Tongue Weight
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I currently have a hitch mounted scooter carrier. It's from Harbor Freight and is speced out at 55#s and rated at 500#s My scooter is on the large size and weight speced out at 101, but with accessories it actually weighs 124#'s and rated at a max 385#'s. So even at max allowable weight for the scooter and carrier I'm below the hitch rating.
Initially I used an electric hitch mounted lift I had left from my Tundra. This put the scooter in the truck bed. While it worked just fine, it's weight (even though well below the rated hitch weight caused it to feel like the tail wagging the dog at freeway speeds.
I then got a manually powered lift and while it was much lighter required removal before driving. It seemed a bit rickety worked but was not convienient.
Next I tried a set of ramps. Again, it worked. These were easy to deply and were fairly light, but once the scooter was in the bed it was a very tight squeeze to get the ramps in. Oh, and I found out quite quickly that riding the scooter into the bed while possible was quite exciting, so I just stood on the ground and drove it up from the side. It was the best so far, but I tired of fighting to get the scooter properly placed so the ramps would fit.
Finally I settled on the hitch mounted carrier. I have worked out a method that takes less than five minutes to install or remove the carrier. Deployment of the ramp is about ten seconds. Scooter on or off about thirty seconds. To secure it to the carrier I use two ratchet straps, one front on the left side and one rear on the right side. Maybe 90 seconds to install each strap, removal much faster, of course.
I did make one alteration to the carrier. I bought a set of trailer light that mount to the rear of the carrier. This provides tail, brake and turn signal lights. Why you ask. Well even with that big ole scooter on the carrier I couldn't count the number of times divers misjudged and almost hit the carrier. Some still come close, but with the tail lights right at the rear, they can't say they didn't see it.
Initially I used an electric hitch mounted lift I had left from my Tundra. This put the scooter in the truck bed. While it worked just fine, it's weight (even though well below the rated hitch weight caused it to feel like the tail wagging the dog at freeway speeds.
I then got a manually powered lift and while it was much lighter required removal before driving. It seemed a bit rickety worked but was not convienient.
Next I tried a set of ramps. Again, it worked. These were easy to deply and were fairly light, but once the scooter was in the bed it was a very tight squeeze to get the ramps in. Oh, and I found out quite quickly that riding the scooter into the bed while possible was quite exciting, so I just stood on the ground and drove it up from the side. It was the best so far, but I tired of fighting to get the scooter properly placed so the ramps would fit.
Finally I settled on the hitch mounted carrier. I have worked out a method that takes less than five minutes to install or remove the carrier. Deployment of the ramp is about ten seconds. Scooter on or off about thirty seconds. To secure it to the carrier I use two ratchet straps, one front on the left side and one rear on the right side. Maybe 90 seconds to install each strap, removal much faster, of course.
I did make one alteration to the carrier. I bought a set of trailer light that mount to the rear of the carrier. This provides tail, brake and turn signal lights. Why you ask. Well even with that big ole scooter on the carrier I couldn't count the number of times divers misjudged and almost hit the carrier. Some still come close, but with the tail lights right at the rear, they can't say they didn't see it.