Hauling bikes while towing boat?

[Ronnie]

There is a member here, possibly more than one, that had a trailer extension which attached to one or two trailer receivers that he had welded on to the rear of his boat trailer. He or they used it carry his superjet/standup jet ski (around 350 lbs) to the water with his boat. I saw another rig on the road one day on which the tongue of the trailer may have been extended since on one side of it was a seadoo gtx/three person jet ski (about 600 lbs.).

I think a single center mounted hitch/receiver woth a standard rack would be sufficient for up to four bicycles but would go with two receivers and a custom built rack if I was going to bring one or more electric bicycles.

 

[bobholthaus]

I’m taking it to them tomorrow. I’m thinking it last probably 300 lbs max, maybe 250, but I am concerned about the tongue weight. Since the day I bought the boat, it trailers perfectly at 75 mph with not a single wag of its tail. I hate to upset that distribution. I figure that if needed, I can move the front crank wheel forward a little to get the boat to move forward on the bunks. I’m hoping that’s not needed. I’ll post pics when I finally decide what to do. Thanks.

 

[Ronnie]

If needed you should just be able to move the bow stop forward a few inches. If you have the time you may want to get your rig on a scale to determine the current actual tongue weight before you add a bike trailer hitch and bikes to the back of the boat trailer.

 

[Cambo]

I have used on of these in front of the winch bolted to the trailer front area and then put a regular bike rack in this . Yes weight is a concern I was hauling rode bikes so they are light . For down hill mountain biking I put two enduro mountain bikes in the boat using tie down straps from my dirt bikes and also use the ropes from the boat tied to the cleats, interior handle and wind shield supports four strap points on each bike. They don’t move at all and are protected from rain with the cover. Somone mentioned grease just keep the chain semi clean and be carful. About 8 trips like this no issues

 

[2kwik4u]

Someone mentioned grease just keep the chain semi clean and be careful. About 8 trips like this no issues

I'll chime in and second this thought.

We use our boat as a utility trailer when we go camping. Bikes, cornhole boards, coolers, toolboxes, etc all go in the boat when the SUV fills up. A cheap canvas drop cloth will cover a good deal of the interior, and protect from debris on the bikes, as well as scuffs/scratches. Don't overthink it, you're towing a big bathtub with a cover on it. Lots of storage volume in there, and it's dead simple to do.

I don't have the most expensive bikes, but they aren't huffy's either. I have no problem just laying them down and nesting them in the boat for a weekend trip.

 

[bobholthaus]

I decided to forgo any custom receiver on the trailer. The welder wanted $1000 to do it, and it would have been hokey at best. So I talked my dad into taking my 4 bike rack behind the Jeep that he flat tows; they left this morning. See pics: the rack is about half the length of the Jeep TJ while hauling 4 bikes!! It weighs 98 lbs without bikes; it’s a real pain to deal with unless you have 2 people (Yakima 4 bike unit rated for 200 lbs of bikes, so 300 lbs total potential hanging off the hitch receiver!)

 

[2kwik4u]

I decided to forgo any custom receiver on the trailer. The welder wanted $1000 to do it, and it would have been hokey at best. So I talked my dad into taking my 4 bike rack behind the Jeep that he flat tows; they left this morning. See pics: the rack is about half the length of the Jeep TJ while hauling 4 bikes!! It weighs 98 lbs without bikes; it’s a real pain to deal with unless you have 2 people.

Love the creativity here. Quite the interesting land train you have going on there.

 

[bobholthaus]

Love the creativity here. Quite the interesting land train you have going on there.

Ha, that’s my dad! This will be me next week, with 2 more bikes on the roof of that Yukon (which is a Duramax, and towed the boat on my shake down run this weekend without issue (the Yukon is 3 weeks old). Went to the CAT scale; tongue weight is exactly at 10%):

 

[Ronnie]

Another option to consider: a front hitch and bike rack. I usually look at etrailer.com for a brand name model built specificly for my tow vehicle. I don’t think I’ve paid over $200 for one and they come with all hardware and special tools to get the bolts into the frame/chassis.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Strap them to the top of the tower with a bike rack. I have seen someone do that. Had two bikes. (Not that I thought it was smart). Also seen luggage rack and kayaks on the top of the tower.

 

[bobholthaus]

Strap them to the top of the tower with a bike rack. I have seen someone do that. Had two bikes. (Not that I thought it was smart). Also seen luggage rack and kayaks on the top of the tower.

Oh I considered it! I usually have the hard bimini up there (hard frame with cloth), so I didn’t want to drill any more holes other than the two I had to to put a temporary anchor light up there. If we traveled more with our bikes than we do, I would have considered it. But damn, they’d be WAY up there!!