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Need an idea/solution quick... front hitch wobble...
2012 f350 drw
torklift "hidden" front hitch (very beefy - plenty of tongue weight in reserve)
Mototote carrier = 80lbs or so.
Triumph motorcycle = 400 lbs wet.
I am using all the anti wobble things provided by Mototote and added a couple extras. Unloaded the thing is rock solid, but with the moto in place, it pitches forward and back and wobble side to side... even over mild bumps. One short freeway section yesterday told me this isn't gonna work as is.
I tried adding two ratchet straps between the tow loops and the carrier -- almost no improvement.
Maybe I remove one or both of the front tow loops and get a receiver welded in there? IDk... but itwould be great to come up with an idea today as I am trying to avoid renting/dragging a trailer for this first trip to a track day.
2012 f350 drw
torklift "hidden" front hitch (very beefy - plenty of tongue weight in reserve)
Mototote carrier = 80lbs or so.
Triumph motorcycle = 400 lbs wet.
I am using all the anti wobble things provided by Mototote and added a couple extras. Unloaded the thing is rock solid, but with the moto in place, it pitches forward and back and wobble side to side... even over mild bumps. One short freeway section yesterday told me this isn't gonna work as is.
I tried adding two ratchet straps between the tow loops and the carrier -- almost no improvement.
Maybe I remove one or both of the front tow loops and get a receiver welded in there? IDk... but itwould be great to come up with an idea today as I am trying to avoid renting/dragging a trailer for this first trip to a track day.
Might be “very beefy”; but it looks wobbly to me.......especially when you are looking right at it and it is wobbling around in comparison to the hood of your truck. Personally, I would be trailering it anyway.......lots of obstruction of air flow through the radiators and coolers up there. But, your circus and your monkeys. And then when you get caught out there after dark!
That will eventually crack your mount, you need a large set screw at a 45° coming in through the hitch tube to set into the one on the bike rack. I owned a logging truck with lowbed rails on it and I had a removable stinger with a pentel hook eye on it for my dolly reach, if it wasn't setup the way I just described it would wobble and over time crack and break. If you can makeup a plate L shaped for the set screw to push against it would work perfectly. Weld a rod to the top of the set screw to use as a handle.
Thanks for the thought. Lots of people in the truck camper world do this (front hitch). Also it’s not really different than mounting a plow.
(prob less weight).
Originally Posted by Desert Don
Might be “very beefy”; but it looks wobbly to me.......especially when you are looking right at it and it is wobbling around in comparison to the hood of your truck. Personally, I would be trailering it anyway.......lots of obstruction of air flow through the radiators and coolers up there. But, your circus and your monkeys. And then when you get caught out there after dark!
it does have set screws in the drop hitch and anti wobble devices in place. Also the hitch itself is drilled for 7/16 bolt at the reciever, so you feed a socket head cap screw there ans lock it in with a nylock nut at the outside of the hitch. The effect is to pull the inner sleeved of the carrier hard/tight against inner wall of reciever.
and… i added triangulated tie downs… and it STILL wobbles but not nearly as badly.
.
Originally Posted by Gyppo Logger
That will eventually crack your mount, you need a large set screw at a 45° coming in through the hitch tube to set into the one on the bike rack. I owned a logging truck with lowbed rails on it and I had a removable stinger with a pentel hook eye on it for my dolly reach, if it wasn't setup the way I just described it would wobble and over time crack and break. If you can makeup a plate L shaped for the set screw to push against it would work perfectly. Weld a rod to the top of the set screw to use as a handle.
it does have set screws in the drop hitch and anti wobble devices in place. Also the hitch itself is drilled for 7/16 bolt at the reciever, so you feed a socket head cap screw there ans lock it in with a nylock nut at the outside of the hitch. The effect is to pull the inner sleeved of the carrier hard/tight against inner wall of reciever.
and… i added triangulated tie downs… and it STILL wobbles but not nearly as badly.
I guess so, what a mess. What about bolting it with shims at the opposite end. What are those 3 large case hardened bolts for underneath your receiver?
Mess? Yeah it looks like that but the tie downs are cross-strained. It’s pretty good now but could be better. Those case hardened bolts pull the anti wobble bracket tight against the drop receiver. Standard deal (look at anti wobble on Amazon… etc).
Originally Posted by Gyppo Logger
I guess so, what a mess. What about bolting it with shims at the opposite end. What are those 3 large case hardened bolts for underneath your receiver?
Mess? Yeah it looks like that but the tie downs are cross-strained. It’s pretty good now but could be better. Those case hardened bolts pull the anti wobble bracket tight against the drop receiver. Standard deal (look at anti wobble on Amazon… etc).
Agree, a single point that has a few thousandths wiggle is going to be inches at the outer extremes. A plate that attaches at the tow hook bolts that go out wider, then turnbuckles from those tie down eyes on the bike holder to the plate. Put it in tension or compression on both sides and its not going anywhere.
That's a lot different than mounting a plow. Besides the difference in center of gravity location, a plow is attached at 2 points indirectly to the frame (through the mount assembly) in addition to the elevator assembly.
If it were me I'd be making a bracket that bolted to the frame with 2 receivers as close to the frame rail center lines as possible as a start. That'll stiffen things up substantially. May need a 3rd point about seat height to add even more rigidity.
Might be able to modify a snow plow mount which should also give you the auxiliary lighting mounts. Could be more trouble than it's worth though, I'd have to be looking at it to tell. Often times you're way ahead starting from scratch rather than making something fit.
all good thoughts. Thanks. Am gonna rig up at least one fixed/hard mounting point IN ADDITION to the other stuff I did since the photos were taken. (redid the center tube of the carrier so that it can fit closer to the truck and have less leverage).
