New to BT Cruiser

[JDSafeman]

Super excited about our new BT Cruiser 5240. I have been reading through this forum for weeks and it has been very helpful in making our choice.
I have already added Sumo Springs which greatly reduced body roll and sway.
Curious to know if anyone has any advice on carrying a small motorcycle on a hitch mount rack. Currently looking at bikes less than 300lb and the hitch weighs about 50lb.
Thanks

 

[Leisure Time Larry]

Awesome! Welcome, the 5240 looks like a sweet model. The first thing I'd do is check inside the cabinets and such and look for any stickers or documentation that provides modified hitch ratings from Gulf Stream. Mine was modified. The reason is that the extended frame goes so far past the rear axle that the tongue weight has extra leverage to make the front end lighten up and affect the handling. Also, the trailer weight was modified to fit within the GCWR of the vehicle. You can't just go by the bolted on hitch ratings if the manufacturer places stricter ratings.

I personally went with a small enclosed trailer for my motorcycles. It's nice to have a mobile garage.

Good luck, and happy camping!

 

[JDSafeman]

Leisure Time Larry,
Thanks for the reply. You are correct, extended frame and updated Weight sticker!
Found it in the kitchen cabinet. The hitch is rated 7500lbs and 750lbs tongue weight.
Doing the math with the updated sticker it looks like the tow limit is 5000lbs with max tongue weight of 500lbs.

 

[Just two]

Larry do you have pictures of your trailer setup? What is the length?

 

[JDSafeman]

Honda attached.


After getting CAT Scale weight we knew that we could safely carry a small scooter. Easy to load and rides well.

 

[Leisure Time Larry]

Larry do you have pictures of your trailer setup? What is the length?

My 6x12' trailer and 5211 is 38' total. Pics in album on my profile page.

 

[Just two]

LTLarry nice setup. Notice you have the sliding windows, they are much better than the frameless windows that come on the new BT Cruisers.

 

[Just two]

JDSafeman nice setup with the scooter. Must be nice to not have to break camp to get around. Does the extra weight in the back cause a scraping problem?
Did you upgrade your suspension?

 

[JDSafeman]

The Honda PCX weighs 293 pounds. Calculations show that it adds just under 500 pounds to the rear axle. I had the unit weighed and had plenty of capacity on the rear axle but I did add Sumo Springs.
Measuring at the hitch receiver the overall drop with the Honda loaded is only a half inch. Can't tell any difference in overall handling.

 

[Just two]

Thank you for the information