I'm interested in putting a class 2 or better 2" receiver hitch on one of my cars. Preferrably the 1989 Saab 9000. The specs say that I can safely load 900 pounds of cargo in th rear of the 9000.... yet I can only find Class 1 hitches that can take a maximum of only 200 pounds. What gives??? I want to transport a couple of heavy electric bikes, so I would require a more heavy duty spec for tongue weight and nothing for towing capacity.

What are my options? It sucks that all the heavy duty receivers are for big honking trucks and SUVs.

Is it possible to adapt one or have one made? Clues? Suggestions?

Calvin

The maximum tounge weight is not the max weight you can pull, It is the maximum force that can be pressed down on the tounge without causing a problem. I am not sure how much a class 1 can hold but I wouldnt recomend it for much. You should be able to find a class 2, they may just be hard to find. How much do you estimate you will be pulling?

Yep, I know what tongue weight is and I'm not interested in pulling any weight at all. I have two 75 pound electric bikes I want to haul around. :-) If I hit a bump as speed, I want the assembly to stay attached. The problem is even though the factory manual states the cargo capacity of the car is 900 pounds (this implies the rear part of the car can hold 900 pounds) I can only find class 1 hitches that can hold 150 to 200 pounds MAX. On a 1.25" receiver which makes it worse.

Calvin

the factory manual states the cargo capacity of the car is 900 pounds (this implies the rear part of the car can hold 900 pounds)

Actually... I suspect the 900 pounds is the total amount of weight the car can carry -- including passengers -- and that weight would be distributed front and rear.

tanstaafl.

Probably. I don't usually have rear passengers. I just want to be able to carry a tongue weight of 300 pounds. Strange that there's nothing out there on the market to allow this. It's almost as if they're saying I have to purchase an SUV just to transport bikes. (albeit heavy bikes .

Calvin

I dont see a problem with it if the bikes only weigh 75 pounds each, all that suggested weight is as just what it says suggested. My uncle pulls around a 3000 lb boat beehind his corvette on a class 2 hitch. Which is way beyond what is recomended for the hitch and car, but he has never had a problem with it.

My uncle pulls around a 3000 lb boat beehind his corvette on a class 2 hitch. Which is way beyond what is recomended for the hitch and car, but he has never had a problem with it

Until he's sitting on the side of the road 2 miles from the lake with a burned up tranny...

A 3000 pound trailered boat falls into the Class 2 hitch range just fine, but a Vette is not a practical towing vehicle. I use a tranny cooler on my Dodge RAM to tow a 2500 pound bass boat, I can only imagine what stresses that Vette tranny goes through...

Ratings on hitches:
Class 1 - 1000 to 2500 GTW
Class 2 - 3500 GTW
Class 2.5 - 4,000 GTW
Class 3 - 10,000 WD/6,000 GTW
Class 4 - 12,000 WD/8,000 GTW
Class 5 - 14,000 WD/10,000 GTW

He has been doin it for the last 5 years, never bothered anything the only thing he has burnt up was the motor on the boat... A tranny cooler isnt really needed on a Dodge only pulling 2500 lbs, unless your goin up steep grades. They do cut down on wear and tearin the long run though. I have had 6 dodges, towed things from 1000lbs to 25000 lbs, never had a problem. Maybe its just living here in central Mississippi where the ground level varies from 300 to 330 feet. No real hills to worry about

Yeah I live in the Hill Country of Texas, so I'm up down up down up down. Plus running 33" tires doesn't help with the gas mileage any...

That's the problem, I would be happy with a class 2 hitch. However, there isn't any. The only hitches available are class 1 hitches in 1.25" receivers. That's the whole point of the original post. :-(

Calvin

sorry got a little sidetracked, a am very suprised they dont make a class 2 for your car. you may have to do a little customizing to get one to work. Which I have done on a toyota truck but never a car.... seems like a good challenging project

What did you do? Purchase a class 2 for a different car and then...?

Calvin

no, it was a class 3 but you can use the same principle for a class 2, I didn't feel like paying for a full drop hitch receiver and installation, considering I was 15 and had plenty of time and little money... I just found a used one that had the same width as my frame, and just had to drill new holes in the frame, got some strong bolts and couple peices of iron to mount it with and voila....

Basically what Im saying is if they dont make one specifically for your car find one that has the right frame width and improvise. It will more and likely take a little more research than a truck but Im sure you can find something that will work.

What is the physical differences between the different classes of hitch? Is it the size or number of bolts? Can somebody explain this?

Calvin

Its all size, a class 3 is about a 4" square chunk of Iron with much bigger mounts. The class 2 goes down to about 1"-1.5" alll around even the receiver, and a class 1 is basically almost nothing the receiver itself is a flat peice of metal that slides into a slot. never really dealt with them only seen them. The only real reason for having the different classes is for smaller cars because if you tried to stick a class three under your car it would probably drag the ground, or atleast when you hit a bump Im sure it would. Im not really sure about the number of bolts, because I have seen many class threes that were different in that aspect, anywhere from 4 bolts to 16, depending on the application.

What is the physical differences between the different classes of hitch?

I think it's related to the strength/size of the steel more than anything. The higher the class, the thicker the material used and possibly the number of points at which it attaches to the frame. Also, the higher the rating, the further back the attachment points will be to get closer to being over the tow vehicle's axle for weight distribution.

From the looks of this chart compact cars seem to be limited to a class 1 hitch, class 2 for midsize and trucks from there on. There are some sites on the web that provide the components and you weld it together yourself, or pop into a hitch store and ask. They're on every other corner in Texas, don't know about your neighborhood, but avoid U-Haul, too pricey and they generally don't know more than the consumer about the hitches.

I don't have much choice, it's either U-Haul or sport rack over here in San Jose. U haul seems to be the more xperienced of the two.

(after edit)
I just looked at your chart and the saab I want to add the hitch to is ranked a "large" vehicle. It's a 4 door hatchback, not really compact. Yet... can't find a thing. Sad. The hitch people are attempting to force a migration to big honking SUVs and trucks.

Calvin

Sad. The hitch people are attempting to force a migration to big honking SUVs and trucks.

Actually it's just a case that the big honking trucks and some SUVs are designed to haul/trailer loads. Most passenger vehicles are not meant for that type of load. That's why they get helper springs when John Smith gets the pop-up camper for the family to tow behind the Crown Vic... But your case is different as you need a greater tongue weight and could give a rat's a$$ about the trailer weight, and a Class 2 fits the bill, correct?
I don't know what to tell you other than I hope someone can find a hitch for you, otherwise you'll have to buy the big honking SUV.

If I were you, I'd get the Canyonero, "12 feet long, two lanes wide, 65 tons of American Pride, Canyonero..." Simpsons Episode Screaming Yellow Honkers #1015

That would be the last thing I would do. What would be my best bet for retrofitting a class 2 hitch? a muffler shop?

Calvin

Any decent mechanic would be able to do it, Honestly I think I good tire place would be better than a muffler shop, because they usually have lifts and always have impact guns. A lot of muffler shops dont have impact guns and therefore won't be able to tighten it like it needs