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Oliver Bicycle Rack and weight offset


Trainman

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We ordered our new Elite II with the 1.25" receiver rack and just wondering how much weight on the average will it add to the rear of the trailer, plus a two bike bicycle rack, and two bicycles ( 7-speed, 26", Cruiser style bikes ). Approximately what do you think the weight will be and will I have to add that much weight to the tongue end of the trailer to keep the weight balanced to that 10/15% of the trailer weight. I might guess the total weight to be 125 lbs. , but that just guessing, what do you think from your experiences.

 

 

 

trainman

2019 RAM 1500, 5.7 Hemi, 4X4, Crew Cab, 5'7" bed, Towing Package, 3.92 Gears.

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You should not have to add any weight up front.  That amount of rear weight probably won't make over 60 pounds difference on the tongue.

Steve, Tali and our dog Rocky plus our beloved Storm, Maggie, Lucy and Reacher (all waiting at the Rainbow Bridge)

2008 Legacy Elite I - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #026 | 2014 Legacy Elite II - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #050 | 2022 Silverado High Country 3500HD SRW Diesel 4x4 

 

             801469912_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-I.jpg.26814499292ab76ee55b889b69ad3ef0.jpg1226003278_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-H.jpg.dc46129cb4967a7fd2531b16699e9e45.jpg

 

 

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I agree, look at the “moment arms”. The hitch ball is at 16’ from the centerline between the two axles. The rear load will be about 9 feet back from that C/L. So there is roughly a less than 2 to 1 relationship. Adding 125 lbs at that rear location “should” lighten the front by say 55 or 60 lbs.

 

OTH removing that much weight from the front cargo tray area and then placing it in the back has a MUCH more pronounced effect on tongue weight. As a test I removed my cargo basket and the full jerry cans (720 pounds TW !) and stacked 170 pounds of sandbags on the rear bumper. That is not as far back as a set of bikes but close enough. The new TW was 510 pounds. Pretty dramatic difference, eh?

 

Oliver Trailers is very happy to sell the ELITE II with standard propane bottles (20 pounds lighter than the optional big ones) and no cargo tray, AND with the rear bike rack. They are pretty confident that the trailer will be stable with that setup. While they recommend 10% tongue weight, many trailers are way less than that and NOBODY has ever complained about sway or instability.

 

So don’t worry about loading down the tongue to compensate for bikes, it just isn’t necessary. You might consider always towing with a full fresh tank. It adds a lot of stabilzing mass down low. But if you do need to carry extra gear like a generator, it must go up front on the tongue... got one of these yet? .... https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B007REJTGI/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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