Aventon foldable rv hitch rack

[Treblemaker]

Looking for a hitch rack for our 2 Aventon e-bikes, 62 lbs each. Our local bike shop recommends the Aventon. Looks a lot like the Swagman. Says RV rated, but when I called the company no one could say for sure if it is compatible with a bumper pull travel trailer. Reviews seem fine but there are not a lot of them out there to read. Weight limit is 77 lbs/bike, hitch weighs 40 lbs. We plan to beef up our rear weight capacity by having a local welder add reinforcements similar to Jim’s set up with the extra receivers. Any advice appreciated!

Aventon Hitch Rack: Convenient and Secure Ebike Transportation

Experience convenience and security with the Aventon Hitch Rack, equipped with a quick hook adjusting system. Our rack ensures a secure hold on your bike, thanks to its rapid height adjustment with quick pins and a keyed safety system. Designed to fit most vehicles, our rack features a 2" hitch...

www.aventon.com

 

[Treblemaker]

Heard back from Aventon. They said yes, bumper pull is fine. But after further consideration, I am going with the tried and true 1Up Super Duty and having our welder add additional braces on our 21 as seen in other posts.

 

[Red-ESC]

Heard back from Aventon. They said yes, bumper pull is fine. But after further consideration, I am going with the tried and true 1Up Super Duty and having our welder add additional braces on our 21 as seen in other posts.

Those are heavy bikes. I have started removing my battery from my bike when transporting on our Escape 19 rear bumper. It makes it easier to load, reduces weight stress, lowers risk of weather exposure and makes it less desirable to theft. I usually put it under the rear seat of the truck.

 

[Treblemaker]

Agreed! We also remove the batteries and cover the battery compartment. Yes, they are heavy-but we initially needed folding bikes, which tend to be heavier. We used to carry them in bins in the camper, but as we age that is getting harder to manage! We got the ramp with the 1Up, which helps a lot.

 

[BSwendsen]

We removed our spare tire rack and added the Swagman RV rated bike rack for our Aventon e-bikes. As others have said, remove batteries, cover the opening where the batteries go and we cover the bikes. We also added an anti-rattle device between the rack and hitch on the back of the trailer. Almost 10,000 miles everything riding fine. https://a.co/d/gKLeoob

 

[ColoradoSwany]

With that kind of weight hanging off the back end, I would think some serious weight re-distribution may be needed in order to have sufficient tongue weight. That’s assuming you have something other than a 5.0.

 

[jjdeluca]

Heard back from Aventon. They said yes, bumper pull is fine. But after further consideration, I am going with the tried and true 1Up Super Duty and having our welder add additional braces on our 21 as seen in other posts.

When we were shopping for an e-bike rack last year for our 5.0, I called Aventon & was also told that their rack was fine on a travel trailer or 5th wheel. However when I asked for written documentation stating that, they couldn't provide any.
We ended up with the Hollywood RV Rider rack, which is specifically rated for 5th wheel trailers (but not bumper pulls).

 

[BSwendsen]

With that kind of weight hanging off the back end, I would think some serious weight re-distribution may be needed in order to have sufficient tongue weight. That’s assuming you have something other than a 5.0.

We have a 21C, moved the spare to under the tongue.

 

[edlynnrich]

How do you lift the spare in place? I’ve been thinking about moving our spare forward like that but I’m unsure how to mount it.

 

[BSwendsen]

Lippert spare tire winch. Had our local trailer guy fab a bracket and welded the winch in place.

https://www.etrailer.com/Spare-Tire-Mount/Lippert/LC159056.html

 

[huskersteffy]

I saw another post on this forum (can't find it now.... help?) where the winch was mounted to the wood inside of the bottom front storage box. Seems like a good DYI solution since I can't weld. I would be interested in make / model of winch and what mod's (if any) are needed to make it work with a 1/2" mechanic's ratchet or similar to raise/lower the tire.

And, there is the challenge of cutting off the tire holder so you can thread it through a hole in the bottom of the storage box. You'd have find a good method of crimping the cable back together or reattaching it to the tire holder. Also, what about reinforcing the hole so it doesn't crack the storage box fiberglass due to continued stress from the hanging tire. The storage box mount may have to beefed up as well since I've read on this forum its just attached to the frame with some self-tapping screws.

One negative is you'd lose some storage capacity of the box.

Now that I've thought about all this, maybe a welded bracket is the best and simplest after all

 

[Ron in BC]

I saw another post on this forum (can't find it now.... help?) where the winch was mounted to the wood inside of the bottom front storage box.

Now that I've thought about all this, maybe a welded bracket is the best and simplest after all

70# off the rear and moved forward goes a long way to negating the effects of heavier bikes on the rear.

That'd be my posts about mounting the winch inside the tongue box. It's actually quite easy to do. Unfortunately my computer with the photos is many thousands of miles away so I can't post detail photos. The bottom of the tongue box is reinforced with plywood and there's no problem supporting the tire weight. No reinforcing is necessary.

A friend installed the Lippert winch on his 17B and I don't recall him having to weld anything. I think that he just ran a couple of pieces of angle iron across and attached them to the existing flanges for the tongue box.

Ron

 

[edlynnrich]

Lippert spare tire winch. Had our local trailer guy fab a bracket and welded the winch in place.

https://www.etrailer.com/Spare-Tire-Mount/Lippert/LC159056.html

Thanks for your reply. I had looked at the lippert winch but I wasn’t sure if there was enough clearance. Im going to go that route now that I know it’s doable.