Adding Receiver to New 2018 Leaf.

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I'm actually thinking of doing the same thing for my 2019 SV+ and had some questions. Sorry for being uneducated about all this.
I see the EcoHitch lists a tongue weight of 300 pounds and I can't understand the lingo. Does the maximum weight at the "ball" mean I can only put something that weighs 300# total to include a bike rack + my bikes? I want to put a 4 bike rack and have it fully loaded. Is that possible with this hitch?

I love that the EcoHitch is a simple DIY install over the Curt which requires drilling but it is quite a big price difference. Is it really much easier to install than the Curt would be? Will these in any way affect my warranty?
 
chebbie said:
I'm actually thinking of doing the same thing for my 2019 SV+ and had some questions. Sorry for being uneducated about all this.
I see the EcoHitch lists a tongue weight of 300 pounds and I can't understand the lingo. Does the maximum weight at the "ball" mean I can only put something that weighs 300# total to include a bike rack + my bikes? I want to put a 4 bike rack and have it fully loaded. Is that possible with this hitch?

I love that the EcoHitch is a simple DIY install over the Curt which requires drilling but it is quite a big price difference. Is it really much easier to install than the Curt would be? Will these in any way affect my warranty?

Yes, total weight would be 300 lbs (if that is the spec) but 4 bikes and a rack would be well under that. I weighed mine also with 4 bikes and it totaled 190 lbs. Can't imagine yours would be significantly more.

As far as install; its a no drill solution. The hardest part could be the removal of the plastic undercover which is like 6 screws and a bunch of clips. Then notching a 4" by 6" section from the end of it where the hitch would go but the hitch install itself is actually quite easy. I was able to do it by myself rather easily.
 
Yes, total weight would be 300 lbs (if that is the spec) but 4 bikes and a rack would be well under that. I weighed mine also with 4 bikes and it totaled 190 lbs. Can't imagine yours would be significantly more.

Bikes with built-in batteries can weigh 60lbs, which would be 240lbs for the bikes alone. You could probably find a 4 bike rack under 60lbs, but that's still cutting it a bit close. I'd stick to bikes with removable batteries if carrying electrics.
 
Yes, total weight would be 300 lbs (if that is the spec) but 4 bikes and a rack would be well under that. I weighed mine also with 4 bikes and it totaled 190 lbs. Can't imagine yours would be significantly more.

As far as install; its a no drill solution. The hardest part could be the removal of the plastic undercover which is like 6 screws and a bunch of clips. Then notching a 4" by 6" section from the end of it where the hitch would go but the hitch install itself is actually quite easy. I was able to do it by myself rather easily.

Thanks! These would be regular bikes but 2 are cheap steel ones which are heavier but I should be under the 300 now that I think about it. I was mostly concerned with any bouncing with the weight of the bikes plus a 4 bike rack hanging off it. As the bikes extend farther out, there should be more stress put on the hitch even if it's less than 300 pounds in total. Is that already taken into account for more reasonable applications?

I'm mainly looking for a basic 4 bike rack to put 4 adult bikes on something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Destination-Lightweight-4-Bike-Hitch-Rack/dp/B07KZCL31Z

With ~190# of bikes + the 42# for the rack, that's under the 300# but if I go over any sudden bumps is that additional stress taken into consideration? I'm not planning on being a crazy driver but sometimes it can happen and just wanted to make sure the car would be safe.

Sorry if I'm overthinking it all!
 
chebbie said:
Yes, total weight would be 300 lbs (if that is the spec) but 4 bikes and a rack would be well under that. I weighed mine also with 4 bikes and it totaled 190 lbs. Can't imagine yours would be significantly more.

As far as install; its a no drill solution. The hardest part could be the removal of the plastic undercover which is like 6 screws and a bunch of clips. Then notching a 4" by 6" section from the end of it where the hitch would go but the hitch install itself is actually quite easy. I was able to do it by myself rather easily.

Thanks! These would be regular bikes but 2 are cheap steel ones which are heavier but I should be under the 300 now that I think about it. I was mostly concerned with any bouncing with the weight of the bikes plus a 4 bike rack hanging off it. As the bikes extend farther out, there should be more stress put on the hitch even if it's less than 300 pounds in total. Is that already taken into account for more reasonable applications?

I'm mainly looking for a basic 4 bike rack to put 4 adult bikes on something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Destination-Lightweight-4-Bike-Hitch-Rack/dp/B07KZCL31Z

With ~190# of bikes + the 42# for the rack, that's under the 300# but if I go over any sudden bumps is that additional stress taken into consideration? I'm not planning on being a crazy driver but sometimes it can happen and just wanted to make sure the car would be safe.

Sorry if I'm overthinking it all!

The horizontal force is considered in the weight limitation. FYI; ALL my bikes are the cheap steel kind. I should weigh mine but pretty sure the heaviest one was like 32 lbs or so? maybe 35? If concerned arrange them heaviest closest to car moving out.

I think the big thing is making sure you transport with rack in up position. I see a lot of people driving around with rack down. Makes for a pretty bouncy ride (for the bikes anyway)
 
Back
Top