Guides · Practical
How to transport an electric trike: inside the car, on a rack, in an RV
By Linda Garrett · · 7 min read01Why can't you use a normal bike rack?
Three reasons, and each can be checked with a tape measure and a bathroom scale.
Weight. The trikes that publish a weight run from 77 lb (EVELO Compass) to 158 lb (sixthreezero Rickshaw). The folding ones are 80 to 129 lb. Every rack has a per-bike limit printed in its manual, and many stop well below that.
Shape. A rack holds a bicycle by two wheels in a line or by its frame. A trike has two rear wheels side by side on an axle 26 to 37 inches wide. It doesn't sit in a wheel tray.
Your hitch. A rack plus a trike can pass 150 lb, hanging behind the bumper. Your vehicle's manual gives the hitch class and the tongue weight it accepts. A small 1-1/4-inch hitch often isn't rated for it.
So the question to ask of any rack isn't "does it carry e-bikes?" but "is it built for a trike, and for how many pounds?"
02Can you carry it inside the car?
If the trike folds and the vehicle is an SUV, a minivan or a hatchback with the seats down, usually yes. It's the cheapest way and the trike stays dry and out of sight. Compare the folded size with your cargo opening, height included:
Lectric XP Trike2 and XP Trike2 750: 36.5 by 38 by 26 inches, or 30 inches wide with the front wheel off; 86 and 88 lb.
Addmotor Citytri E-310: 45.3 by 33.9 by 28.7 inches; about 86 lb. Addmotor says it slides into car trunks.
Viribus FC1: 45.7 by 25.6 by 37.8 inches; 129 lb.
Viribus TG1: 47.2 by 40.2 by 33.9 inches; 87 lb.
sixthreezero EZ Transit: no figures in inches on the page; sixthreezero says it fits in a hatchback or SUV and that two fit side by side in the back of an SUV. 80 lb.
The Liberty Trike works differently: it comes apart. The front half weighs 30 lb and the rear half about 40 lb once the seat, basket and battery are off, according to Liberty Trike. If you travel alone, that's the design to look at.
03How do you load 85 lb without hurting yourself?
You don't lift it. You make it lighter, then you roll it.
Take the battery out. It's the easiest weight to remove: the Lectric XP Trike2 drops from 86 to 79 lb, the EZ Transit from 80 to 72. The battery travels in the cabin, out of the sun.
Take off what comes off. Baskets, the seat and seat post, a front wheel if the maker allows it.
Use a ramp. A folding ramp from the ground to the cargo floor turns a two-person lift into a push. Check the ramp's own weight rating and width against your trike. With the trike folded, tip it onto its wheels and walk it up, one person steadying.
Tie it down. A folded trike is a heavy, awkward object in a sudden stop. Strap it to the cargo anchors by the frame, never by a basket or a cable, and put a blanket under it.
If this already sounds like too much, be honest about it before you buy. A trike you can't load is a trike that stays home.
04What should a hitch rack for a trike have?
We haven't tried racks and we don't rank them. What we can give you is one real spec sheet to calibrate with. Pedego's store lists a trike adapter (the TRK-E20) that fits the Sport Rider e-bike hitch rack sold next to it, and lets that rack carry one e-trike and one e-bike. Its limits, as listed: a trike of 90 lb at most, a wheelbase of 60 inches at most, a track width of 36 inches at most. It's for a 2-inch Class III hitch only, and the listing says it isn't to be used on an RV, travel trailer, fifth wheel or towed vehicle, nor with a hitch extender.
That one listing teaches the four things to check on any trike rack: maximum trike weight, maximum wheelbase, maximum track width, and the hitch it needs.
Apply the weight limit to our list and you see the problem. Of the trikes that publish a weight, only the EVELO Compass (77 lb), sixthreezero EZ Transit (80), Lectric XP Trike2 (86) and XP Trike2 750 (88), Addmotor Citytri (about 86), Viribus TG1 (87) and Emojo Caddy Pro (90) are at or under 90 lb, and several are close enough to the line that you'd take the battery out first. A 129 lb Viribus FC1 or a 158 lb Rickshaw needs a different answer.
Lectric lists vehicle racks among its own accessories; if you buy a Lectric trike, ask which one is rated for it.
Video: "Mastering the Fold & Separate: Liberty Trike’s Patent-Pending Hinge Design", Electric Bike Technologies on YouTube. Not made by us; chosen because it shows the trike or the topic clearly.
05What about heavy and non-folding trikes?
Fat tire and passenger trikes are 74 to 83 inches long and don't fold. Three options remain.
A pickup bed. With a ramp long enough to keep the slope gentle, two people can walk a trike up. Measure the bed between the wheel arches against the trike's width (31 to 37 inches for the ones that publish it), and strap the frame at four points.
A small utility trailer. The low deck makes loading easy, and it's the realistic answer for a 158 lb Rickshaw or an 82.7-inch Greattan L.
Not moving it. Plenty of owners never transport their trike: it lives where it's ridden. If that's you, forget this whole question and buy the trike that suits your roads. If it isn't, weight and fold belong at the top of your list, above the motor.
06Can you put an electric trike on an RV?
Carefully. The back of a motorhome or a towed trailer bounces far more than a car's hitch, and rack makers treat it as a separate case. The Pedego listing above is explicit that its trike adapter isn't for RVs, travel trailers, fifth wheels or towed vehicles. Other racks are built for RV use; the rating must say so in writing.
What RV owners do have is storage. A folded Lectric (36.5 by 38 by 26 inches) or EZ Transit fits many pass-through bays; Addmotor says the same of the Citytri. Measure the bay door, not just the bay. And take the battery inside the coach when you drive.
07What about the battery when you travel?
Three habits. Remove it before you load the trike: less weight, and nothing to knock. Don't leave it in a closed car in summer or winter; makers give storage temperatures in each manual, and a parked car goes past them quickly. And charge it where you can watch it: the Consumer Product Safety Commission says to always be present when charging, never to charge while sleeping, and to use only the charger supplied or recommended by the maker. That applies in a motel room or an RV as much as at home.
We haven't covered flying. Airlines set their own limits on lithium batteries, and a trike battery is far larger than what you carry in a laptop. Ask the airline before you plan anything.
08Which trikes are easiest to take along?
If transport is a weekly thing for you, three stand out. The Lectric XP Trike2 750 (9.6/10) is our overall No. 1 and has the smallest published folded size. The sixthreezero EZ Transit (8.3/10) is the lightest folding trike at 80 lb. The Liberty Trike (7.9/10) is the only one that splits into pieces of 30 and about 40 lb.
The table below sets them side by side with the Addmotor Citytri. For the full list, see our folding electric trike ranking.
09The trikes in this guide, side by side
| Trike | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motor | 750 W (1,310 W peak) | 750 W | 750 W | 750 W |
| Battery | 48 V 17.5 Ah (840 Wh) | 48 V 10.4 Ah (499 Wh) | 48 V 20 Ah (960 Wh) | 36 V 8.7 Ah (313 Wh) |
| Top speed | 17 mph | 16 mph | 20 mph | 12 mph |
| Payload | 415 lb | 350 lb | 360 lb | 420 lb |
| Stand-over height | 13.5 in | 13.5 in | 13.8 in | 13.5 in |
| Brakes | Hydraulic disc | Mechanical disc | Disc | Hydraulic disc |
| Folds | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | 1-year | 1-year | 2-year | 1-year |
| Where to buy | Check price at Lectric | Check price at sixthreezero | Check price at Addmotor | Check price at Liberty Trike |
✓ marks the best figure of the row. Prices checked November 13, 2026 on each brand's own US store.
This guide helps you buy; it isn't medical or legal advice. Rules for electric bicycles change from state to state and city to city, and only your doctor knows whether riding suits your health: check both before you buy.
