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Max Tongue Weight for Rubicon Unlimited JL

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I want to carry a motorcycle on a rack (not a trailer). I know the max tongue weight is 350 lbs, but can I exceed that in this situation.

I want to add an 8 in hitch extension to the motorcycle rack. The center of the motorcycle would be about 28 inches from the center of the factor trailer hitch bolt hole (with the 8 in extension). The rack weighs about 50 lbs and the motorcycle weighs about 350 lbs. Normally, when you add an extension to the hitch it says to reduce the tongue weight in half, which would be 175 lbs. The hitch extension has a threaded bolt to lock it tight so it doesn't rattle. The motorcycle would be tied down to the rack, so nothing would sway back and forth. Will this work? If not, what bad things might happen?

If I remove the spare tire, then the motorcycle would be about 20 inches from the center of the factory trailer hitch bolt hole. I am guessing that I would okay in this situation, because it is a little over the max limit. What I don't know is how much of a difference it makes to have the tongue weight closer to vs further from the factory hitch mount. It seems the closer the tongue weight is to the hitch the more weight you could carry. Any reason why I should not try this?

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Rhinebeck01

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With out explaining, will just say it's a no go.

Buy a small trailer to haul the bike on.
Of course, you will get that guy that posts sure it is aok... That guy doesn't have a clue...
 

Shenanigans

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Carrying a few bicycles on a trail style rack will make the rear end squat to the point where it is extremely noticeable. I also have to use an extension to clear the spare. The extension adds a lot of leverage.
 

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CodyA

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I will let you make this decision but here is some rough math. It is not perfect because I am converting some moment load into point forces among other approximations.

Quick explanation: I believe the JL hitch receiver is 8" deep. So, say that the back is pushing down on the hitch and the front is pushing up. There is 400 lbs at 28" from the hitch pin (I assumed this is centered in the hitch receiver). This gives us the loads below.

As you can see your tongue weight is much greater than 350 lb... ~1600 lbs.

Jeep Wrangler JL Max Tongue Weight for Rubicon Unlimited JL Screen Shot 2020-07-01 at 7.27.59 PM


Make of this information as you wish.
 

Notorious

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Any reason why I should not try this?
Jeepers are known for making poor, last minute decisions.

As others have said, this is a bad idea. How bad? I won’t go into the details as it’s already been done and they are CORRECT.

But now you are going to have to suffer thru a string of horrific puns:

  1. Weight a minute.
  2. You can’t pull this off without a hitch.
  3. Get hooked on Physics and Math
  4. Put the tongue back in cheek.
  5. Get a load of this!
  6. Water you doing?
  7. Your Dixie Wrecked
  8. The force is not with you.
Of course, you will get that guy that posts sure it is aok... That guy doesn't have a clue...
I’d like to be the first person on this thread to have the privilege to give horrible, bad and shameful advice. So here it is:

“Sure, it’s aok!” :CWL:

Now OP, DON’T do it. Seriously, don’t. Bad idea.
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