Can Dirt Bike Be Carried with Draw-Tite # 24796 Class I Trailer Hitch on 2010 Nissan Altima

Question:

I see the tongue weight is 200 lbs. I want to carry a dirt bike to the back of my car with a bumper carrier and I believe it will be around 190 lbs if so is this unsafe for me, would I need something stronger? I couldn’t find another available

asked by: Adrienn M

Expert Reply:

With the Draw-Tite # 24796 200 lb tongue weight capacity, your bike plus the weight of the carrier should be no more than 200 lbs. If this is exceeded, you run the danger of the hitch or the hitch attachment points to the vehicle failing and the loss of your bike and its carrier as you're traveling. Which would be bad. The lightest carrier we offer, the #UF48-979033 weighs around 50 lbs, so that's going to need to be a pretty light bike to come in under that 200 lb figure.

If the weight comes in just under 200 lbs, you should be okay, but I'd recommend being very careful. Keep your eyes peeled for potholes and drive slowly on gravel or uneven pavement.

A higher capacity hitch isn't available, mainly because the attachment points to the vehicle are only going to be so strong. You could theoretically put a 1000 lb capacity hitch on your Altima, but it would very likely tear the hardware right out of the frame members the minute you attempted to load something weighing more than 2-300 lbs on there.

expert reply by: Mike L