Question Regarding Carrying E-Bikes On Hitch Mounted Rack

[Hollywood25]

To me the weight limits for tongue weight on Cybertrucks is confusing. I do think tesla is being overly cautious with their vertical load limit at 160 lbs.

In the towing section, Tesla states a maximum tongue weight of 1,100 lb

I watched the video by Jerry Rig Everything, where he used an excavator to put downward pressure on the hitch, until it broke at > 10, 000 lbs

My question for the group is do any of you use a hitch mounted rack on your CT and carry 2 or more E-Bikes?

I want to set my mind at ease carrying my bikes on the hitch rack I have.

TYIA!

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[ThatGuyBo]

The manual explains how to calculate the weight pretty well with three examples including a four bike hitch rack at 220lbs total.

https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/cybertruck/en_us/GUID-EBDD7BD9-8942-45CA-8E0D-26B48185DEB9.html

 

[hemiarch]

I carry Ebikes on a kuat rack back there. No issues. Three of them most of the time but I think it could handle 4.
Be aware that supercharging is a giant pain in the ass

 

[Tr23]

running a kuat piston pro x and two 60lb ebikes. they bounce around a little bit down the highway, but never once worried about them falling off or damaging the truck in any way.

+1 on supercharging. It's tough to do. Opt for the pull aside stall if ones available.

 

[REM]

I'll 3rd the sentiment about charging. Nearly every towing oriented charger is taken by some idiot in a model 3 with not a care in the world.

Tesla probably has more than 50 supercharger stall permutations, and some of them are downright hostile to having something hitch loaded lol

 

[GmP]

I use a Thule (Epos 2 903211) 2-bike rack, with two e-bikes. Rack is 40lbs, bikes max 60lbs each. When checking in the “mirror” it wobbles a little bit, but feels very stable.

 

[brur]

To me the weight limits for tongue weight on Cybertrucks is confusing. I do think tesla is being overly cautious with their vertical load limit at 160 lbs.

In the towing section, Tesla states a maximum tongue weight of 1,100 lb

I watched the video by Jerry Rig Everything, where he used an excavator to put downward pressure on the hitch, until it broke at > 10, 000 lbs

My question for the group is do any of you use a hitch mounted rack on your CT and carry 2 or more E-Bikes?

I want to set my mind at ease carrying my bikes on the hitch rack I have.

TYIA!

the only issue with hitch-mounted bikes is the loss of FSD.

 

[BrockN]

The likely reason for the lower weight limit on a hitch mounted bike rack is the torque exerted on the hitch assembly. Torque is force times distance.

When towing a trailer, the torque applied is limited by the length of the lever arm, which is the distance from the ball back to the receiver. Force is applied to the ball.

Bike racks stick out much further, extending the lever arm (distance). Force is applied through the center of gravity of the bikes and the rack combined.

So clearly, weight sticking way out behind the receiver is a different problem. Tesla's recommendation feels conservative to me, but maybe they're allowing for other factors, like backing up and wedging the rack accidentally... never underestimate the stupidity of the masses! ?

 

[mongo]

The likely reason for the lower weight limit on a hitch mounted bike rack is the torque exerted on the hitch assembly. Torque is force times distance.

When towing a trailer, the torque applied is limited by the length of the lever arm, which is the distance from the ball back to the receiver. Force is applied to the ball.

Bike racks stick out much further, extending the lever arm (distance). Force is applied through the center of gravity of the bikes and the rack combined.

So clearly, weight sticking way out behind the receiver is a different problem. Tesla's recommendation feels conservative to me, but maybe they're allowing for other factors, like backing up and wedging the rack accidentally... never underestimate the stupidity of the masses! ?

Can't overlook vertical lever arm either.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

The issue isn’t really the weight. The weight is set low in Tesla specs due to the leverage effect of where the center of gravity and bouncing occurs.

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