We have a 13 and had no problems with sway coming back from Minnesota without bikes. But, when we put two bikes on the bike rack at the rear of the trailer, the trailer sways at any speed over 63 MPH. There are a lot load levelers, sway bars, etc. out there. What does anyone recommend?
How does anyone else load their bikes?
I load my bike on the car.
Sorry, should have said "on top of the car". I have been thinking about a Jack-IT carrier which mounts over the tongue jack. Not sure it will work with my crank jack though.
<p>Roger and Michelle</p>
We built a little rack and put a tote on the back of our 13, same sway problem. A 13' only weighs about 1000 lbs, and putting a couple bikes on the back throws off the balance of the trailer. 100 lbs of bikes or a tote is 10% of the total weight. We only used the tote on one trip, the sway was terrible. We put the tote in the tow vehicle now. You might be able to mount one bike on the front of the trailer and one on the back. We have never pulled such a tiny trailer, and didn't realize how easily its balance could be compromised!
Rhonda Riebow
Roger and Michelle: Does one need a hitch extension to allow room for hanging the bikes on the back of the car? Or is there enough room between the car and Scamp...for turns, without damaging the trailer or car?
You might think of ways to keep the bikes on the back by loading more things inside the trailer toward the front. Canned goods come to mind. Or if you plan to camp where water is available you could leave the fresh water tank empty until you get to the campground. In any case you need at least 100 pounds of tongue weight. Be very careful if your trailer starts to sway. The amount of sway can increase very quickly, with changing conditions like wind, to the point where you loose control of the TV. Stay safe!
I agree with Alan, you would need to load more weight toward the front of a 13 footer to try and alleviate sway. I ordered our 13' with the hitch but have not yet attempted to put the bike rack and two bikes on it, just from reading of other's experiences with bikes on the back of a 13. Our bike rack weighs around 30 lbs, as does each bike, so that would be about 100 lbs. hanging off the back of the camper. To offset that, I would think it necessary to add 100 lbs. to the front bunk area, and keep the tongue weight the same. In our case, putting 100 lbs. on the bunk/couch isn't the problem.... keeping the weight on the couch is! That is what we are fiddling with! Possibly raising the top bunk, putting the needed weight on the couch, lowering the top bunk onto the weight and securing the top bunk so it doesn't move. Obviously, we would try this on a short trip first!!
Anthony Memoli
I have an eBike which weighs upwards of sixty pounds...Nick said just add weight to the front of the trailer...I'm going to carry a bathroom scale to get the tongue weight right.
As for the bike, I think I'll use a motorcycle carrier, which carries the weight much lower.
If not now, when?
Larry
Larry, why not have a receiver put on the front of the Jeep for your e-bike?
Dave & Paula
that's why I ordered the rear receiver...I don't want bugs all over my bike and have to look at it on the front of my Jeep Wrangler.
If not now, when?
Larry
When we got our 16 we added the optional receiver for a bike rack on the rear. In our travels we never used it for that purpose and read stories about trailer sway and the associated rebalancing of weight to equalize the load. Our trailer has always pulled great behind our truck until late last year. We had an RV service center working on our waste/fresh water systems. On the way home at interstate speeds something didn't feel right and the trailer for the first time was generating noticeable sway. Wondering what had changed and "why now" when we got home I started looking around the inside finding that the RV place had filled the fresh water tank under the rear seat bench. We never carried water while traveling and boy what a difference it made in the trailer handling. I guessed we had well over 100 lbs in water behind the axle. Needless to say I learned the lesson on trailer sway and the location of weight. I additionally learned that if anyone works on the trailer I need to do a complete inspection before hitching up and driving off. (I did also voice my displeasure with the RV outfit but that is another story.)
We had ordered a bolt on 2 inch hitch receiver for our 13 foot Scamp bumper for the sole purpose of carrying bikes. Then we read about the sway issue and were able to cancel the order. We started looking at alternatives and discovered light weight folding bikes. They arrived last night. Because our truck has a bed cover they had to be narrow when folded. we purchased 2 Campo style Zizzo bikes and are pretty excited to see how they perform but they are definitely haulable in the truck bed since they are 13 inches wide when folded.. we see other advantages as well...the bikes will always be with us if we leave the Scamp parked and .go somewhere we weren't planning on riding, they're always protected from weather and thieves and they have 7 speeds and offroad tires which our beach cruisers do not. They'll take up some cargo space but we feel they're a good option and getting away from the sway due to extra weight definitely "outweighs" that issue.
Bob G.
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