Fat tire e bike and bike rack 48 inches from the hitch...

[JAG1]

Want to know what you all think since I have a truck camper that overhangs out the back, plus folding steps putting it out even further Then the swing out bracket required another 8 inches of clearance to swing around the corner. So 48 inches is to the center of the fat tire rack. Bike weights 57 lbs w/o the battery and the swing bracket and rack weight around 100 lbs. So only 160 pounds but, it's out there 4 feet!. Do I have a serious situation and is there a special brace I can get on there to rectify the issue? Thanks in advance.

[Tractorman]

@JAG1, if you haven't done so already, I would independently weigh the front axle and rear axle of your truck empty.  Record the weights and keep them somewhere accessible.   Then load your camper and gear and weigh the truck again.  Do this before you make any modifications to the rear of the truck / camper.  If the front axle is too light / heavy, then redistribute your gear to get the front axle weight where it should be. 

 

If / when you make your modification, then re-weigh the truck with the camper and gear loaded.  Figure out where to place gear to get the proper amount of weight back onto the front axle.

 

Years ago, I used to own a slide-in truck camper.  It weighed approximately 3,500 lbs with water, propane, and gear.

 

My truck empty with driver and tonneau cover:

 

FA - 4,400 lbs

RA - 3,050 lbs

        7,450 lbs total

 

Truck with slide-in camper, water, propane, gear, and two people:

 

FA -  4,850 lbs

RA -  6,150 lbs

        11,000 lbs total

 

What was important to me was ensuring that I gained some weight on the front axle when the camper and gear were loaded.  In my case the front axle gained 450 lbs.  The gross weight rating for the front axle is 5,200 lbs.  The 4,850 lbs on the front axle worked well for me and fell in about mid-way between the empty weight and the gross weight rating of the axle.

 

Weighing the truck before and after is the only way to know how the weight is distributed on the axles.  This is especially important to know for high center of gravity loads. 

 

- John

[Max Tune]

Mount the bike on front of truck.

[Tractorman]

I have a feeling that he has considered that option, but doesn't want the bike mounted there.

 

- John

[Max Tune]

I'm not an engineer, but I'm sure there's a formula for how much leverage will be created by 160lbs on a 4 foot lever when hitting bumps/dips in roads at speed. Not to mention hitting the ground on certain entrances and exits.

[JAG1]

I will take all your suggestions into consideration. The old bike rack held two regular bicycles out there at 39 inches without issue but, now that it's 48 inches, even with the single aluminum bike rack, it looks far. I need to go weight it like John says to see that much anyway. Also watch how the bike reacts over bumps for a test run. Mike Nelson has some kind of tensioners added to his trailer hitch and watched how well they worked when tightened.

[IBMobile]

How about a bike rack at the front of the truck.

https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/question-of-the-week/bike-solutions-for-truck-campers/

[JAG1]

24 minutes ago, IBMobile said:

How about a bike rack at the front of the truck.

https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/question-of-the-week/bike-solutions-for-truck-campers/

I like my e bike in the rear and so my idea is to get the superhitch just like in the Truck camper Article you provided. That was a good read, thanks Dan'l.

 

As far as weight distribution John, I will weight it out. I do have the water tank (40 Gallon tank) in the front of the bed which helps and store many items in the cab over along with a heavier Queen Mattress that I had made to fit without the usual factory gaps. I also carry a good hydralic Jack in the cabover step up near the front. Everything helps and adds up, just like the can goods go in a forward cabinet down low. All the heavier items go down low as a rule

 

[JAG1]

Something I found about leverage, just like having a four foot extension on a torque wrench or breaker bar, says a 200 lb force with 4 ft. of extension places 4 times the amount of force (800 lbs) at the pivot point on the end. So our class 2 hitches rated for 1800 lbs tongue weight, divided by 4 is 450. So I am less than half that with 200 lbs out there. I am thinking of not spending for a superhitch extension but, putting some chains and turn buckles to stop any sway side to side. It would hold tight anyway.

[Tractorman]

My concern would not be the hitch rating.   It would be the unweighting of the front axle.   Your modified load may be 4 feet behind the hitch, but it is closer to 7 feet behind the rear axle.  The rear axle is the fulcrum.  This is why weighing the truck before and after the modification is important.  Need to ensure that the proper weight is on the front axle.

 

- John

Edited August 8, 2023 by Tractorman

[JAG1]

Now I see your reasoning John. Thank you, I do have the before weights written down in my map book, have to find where I wrote it down in there.

[Mopar1973Man]

@Tractorman is correct I'm typically rolling my trucks over the scales and checking weights and see how the weight is on the axles. 

 

Here is a good example of Thor. I was down in Parma ID doing work down there and saw a open truck scale and stopped in and scaled the truck for both front and rear axles. This scale is down in Nyssa OR. I was stopping in to the local NAPA for parts but since the scale was right on the main road why not?

 

Front Axle

 

Rear Axle

 

4,900 pounds + 4,150 pounds = 9,050 pounds total on Thor between front and rear axles. 

[JAG1]

On 8/8/2023 at 9:31 AM, Mopar1973Man said:

@Tractorman is correct I'm typically rolling my trucks over the scales and checking weights and see how the weight is on the axles. 

 

Here is a good example of Thor. I was down in Parma ID doing work down there and saw a open truck scale and stopped in and scaled the truck for both front and rear axles. This scale is down in Nyssa OR. I was stopping in to the local NAPA for parts but since the scale was right on the main road why not?

 

 

 

4,900 pounds + 4,150 pounds = 9,050 pounds total on Thor between front and rear axles. 

Mike you got to watch out for women that use those scales... I got my ash pounded when I made a comment!