My point was, it's one way to check the leeway of your receiver, without having the mass of the carrier to confuse you. Or, it's another 2x2 inch pipe, which might be bigger than the carrier's 2x2 inch pipe.
Or, just measure the carrier's 2x2 and comparie it with any other thing you've ever put in the receiver. If it's the same size, don't worry aobut it. If the carrier's is smaller, stuff hard shims in.
YOu're sure you're not moving the car?
The bar is not as big as other draw bars?
I needed a spine for mine, and I found one at Home Depot. Of course I don't know it's spec compared to the specs of teh one that came with it, but it looked even heavier, though the home depot one has 4 holes every 2 inches. I wonder if that will ruin the 500 pound capacity??????????
The heaviest load I've had on the carrier was about 320 lbs, so I can't say for sure about 400 or 500. And I don't run slalom courses in my jeep. OTOH, I can say with a fair degree of certainty that it would be faster through a slalom course with 400 lbs on the carrier than with a loaded trailer.
It has a fair degree of rocking up & down, maybe 3 inches, around the axis of the drawbar, measured at the extreme left or right side, and maybe 2 inches in a side-to-side, parallel to the ground plane. I drive at moderate speed when it is installed and loaded, but I've never worried about it much. There are some drawbar pins and attachments available to take the play out if it concerns you. The ones I have seen have a large bolt that tightens down against the side of the drawbar.
Thanks for confirming that it's not just my carrier/receiver.
I've looked up some DrawTite anti-rattle accessories and there are a few to choose from. I've also run across a few homemade solutions that I'll look into.
2/20/2001 12:05:00 PM Submitted by Roy W. from FLORIDA says Rattlin' Hitch I had the same rattling problem and here is how I fixed it. I drilled a 5/16" hole in the bottom of the receiver forward of the pin, and tapped it for a 3/8" bolt and jam nut. Just tighten the bolt up against the draw bar and jam the nut up against it. No more rattle.
I backed off when I read there were commerical solutions, but if you want homemade, use Double Bubble. chew for 15 minutes. Insert. Dry for 2 days before using.
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Works like a charm, at least in the driveway. Moving the carrier moves the whole van now.
The only pain is having to get down on the ground to secure the bolt and jam nut, but hey, I'll feel much better without the carrier flopping around behind me.
I've used the carrier for an 800 mile round trip and I'll give the carrier 4.5 out 5 hitch pins.
As noted in an earlier post, there was a fair amount of movement with the carrier installed in the receiver. Almost 2.5" up and down and side to side. I was not comfortable with that.
Following a suggestion found on the webernet, I drilled and tapped the receiver for a 5/16 bolt and jam nut. At first I tapped the receiver rear of the pin (towards the rear of van) so that the bolt lifted the bar and the weight was sitting actually sitting on the bolt. This method prevented all movement - the carrier was rock solid in the receiver.
I test this method by towing my trailer for a few hundred miles and I was impressed by the lack of movement and noise. I should have done this years ago! However, when I tried to remove the bolt, I found that it was slightly bent and hard to get out. Assuming it was bent from the weight of the tongue, I drilled and tapped the receiver forward of the pin so the bar would rest on the bottom of the receiver and then tested the carrier. Regardless of how much I tightened the bolt, there was still movement of the bar in the receiver.
The final solution: I upgraded the bolt to a Grade 8 and used the original hole which was rear of the pin. Even with the bolt basically supporting the fully loaded carrier, there was no deformation, even after 800 miles.
I also purchased the Harbor Freight Cargo Carrier Cover:
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They must have been thinking when the designed both of these items because they made them just wide enough to hold those blue bins you can buy at the home centers for under $10. I was able to fit 2 of them in the carrier and then place some boxes on top, some more stuff in between them and still comfortably zip the bag closed.
Eventhough the bag is lined with what appears to be a waterproof material, I spray the bag with Camp-Dry silicon sealer for extra waterproofing. It didn't rain while I was driving, but the carrier bag was left out in the rain at the place I was staying and the inside stayed completely dry.
The only con I will mention is that with bag loaded and strapped in, I can't open or close the hatch of my mini-van. If I unstrap the bag and, with a helper, tilt the bag and contents up about a foot, I can use the hatch. Not a big deal, you just have to make sure you load things in the right order - and not need anything big from the back of the van.
I bought it,And i do mining: it works Great: But also i know what 500 Lbs m ax means... Do A lot of 4x4 driving,Held up like a Champ.. Still have it and it's a yea r later, looks new ,bit faded in joints,cuz there red. holding strong..Over loading anything causes failure,, . carring 9 milk crates and 15 inch mud s pare, !!And those are can foods .
On Monday, September 4, 2017 at 2:36:54 PM UTC-4, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wro te:
max means...
ear later, looks new ,bit faded in joints,cuz there red. holding strong..Ov erloading anything causes failure,, . carring 9 milk crates and 15 inch mud spare, !!And those are can foods .
Good to know. Of course, the review I posted is 7 years old, but I guess it 's OK to get an update, even if yours is only a year old. ;-)
I haven't used mine in many years. What I carry now requires a trailer.
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