Has anybody put a motorcycle rack on the bumper of their escape?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by LBaranyai

My husband has towed our 17' Escape with a motorbike on back...
... most importantly, his enduro motor bike is small - it's only about 180 pounds. For our tow vehicle, it works out great.

In addition to the moderate bike weight (compared to other motorcycles), this is the ideal Escape model (other than the 5.0) for this load configuration.

The proportion of trailer length behind the axle versus in front of it is lower for the 17 than other models, so the length of lever arm for the mass of the bike to lift the tongue and make the trailer sway is low, compared to the length of lever arm to the coupler for the tug to support and control the trailer. This is why the 17 has the battery on the bumper rather than the tongue - for balance in what otherwise be an excessively tongue-heavy configuration. In this case, it's the 17B which is presumably more front-heavy to start with than the 17A.

For example using guesses for dimensions, if the distance from bike centre to axle is six feet, and it is 12 feet from axle to coupler, the 180 pound bike will reduce the tongue weight by 90 pounds. That's significant, but with an Escape15 the distances might be 6 feet and 10 feet (rear 60% of front) and that would mean 108 pounds off the tongue.

For tandem-axle trailers (the 19, the 21, and soon the new 5.0) the effective axle location is midway between the wheel centres. Visually, the tail of a 19 or 21 doesn't look so long, but it is not just the body behind the wheel opening that matters.

An additional factor in is that all Escape models use the same size steel tubing for the raised rear frame section (under the dinette floor), so there will be fewer bending issues if that section is shorter. The 17 appears to be as short as the 15, the 21 looks longer, and I'm not sure about the 19.

[NorTexCamper]

… and here's a nice bike to consider --> 2014 Grom Overview - Honda Powersports

[cpaharley2008]

Here is my bike I carry...Adventurer 12-Speed Folding Bike - Four Corners Sourcing 70091 - Folding Bikes - Camping World

[amirie]

Jim--we have folding bikes to---they travel in the back of the Ford Escape!

[nealmccarter]

We plan on taking our Bike Friday tandem when we travel.

[cpaharley2008]

sweet...

[Jim Bennett]

Interesting the variety of bikes that people bring, from motorized, to folding to tandem. I have friends that bring along their electric assist bikes.

I opt for a mountain bike though, as my preferred riding is on trails. The one I mostly take has tires that have a smooth ridge in the middle for streets, but knobbies to the sides for traction when blasting on trails.

[cpaharley2008]

As a child, mountain bikes were unheard of, so we would take a lamp cord and wrap it around our tires to give us "extra" gripping in mud or snow. Similar to chains on a car which everyone used back then, no such thing as snow tires or all season tires, even whitewalls were a novelty.

[daveandsandyclink]

Others might be thinking this but afraid to post it. Light weight trailers are not built and designed to carry heavy weight on the rear end. I get cold chills down my back thinking about someone towing a small trailer down the road with near negative weight on their trailer tongue. Should you make a false couple or start your trailer in a violent sway, you are risking life and rig. And perhaps someone innocently traveling in your path. Please be careful with this idea.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by daveandsandyclink

Light weight trailers are not built and designed to carry heavy weight on the rear end. I get cold chills down my back thinking about someone towing a small trailer down the road with near negative weight on their trailer tongue...
Please be careful with this idea.

Absolutely... but the situation can be understood and problems avoided or minimized -or the whole idea abandoned before trying it if it is not going to work out well - which is the reason for my extended discussion of LBaranyai's rig.

• The effect on tongue weight of load on the back can be calculated to make sure it is not too much.
• Massive objects can potentially be relocated (such as the battery of a 17 from rear bumper to front).
• Even with unchanged tongue weight, a trailer with mass distributed toward the extreme ends is less stable than one with the same mass concentrated toward the middle.

The issues are the same regardless of trailer size, but the load which can be tolerated is proportionate - a bicycle could trigger problems that a larger trailer might have with a motorcycle.

[kirkman]

Here's two options.


https://freedomhauler.com/


The ultimate single wheel trailer system.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by kirkman

The ultimate single wheel trailer system.

BUT, read this:
"Swivelwheel Products are NOT Compatible with Tag Behind Trailers, They are However Compatible with Fifth Wheel Trailers that are 30+FT in Length and have a "Dry" or "Empty" Weight Rating of At least 10,000Lbs."

[Chama]

I called the company to ask about towing a swivel wheel trailer on the hitch behind our E21. This would be so that we can put one of our recumbent trikes on the back of the trailer and one of them on the toneau cover when we travel. The guy at the company said "we do not recommend that" but also, "it would probably work ok because the trike weights just 50 pounds". I have been unable to find a trike rack tha can be installed on the hitch on the back of the trailer. Hitchrider and Hollywood racks both have prohibitions agains putting their rack with a trike on it on the back of a tow behind travel trailer. I know people do this all the time without problems so I am still looking for a solution to my trike problem. Swivel wheel trailer was an option but now they say, no go.

[cpaharley2008]

Sometimes you have to make a choice......

[Dcboyd]

Is the rear frame bumper a 2 x 4” steel tube?