Frame cracking from bike racks on hitch?

[Trielectric]

Unless it has changed in the last few years, European hitches do not have receiver hitches like we have in the US. They have a ball hitch that is slightly smaller than the US 2" ball. Someone from Europe needs to help me out on this.

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[phidauex]

Here are the details on the EU tow bar - you can see the attachment points. I haven't compared directly to the Torklift yet, but it does look like there are multiple attachment points on a few different planes, which would be needed for the additional strength.

Rating for a bicycle carrier is 75 kg = 165 lbs.

https://shop.ford.co.uk/products/mustang-mach-e-detachable-tow-bar-with-fitting-10-2021

 

[mkhuffman]

I have always thought the EU tow hook looks obscene. It should be banned just for that reason.

 

[TechWhisperer]

I have always thought the EU tow hook looks obscene. It should be banned just for that reason.

It is going on a mustang after all... All kidding aside, I wish they sold something that beefy here.

 

[phidauex]

I have always thought the EU tow hook looks obscene. It should be banned just for that reason.

Real "hey you.. come-eer..." vibes. Cringe.

 

[valfam]

That does not show how to install the oem hitch you have to remove the rear bumper and the hitch slides into the inside the frame, not like the one they sell here that is held in place with 4 screws.

 

[awp0]

Had I known 3 years ago what I know now, I would have paid a little extra for the Torklift. More secure frame attachment that I bet bounces a lot less, and a stainless receiver. Every receiver I've owned over the decades has managed to start rusting, which I suppose is inevitable when the paint/powdercoat chips away during repeated use (unless you have a stainless receiver).

 

[phalcomb]

For those of you still doubting take a look at these photos after one year of having the hitch installed just carrying a bike or two on occasion. Rack 50lbs, bikes ~30 each. It’s all peaches and cream when it’s first installed, just give it a year. I’m in the throws of an insurance claim with UHaul right now who installed a “certified” solution and supposedly worked with Ford to develop said solution. My advice? Skip the hitch and get a roof rack or possibly a different vehicle if you need to carry bikes. Love my Mach-E otherwise.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

I'd think any actual damage from a smaller hitch rated for something like a back rack would come from someone grinding the hitch into concrete, sending enough twisting force into the frame. But there would be visible indications (damage to the hitch) that this happened.

If the manufacturer doesn't outright say "do not do this", then you are 100% good to go. They would specify it somewhere in the owner's manual as adding a hitch to any vehicle is something that's taken into account when designing/engineering the vehicle.

This is why manuals are 800 pages of mostly useless information.

 

[phalcomb]

I had a Curt hitch installed by Greg's Automotive in Lafayette. They did a nice job, and had done installs on other Mach-E's. The hitch can handle up to 200lbs. I've carried two e-bikes up to Tahoe multiple times with no problems. Each bike weighs 45lb. so easily under the 200 lb. limit.

Wait a year or two until it starts creaking. Then you know your frame is hosed. I’m not kidding, I’d have it removed asap.

 

[Mach-Lee]

For those of you still doubting take a look at these photos after one year of having the hitch installed just carrying a bike or two on occasion. Rack 50lbs, bikes ~30 each. It’s all peaches and cream when it’s first installed, just give it a year. I’m in the throws of an insurance claim with UHaul right now who installed a “certified” solution and supposedly worked with Ford to develop said solution. My advice? Skip the hitch and get a roof rack or possibly a different vehicle if you need to carry bikes. Love my Mach-E otherwise.

Thanks for sharing. So the frame was damaged with only 110 lb of vertical load.

The frame channel is very thin and the single bolts do not spread the load out enough, hence the rear bolt fatigues the steel too much and it cracks around the rear bolts. This is result of thin steel, too much leverage, and a poor clamping design. Most hitches on the market only use these two bolt locations into thin metal, yet make unsubstantiated claims about the load capacity. Maybe the hitch itself can carry the rated load, but the thin frame on the Mach-E can't take much and will fail first.

I would like to point out the the factory hitch in Europe uses a thick doubler plate inside the frame channel to spread out the load and clamp the load to the frame over a large area rather than just the small area of a bolt head. It also uses bolts on the side of the channel as well (overall more bolts spreading the load out across a wide surface area more evenly). This is a far superior design, but it requires the removal of the rear bumper to install. It would be nice to see a North American manufacturer make a doubler plate to insert into the channel that ties all the mounting points together.

Here is the doubler plate the European hitch uses inside the frame. Notice the extra bolt on the side as well:

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Thanks for sharing. So the frame was damaged with only 110 lb of vertical load.

The frame channel is very thin and the single bolts do not spread the load out enough, hence the rear bolt fatigues the steel too much and it cracks around the rear bolts. This is result of thin steel, too much leverage, and a poor clamping design. Most hitches on the market only use these two bolt locations into thin metal, yet make unsubstantiated claims about the load capacity. Maybe the hitch itself can carry the rated load, but the thin frame on the Mach-E can't take much and will fail first.

I would like to point out the the factory hitch in Europe uses a thick doubler plate inside the frame channel to spread out the load and clamp the load to the frame over a large area rather than just the small area of a bolt head. It also uses bolts on the side of the channel as well (overall more bolts spreading the load out across a wide surface area more evenly). This is a far superior design, but it requires the removal of the rear bumper to install. It would be nice to see a North American manufacturer make a doubler plate to insert into the channel that ties all the mounting points together.

Here is the doubler plate the European hitch uses inside the frame. Notice the extra bolt on the side as well:

1. Use a roof rack. Just remember the bikes are there before entering the garage.
2. Wait for the model refresh and an oem OEM-engineered solution to be designed in.

 

[phalcomb]

Yep, and occasionally and I mean very occasionally, if I went with both my wife and son we’d have 3 bikes bringing it to let’s be generous 150lbs total. I even mentioned it to UHaul and the tech assured me that my setup had a tongue limit of 300lbs. Later I found the actual hitch is only rated for 200lbs, but I’m still under that with some headroom, and clearly it’s the frame that can’t withstand it because the hitch itself is still in perfect condition. I still blame UHaul though, their website allows me to select the configuration, if it’s not permitted by Ford then they should not offer the solution.

This is why manuals are 800 pages of mostly useless information.

 

[TheRock]

Yep, and occasionally and I mean very occasionally, if I went with both my wife and son we’d have 3 bikes bringing it to let’s be generous 150lbs total. I even mentioned it to UHaul and the tech assured me that my setup had a tongue limit of 300lbs. Later I found the actual hitch is only rated for 200lbs, but I’m still under that with some headroom, and clearly it’s the frame that can’t withstand it because the hitch itself is still in perfect condition. I still blame UHaul though, their website allows me to select the configuration, if it’s not permitted by Ford then they should not offer the solution.

Are you using a platform bike rack or the traditional hitck bike rack?

 

[phalcomb]

Platform Bike Rack, it's the Kuat Transfer V2.

Are you using a platform bike rack or the traditional hitck bike rack?

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