Trailer hitch for carrying bicycles

[kzhao19]

Yeah I am aware of the lower load capacity of NA version hitch, but I am only going to carry a bike rack.
The hitch in picture looks strong enough to do the job

[z1000]

Unfortunately NA eBay is the only source, no one makes it locally.

Some Tiguans have the holes but others don't, best to check your car before buying the hitch.

Phyiscally it is much closer to the ground than the Hayman Reese tow hitch, so it bottoms out quite often when offroading or driving up a steep driveway.

[Hillbilly]

The problem with using non compliant stuff comes in when you perhaps lend the car to someone and they dont know its only a bike rack and hook a trailer full of gravel on the thing.

It rips out ,hits a car and kills someone.

A how would you feel and B could your pocket stand the cost if they sue you. Also if you sell it and the buyer thinks its a full towbar.

The bracket may look strong enough but with the twisting forces exerted by a load on it may well cause the panel it is fitted to to fail.

Put a proper towbar on it and be safe.

I have seen bikes lying on the road along with inadequate mountings after having been subjected to bad roads.

When you hit a bump an engineer estimated that the load becomes up to 7 times its static weight

Something to consider

[kzhao19]

I think it would be the same way to install OEM or third party tow bar/hitch - bolt into four holes covered by rear bumper.
Unless the installation is totally different.
Anyone had experience with that?

[Arctra]

As z1000 said, some Tiguans have the rear bumper that you can just bolt this mount to - generally the Tigs released in the last year or so I believe. Others, like mine, require a full-on replacement.

It is really easy to check whether your vehicle has the appropriate bumper or not. Climb under the rear fender with a craft knife - you will see the piece of plastic that needs to be cut out as it is nicely marked out for you (groove pressed into the plastic). Use the craft knife to cut that piece out and you will see if there are the mounting holes or not. If you have the holes, then you do this nice cheap and easy hitch holder install.

If there are no holes, then you're looking at needing a whole towbar install. Even if you need a whole new bumber towbar assembly you'll need to cut that piece of plastic out, and once it is cut out it cannot be seen anyway as it is under the bumper. I was lucky enough to get mine off eBay pretty cheap, had a mate help me fit it (which wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be). I then got a wiring harness from the UK for lights.

I'm not going to lecture you on the limitations/legality/etc of the simple bolt-on solution as you're a grown up capable of making your own informed decisions. I would advise you to check that whatever bike carrier you get does not hold the bicycle such that your Tiguan brake lights and indicators are obscured, coz the coppers will nail you... as well as it not being safe.

IMO, if you're just going to use it for a bike rack the cheap solution will be more than adequate to hold a bike or two - after all it's safe enough to pull loaded trailers in the US. As for someone using your car and putting a trailer on, they will soon realise there's no electrics so that should put them off using a trailer. If it doesn't then they are the idiots. Just do your homework before heading down this route I guess.

[kzhao19]

Thank you guys for all the information and advice provided. Really appreciate.
Tig is solely driven by myself and only reason I want to install a hitch is for transporting two bikes.
I will be very careful to choose a bike rack as Arctra suggested, not to obscure the brake lights and indicators.
Any hint what bike rack suits Tig best?

[z1000]

Tig is solely driven by myself and only reason I want to install a hitch is for transporting two bikes.
I will be very careful to choose a bike rack as Arctra suggested, not to obscure the brake lights and indicators.
Any hint what bike rack suits Tig best?

BTW you don't need to to cut a hole on the bumper to see mounting points, you can visually inspect them by getting dirty on the ground with a mirror and a torch.

Regardless of the type of hitch bike rack you get:
- you will need a bicycle plate from RTA(?) (or ACT equivalent). There is a hefty fine for a DIY plate, and using your car number plate on the rack is an offence as well.
- your bike(s) will obscure brake and indicator lights, cops do pull people over even when lights are visible through bike wheels ($3xx fine), so you have to install towing electrics.
- the bike plate will need to be illuminated at night as well.

What kind of bikes will you be carrying? I may be able to tell you my experience. To date, I am yet to find a best bike rack:
- $100~$400, inverted 'L' hanger is quick and easy but bikes can bounce around and damage paint job (you will curse speed bumps), and it is not suitable for carbon road bikes.
- $500 ~ $800, platform with wheel holders takes longer to install, and securing a female/children bike frame is fiddly, more expensive but some come with brake and turn signals, also carbon bike friendly.
- $700+, roof racks do not require a tow bar, electrics and number plate, but have a big impact on noise and fuel consumption on the freeway. Road and x-country bikes are okay to mount, but all mountain and downhill bikes are not so ideal.

[wai]

When you hit a bump an engineer estimated that the load becomes up to 7 times its static weight

Something to consider

Definitely. In vehicle engineering, impact loads for things like seats and seat belt anchorages are actually designed for 20 G deceleration. The same would go for towing components. It is not just the load but the energy that goes with it.

As you say, it is what someone else might do. If a vehicle has a braked towing capacity of say 2 tonnes, then the towing hitch must be designed for that load as it is what a vehicle user could attach. Even if most people would tow the lower unbraked load, you still have to design for the higher load.

Oh, and before people say that they have towed higher loads "safely", just because something has a nominated safe working load does not mean that putting just a little more on is going to see things fall in a heap. The safe working load has a safety factor built in, and then there are various load factors. Also, the capacity of the material uses a value that the material supplier guarantees it will not go below. The actual material capacity is generally well above this value. This goes for anything you do to a car. There are safety factors (also called factors of ignorance) that are used to ensure the integrity of systems. You never want to eat into these factors as you never know when you are going to rely on them being available in their entirety

[brad]

Thank you guys for all the information and advice provided. Really appreciate.
Tig is solely driven by myself and only reason I want to install a hitch is for transporting two bikes.
I will be very careful to choose a bike rack as Arctra suggested, not to obscure the brake lights and indicators.
Any hint what bike rack suits Tig best?

I use a platform rack (with our Outback & Captiva) with accessory lights & numberplate. Bought from Torpedo7 but there are other suppliers & better platform racks than what I bought.