Other Hitch mount ski carriers?

makejetskiinggreatagain

makejetskiinggreatagain

Brandon
I'm thinking about getting a hitch mount jetski carrier for the sole reason of saving space in my one car garage, so my wife can still keep her car in there. My only concern is that my SUV has the spare tire attached to the lift gate so i think whatever carrier i get will have to be extended another 12" from my bumper. Have any of you dealt with this? is there any chance of my hitch/the hitch carrier failing? i know the ski is only 300 lbs but that seems like a lot when its dangling like 2' from the hitch lol. what carrier would you all recommend? OR should i just go with the trailer???


note***** Im not leaving it on the hitch carrier 24/7. Its just easier to store a hitch carrier in the garage and put the ski on a stand than to store a 12' trailer.
 
Last edited:
makejetskiinggreatagain

makejetskiinggreatagain

Brandon
those are awesome! i guess my only worry now is whether or not my hitch will fail... has anyone heard of this happening?? my car is pretty old...1988. and that hitch has been on there since day 1
 
Last edited:
djraider700

djraider700

lol wut?
Location
South Jersey
Find out the tongue weight of your specific hitch. Most decent hitches are about 500lb. A very solid mount to the frame is a must. If your SUV is old, make sure there is no rust and that it is in good condition
 
H

Half flip95

Formerly pondracer95
Location
Lake Havasu City AZ
you're going to store your ski on the back of your SUV?

all the time? like that's where I keep it because that's where it goes because i have no where else to put it?

rock on brother thats hardcore

if you were a civilized human being i would tell you to just get a storage unit or build a shed considering the price of a hitch hauler, ski cover, and new shocks

but that doesnt apply to you

because you are a savage
 
Last edited:
kcmasterpiece

kcmasterpiece

Sweet Baby Ray's Sucks
Location
Daytona Beach
Id inspect the frame very carefully and if its anything less than prefect, I'd beef it up big time. The carrier isnt the thing that will fail, its your car frame. I have a class 3 on my jeep cherokee and its amazing it holds any weight the way its bolted in. I had to drop the tank, and add a bunch more bolts to give me a little but more piece of mind. however, i still dont trust it going down the road.

The rated tongue weight the hitch can carry is 500lbs. most oem skis will be over 300lbs. take that 300 and place it on your hitch carrier (which in other words, its now a lever). That 300 at 2 feet will add a lot more load on the hitch, plus every bump you hit will increase the G-loads greatly (only for a quick Sec). All this together equals a failure somewhere in the future. This is why i do not trust mine...(yet, i still use it every weekend...)

If the SUV has a heavy duty frame, and not the garbage uni-bodies (like my jeep has) cars have now, you should be ok. (inspect anyway). If you have a light duty frame or uni-body, beef up the frame in the back.

I hope this makes sense, i rushed typing this and didnt read it over...
 
aytee

aytee

Location
south dakota
wow... you guys over think this stuff.... 90% of the time a receiver hitch will have a rating much higher than the payload of the vehicle... like my pickup, has an 1600lb payload, meaning, the factory doesn't recommend me carry more than 1600lbs on the rear axle.. my receiver hitch itself is "rated" for 2000lbs... meaning the hitch is rated for more than the springs are, this is how most are set up... for you to say a receiver is rated for 500 is funny to me, as most hitch inserts are rated 2000-5000(for a good one)... i have an adjustable one that is rated for 500lbs, funny thing is I pull a car trailer with it all the time.. I've ran a skidsteer to the front of the trailer so far that it was completely in front of the trailer axle(placing 2500-3000lbs on that hitch that's rated for 500lbs)... driving with it like that, of course not, but if you're 300lb ski is going to create 2000lbs of force when hitting a bump you're tires would blow out from the weight of the vehicle every time you hit a bump... as far as having issues with a unibody vehicle, as long as your hitch bolts to the rail from the bottom and the side you'll be fine, unibody is stronger than most people think, if the right equipment is used(i own a body shop, i deal with them all the time), and I've seen just as many problems with hitches on full frames as i have on unibody, it's all in proper equipment... seems like people just need to read less warning labels and acquire more experience...

my point being... your receiver won't be the part that fails... it will be the carrier instead, make sure your main bar will be plenty strong as stated 2x2 1/4" wall me personally would do 3/8" wall... also... strap the ski to the carrier, and run a safety chain to the hitch, just for safe keeping if in the slight chance something would go wrong, it's still attached and won't hit the ditch and tumble or slide into the other lane... do this and check your payload rating(I'm guessing it will be over 500lbs) and mind you, this rating is not a "static weight" rating, so if it says it will hold 500lbs it means it will hold 500lbs, not 300lbs after you factor in the force of bumps, it's tested to withstand the abuse of 500lbs...
 
