Carrying bikes on a rack attached to the hitch is not like "towing" a trailer or another vehicle at all, so I'm not sure there is any direct comparison of "capacity" to be made in such a situation. There is no published "towing capacity" for the Leaf anyway, as Nissan basically says it should never be done at all, but adding a cargo load to the rear of the car is a different matter entirely, with no dynamic loads from a towed vehicle entering the picture. I would have no problem with a 4-bike carrier attached to the back myself. The total weight would be less than 200 lbs, no? That is like driving with a large man standing on your rear bumper--I don't see how that would upset the car much, myself. Efficiency would go down, certainly, but it wouldn't create a dangerous situation or extraordinary strain and wear on the car, IMHO, especially for just occasional use and short trips. Seeing the tow hitch on the car when it is serviced, however, may give the dealer an excuse to blame you for any failures that might be attributed to towing, even if you never used it for that, so there may be a downside if the dealer is a dick about it.foolios said:
