I just saw a nice electric bike here in Medellin that is really cool.  It folds up to about the size of a small spare tire.  They were asking about $600 for them.  It appeared to be from the USA by the stickers.  It would be great for pavement, smooth dirt like in a camp ground, though I wouldn't want to take it onto any rough terrain.  

I'll be back at the same park where they were located next Sunday and will try to get a little more info.

Originally posted by Jeepinator I purchased a front-mount receiver for my Jeep Wrangler.  The bikes are low enough where they do not interfere with visibility.  Headlights can be an issue due to reflection.

I have a front hitch too and you are exactly right about headlight reflection.  I really try not to drive at night with bikes on the front, but it can be done.  Daytime visibility is fine.

TT

yes, I added reinforcements everywhere that I could. That included triangle gussets at the original receiver and the new receiver.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but we also added a short piece of 2x3 angle iron that connected the back end of the 2" receiver to the new 2x2 cross member.

The idea is to have as little weight as possible farther from the pod-keep it as close as possible. Also the second important idea is to stop all motion  in the shank/receiver and the rack to shank and the bikes on the rack.

The nylon cam straps stop the bike rack from moving side to side or front to back.  they are attached as high as possible to the top of the bike rack in a welded eye bolt.  The bottom of the straps are in an eye bolt that is drilled through the lower frame members at the end.

The bikes are clamped onto the bike rack with built in clamps that hold the horizontal upper frame tubes.  We tie the bottom of the bikes to the bottom of the rack so they can't move and we attach bungee cords to the tires so they can't move either.

We did this mod initially on our 173 and used it for 6 years in many thousands of miles.  We have done the same now with our 179.  Most of the posts and most manufacturers advise against this practice and it may void your warranty. We went to extreme measures to insure success.

Vann

I should have added that I got the 2" receiver at Harbor Freight for about $12

Vann

I added a second 2" receiver so that I could use my bike rack. However, that was only part of the modification.  In order to successfully use the bike rack, more work needs to be done.  I also added a 2x2 frame to frame sideways cross member that supported the rear of the receiver and also added triangle gussets between the original receiver and the new receiver.  When we use the bike rack, we use a hitch tightner between the shank of the bike rack and the receiver to eliminate up/down and sideways motion inside the receiver.  We also use 2 cam straps. one on each side that goes from the top of the bike rack down to an eye bolt mounted at the end of the frame. here are some pictures

the idea is to eliminate all movement of the racks, the bikes and the shank. keep the shank as short as possible and the bikes as close to the pod as possible.

good luck

Vann

I am actually surprised it's rated for 250. A couple of bikes or a small hitch hauler with a hundred pounds in it would all I would dare. On smooth pavement things would be fine, but some of our states and Canada have roads in really bad shape. The constant bouncing and banging can crack steel and break welds.

Originally posted by Shane If I am not mistaken, I think the limit on the receiver that comes on the pod has a 500# weight limit.

500 pounds!!!  No, not by a long shot.  What Marwayne said.

TT