Last edited:
yamanube

yamanube

This Is The Way
Staff member
Location
Mandalor
Like KC said, pay special attention to your frame. The suspension is only part of the equation, especially if you live in the salt belt. Many new SUVs have gone the way of unibody as well and these may not be as strong as a typical ladder frame (at least around where the hitch mounts). I'm pretty sure a 300lb ski bouncing around 2' off the back of your truck = 600lbs of force on your frame.
 
Matt_E

Matt_E

steals hub caps from cars
Site Supporter
Location
at peace
aytee said:
wow... you guys over think this stuff.... 90% of the time a receiver hitch will have a rating much higher than the payload of the vehicle... like my pickup, has an 1600lb payload, meaning, the factory doesn't recommend me carry more than 1600lbs on the rear axle.. my receiver hitch itself is "rated" for 2000lbs... meaning the hitch is rated for more than the springs are, this is how most are set up... for you to say a receiver is rated for 500 is funny to me, as most hitch inserts are rated 2000-5000(for a good one)... i have an adjustable one that is rated for 500lbs, funny thing is I pull a car trailer with it all the time.. I've ran a skidsteer to the front of the trailer so far that it was completely in front of the trailer axle(placing 2500-3000lbs on that hitch that's rated for 500lbs)... driving with it like that, of course not, but if you're 300lb ski is going to create 2000lbs of force when hitting a bump you're tires would blow out from the weight of the vehicle every time you hit a bump... as far as having issues with a unibody vehicle, as long as your hitch bolts to the rail from the bottom and the side you'll be fine, unibody is stronger than most people think, if the right equipment is used(i own a body shop, i deal with them all the time), and I've seen just as many problems with hitches on full frames as i have on unibody, it's all in proper equipment... seems like people just need to read less warning labels and acquire more experience...

my point being... your receiver won't be the part that fails... it will be the carrier instead, make sure your main bar will be plenty strong as stated 2x2 1/4" wall me personally would do 3/8" wall... also... strap the ski to the carrier, and run a safety chain to the hitch, just for safe keeping if in the slight chance something would go wrong, it's still attached and won't hit the ditch and tumble or slide into the other lane... do this and check your payload rating(I'm guessing it will be over 500lbs) and mind you, this rating is not a "static weight" rating, so if it says it will hold 500lbs it means it will hold 500lbs, not 300lbs after you factor in the force of bumps, it's tested to withstand the abuse of 500lbs...
Click to expand...

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of what tongue weight vs rated towing weight is.
 
Kny21

Kny21

Location
Delaware
General consensus is that adding a 12" hitch extender cuts 1/3 towing & tongue weight capacity. You can do the math from there...

Why not throw the spare in the back? Keep it close to the bumper, and keep it safe.
 
TheBuzzard

TheBuzzard

Location
the jetski grave yard
the only time i would trust a hitch hauler, is if i was dragging some roach to the bone yard to get picked clean. no way would i put anything good on there. the sheer force of a big bump multiplies the weight big time. i'd be stressin the whole time, but i know guys that use them. and if you leave your ski on there 24/7, somebody may eventually think they need it more than you want it.
 
Last edited:
High Speed Industries

High Speed Industries

Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
Location
Lake Havasu City, AZ
If you don't drive crazy you have nothing to worry about. The hitch hauler that I built went on my 1990 Toyota pickup. It squated the rear quite a bit but that was it. Mine stuck out like 2' and I never had a problem with it. I also don't have a hitch on my truck. I hooked the hauler into my bumper and I never had a problem. I even carried a decent ski on it. . . . Now before you guys go ape:):):):) and call me a dumbazz for using my bumper, let me explain some things. I am a certified welder and I built my bumper myself with a receiver built into it. I do not recommend mounting a hitch hauler on your bumper unless you had a setup like mine that is super strong. It's teach his own with the haulers. Some people like them some don't. The only real downside to the hauler is that your tires throw all sorts of crap all over the ski. That's the only issue I had. I've heard nothing but good things about the rad dudes hauler. I'm sure it would work fine.
 
VXSXH20

VXSXH20

Sionis Industries
Location
Mid-Atlantic
Im 50/50 on this..Which one is gonna Buckle under the pressure? Safety First..You dont want to lose your ski, and your daily driver. or make a mess on the highway..Ive seen boats come off trailers..talk about a bullet in a china cabinet.

rsz_2012-06-11_18-28-53_984.jpg
 
VXSXH20

VXSXH20

Sionis Industries
Location
Mid-Atlantic
Matt_E said:
Well that's new.


I use a hitch hauler. For around town (5 miles round trip) and at the beach (again, less than 5 miles round trip).
Put my Freak on there, no worries.
Click to expand...

I have a hauler too..Let me clarify, I trust my hauler as it is well built and over engineered. That Pic is not me and I would never do what they are doing. The 4runner has a pretty stout hitch setup ( i have toyota as well ) but, I would not extend my hitch out and continue to tow off of that.. Boat Hulls-asphalt- and moving traffic dont mix..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom