver to support the rear end and bolting it to the bumper, although I am really not to concerned that the hitch won't handle it. If they mount these things on 1/2 tons, my 1 ton should be able to hold it.

I was just looking for any other experiences with these types of haulers, if anyone has noticed the bouncing, and other experiences. Actually, if it wasn't for the bouncing, I wouldn't know it was back there on my truck. I hauled the 220 Bayou under the topper with a bunch of other stuff crammed in there, and the 650 on the receiver hauler, and the truck was not impacted at all. Mileage and handling were good and the front end was not light at all. Just wondering if anyone else has tried these things?

 

I've seen 'em, but I'm not sold on them yet. I looked at buying one for my f-150, but I was worried about the bouncing. granted, my blaster only wieghs 320 full of fuel, but i wasn't feeling too brave about it. I also thought about welding one up because I'm cheap too. I think its gonna bounce unless you add another reciever sleeve on either side of the existing one on your truck and add a couple more on your hauler. your bounce isn't in your hauler or the truck, its the lack of a sturdy connection between the two. I'd pull a trailer or put it in my truck, but that's just me.

- the kid[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

I have a SD F250 and I'm trying to decide the same thing. I saw a hitch-mounted carrier a while back at he place I ride that had a piece of chain that went from the back corner of the carrier to the little "thingies" that your tailgate latches to when closed. It looked like someone had added them to the hauler after they got it to keep it from bouncing around as much.

Something to think about....


Brad

 

I have another support on the carrier. Some of the commercially made ones have a device they attach to the receiver to stop the side to side sway caused by the fact that the carriers never fit completely snug in your reciever, and you have weight out both ends which allows the "flopping". To deal with this, we took a 4in drop receiver ball mount (I had one) and slid it into the side of the Ford reciever hitch. Ford's hitch on the Super Duty's has the receiver welded to a piece of square tubing running between the frame rail mounts. The sides of this tubing are open, and we just stuffed the reciever mount into the opening on the passenger side. We then welded a big piece of angle iron onto the reciever ball mount at the correct angle to allow it to go out the back of the truck, under the bumper, and bolted it to the ATV carrier near the outside corner. This really firms up the carrier, no side to side flop at all. The bolt holds this contraption in place, you don't need to pin the ball mount into the hitch tube on the truck.

When I hauled the 650 back from Iowa (200 miles) the only flopping was up and down when I hit a big bump, mainly going slow. It was not as bad at highway speeds. Hitting these bumps would cause the back of the carrier to bounce up and down about 2 inches or so.

After really looking at the Ford hitch, and talking to my salesman, and a hitch place, I have found out that even though I have a hell of a truck, a Ford F350 Powerstroke 4x4, Ford puts a crappy hitch on them. The truck will pull, and the hitch will haul, 12,500 lbs and 1250 tongue weight, but only with an equilizer hitch. Without that, it will only pull 5000 with 500 lbs of tongue weight. Most of My flop or bounce was coming from the reciever part of the hitch bouncing up and down under the 750 lbs or so.

I had two options, either put on a class V hitch, which are rated for 1000 to 1400 lbs of tongue weight, or to have my factory hitch beefed up. As I have the support piece fitted to the factory hitch, I opted to have the factory hitch beefed up to where it will take 1200 lbs of tongue weight without an equilizer hitch. There should be no problems now.

I really like the reciever carrier. I have a topper, and when I haul two ATV's, I put the 220 under the topper, but the 650 will not fit. I have a trailer, but it is heavy duty and really cuts down fuel economy. I don't want to worry about spare tires or bearings for the trailer, so hence the reciever carrier. I am heading to Colorado with it on October 9th, so I will post how it worked when I return from my hunting trip.

By the way, I bought a set of lights, the 2" main tube, and a set of wheel stops to bolt to the trailer to block the front wheels of the ATV, and I think I have about $85.00 in the whole setup.

 

I decided to put the liability in somebody elses hands. I think my hitch will break before the rack does. If the rack does shouldn't the manufacturer be liable???

 

Yes, I would think that the manufacturer would be liable if the rack breaks, but in this case, the manufacturer is my brother and I. Most of the commercially manufacturered racks have a weight rating of 750, 800 or 1000 lbs, which is fine for my ATV, but the stock Ford hitch only holds 500 lbs tongue weight. If I used the stock hitch, and it broke, the carrier manufacturer would not be liable, as I was over loading my hitch. If I put a Class V hitch on my truck, or have my stock truck beefed up to Class V ratings by a hitch company, (1200 to 1400 lbs tongue weight) and I am only hauling about 750 in the ATV and the rack, I will be way below acceptable ratings and I should be OK, nothing should break. Or at least that is the plan.

 

cheiftam- i forgot to tell you about the hitch on the fords, we put a class v under mom's f-250 because after we used it for a while, it got some tweekage, but they probabally never planned on people like me using it. we're hell on cheap stuff, that's why we usually build our own.

I thought about something like the chains to reduce vertical movement, but if you put it on the tailgate latches, it could bend them and your tailgate wouldn't latch. I built a load bar to go behind my toolbox w/tiedown loops, maybe you could make something like that for the chains to hook on to in the back. but after all of this work, I'd just pull a little 8ft trailer!

-the kid[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

That is what I found out about the Ford hitch too. Mine started to move a bit, but I had it beefed up by a hitch manufacturer this morning, it is now to Class V specs. I don't believe I will have any problem with it now.

As for the chains, I don't think I will need them. I have the extra brace on the side, which makes for a very secure platform. I still might have a little up and down movement over big bumps, but at least it won't be in the hitch, just the 2" main tube for the carrier. I don't think I will bend it, but it might flex a bit and that is probably OK. With the weight, it is to be expected. At least I won't have to worry about axle bearings, flat tires or the extra drag of a trailer. I know I will see increased fuel economy.

I leave next Wednesday for Colorado and my elk trip, I'll let you know how it worked when I get back!