Bicycle hitch

[boje]

I own a 2009 3400 RL. Is there a bicycle hitch that slips into the receiver on this unit?

[tim43]

There are many out there. You just have to get one that will fit into a one inch receiver on your 3400. Most hitches will fit the one inch receiver and have an adapter which enables you to use them with a two inch receiver. Do a search here on the forum for bicycle racks.

[Art-n-Marge]

There are 2, 3, or 4 bike carriers that will fit into the receiver and as tim43 mentioned you will need to know the size of the receiver for your Monty to determine if you need an adapter for the bike carrier you select. The best thing to do is match the receiver to the bike carrier to avoid the adapter and save some weight. There will probably be a maximum weight capacity for that receiver, so please check your manual.

[KTManiac]

quote:Originally posted by tim43

There are many out there. You just have to get one that will fit into a one inch receiver on your 3400. Most hitches will fit the one inch receiver and have an adapter which enables you to use them with a two inch receiver. Do a search here on the forum for bicycle racks.

That's all good and everything, except it's a 1-1/4" receiver, not one inch.

[KathyandDave]

The hitch receiver on our 2009 3400RL accepts 1-1/4" tube, which is standard for bike racks that fit small cars. We have been using it for a year with poor results, since it bounces the bikes to the point of damaging them and the pins in the rack assembly. The main reason is that the hitch receiver's crossbar is too long and acts as a torsion rod suspension from a 1967 Chrysler. So, here are some thoughts: As Art says, avoid adapters, because they add length to the rack assembly, which amplifies the bouncing; make sure the tubes fit tightly within each other - the hitch receiver makes this difficult because they have welded a lip around the end (if you can fit a couple of shims inside the tube, this helps); the stabilizing bracket sold at the hitch store doesn't help!
This coming weekend, we will be visiting our expert welder friend and installing some extra steel to stabilize the existing hitch receiver.

[RickW]

When I was searching for a Bike Rack for our 3400, I ended up with one like this

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-br2b~S64650.htm

Try to avoid an adapter. When I was searching for the bike rake I read that the adapter from 1.25" to 2" will reduce the carrying capacity of your hitch. I read this on several sites that were selling the adapter. I had to look harder to find a rack that I liked that offered the 1.25" hitch but they are there.

I only have had the bicycles on the Monty for about 1k miles. No problems.

[KathyandDave]

What a great-looking product!

[Emmel]

We have used our bike rack on our new Montana. One of the most important things you need to do is to get rid of as much movement as possible. I use straps and heavy duty bungee cords to secure the bikes so they bounce very little.
My rack came from our local dealer and is a Reese two bike rack. It is a 1&1/4 inch, not 2in adapted down. Cost was around $139. Remember, the more weight back there, the more bounce!

[KathyandDave]

Ours is a 4-bike Yakima rack. For a while, I used bungees to secure everything but, aside from all the extra work, it didn't prevent the bikes from rubbing together, causing damage. Now, I put the bikes in positions 1 and 4 on the rack, facing left and right, and turn the front wheels 90 degrees so they hold the bikes away from each other and the only contact is rubber. This works well and the bungee work is minimal.

[tim43]

quote:Originally posted by RickW

When I was searching for a Bike Rack for our 3400, I ended up with one like this

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-br2b~S64650.htm

The above is almost identical to the one I got from Cabelas and it sure works well. I do move the handlebars of the bike closest to the rear cap so they are parallel to the bike frame to avoid any possible contact with the rear of the 5er.

[KathyandDave]

We have stabilized the torquing of the hitch receiver by the bike rack. Here is a link to the procedure:
http://s513.photobucket.com/albums/t...%20stabilizer/
The OEM hitch receiver is fastened to the cheeks by 4 bolts each cheek. The cheeks are welded to the frame. We undid the bolts, took the receiver off the Monty, added the 1.5" members and front cheeks, painted, then reattached to the Monty using the OEM points in the back and four new self-drilling screws further forward. The whole frame is lightweight and no welding was done to the frame.
The team was: Keith the fabricator (holding the beer); Steve the millwright (holding the bike hitch up); Don (Wiarton Willy of the MOC) the helping hands; and Dave the engineer.