The Alpaca 1500 2Tadpole2 Trike Carrier pictured is designed for 2” receiver hitches. It features a frame with three height adjustments and three different usable pin spacing to help avoid obstacles on the trike frames, along with our Alpaca Cinch. We recommend the silent hitch pin lock as the best option to prevent swaying with this carrier. Other locks are necessary if you intend to lock the trikes to the carrier. After the carrier is set up, the spacers remain on the pins. Simply load the trike, run the strap over the frame of the trike, slide the ring on the short strap with the cam-buckle over the end of the pin and tighten the strap. Repeat for the other pin. Secure the rear tire with the ball bungee and you are ready to go. This is our best selling carrier. This carrier is simple, works well and fits vehicles and hitches that are more than adequate for its use. The icons across the top of our web site all lead to information. It is best to start by watching the video it features this carrier. All the other models are a variation of this carrier to adapt it to a particular need.

Starting with a hitch and vehicle that are adequate is an important part of customer satisfaction and safety. Use the hitch and vehicle section to help locate the necessary information to determine if the hitch and vehicle are adequate for your load. The vehicle owner is the only ones with all the necessary information to make this determination and it can vary from trip to trip. It is important to understand the load limits of any extension, riser, adapter or other component added to the system along with how their use affects every other component in the system.

All our carriers are very simple, easy to setup and use. A very complicated combination can be loaded in a few minutes. Explaining how to accomplish this is much more of a challenge as there are adjustments and many possibilities. In some situations a change as simple as which bike you put on first, which pin spacing to use or with the Terratrike Rover simply turning the front tires slightly so they slide by one another can make the difference between the carrier working well or not working at all. There are customers that need to carry a tandem or recumbent with a trike. We can usually accomplish this with The Alpaca Tadpole Carrier, but in some situations a receiver extension is necessary. We cannot carry some long wheelbase recumbents with an Alpaca Tadpole Carrier . Every situation is different, go to the Trike & Bike Icon or the Compact Carrier Icon to look for examples and pictures many of these were provided by our customers so we could answer a specific question or address a problem. Many of these solutions can be applied to your situation even if your vehicle and load are different . Most of our customers come to us when nothing else works. Our carriers are built for the long haul and will last a long time. Many carriers we built 15 years ago are still being used today. Regardless of what you carry the setup and cinching method remains the same. Do not get overwhelmed by the possibilities, but focus on the little tip in each example that will help in your situation. Remember the video, when you get past the setup and learning process it is that simple for every model.

Do not exceed the load limits of any component. Choose the proper carrier to meet your needs. Make sure the carrier is secure to the vehicle. Make sure the load is secure to the carrier. Watch your clearances. Accomplish this and you will be another happy customer.