Bumper Bike Rack

[Cracker]

My 2005 29rls travel trailer has the rear bumper slide out. Keystone says the maximum load is 250 lbs - however the spare tire is built into this system and I don’t know if its’ weight should be included as part of the cargo capacity? If so, that really cuts into the capacity, as the spare probably weighs 75 to 90 pounds. A 3000i Honda generator, fueled, would just about use up any remaining capacity. Does anyone have a good answer?

[66joej]

I would say the spare tire is part of the 250# recommended weight. As a side note I had the bumper pulled out and strapped 4 lawn chairs onto the rack. Never took them off until we traveled about 1000 miles. Noticed the rack rails were slightly bent. 1" from bumper to fulcrum pivot point. Took the spare tire of and it now travels on a BAL Hide-a-spare. That tire out there on the bumper can do some damage as I found out.

[Ductape]

I'm confident you will need to subtract the weight of the spare from the rating on the rack..... as you said, leaving little left.

[Cracker]

Originally Posted by Ductape

I'm confident you will need to subtract the weight of the spare from the rating on the rack..... as you said, leaving little left.

Yep. You would think that Keystone would be a bit more informative - but I think that they probably consider the spare to be an accessory.

[Ken / Claudia]

Do yourself a test. Pull out the bumper, grab it and pull up and let it down. Then ask yourself will it bounce like that when traveling. Before going on a trip, I would suggest have a wife or friend follow you on a highway for a few miles and tell you about the bounce. Sometimes the bumpers end up on the freeway as the bounce and weight break the welded brackets.

[Cracker]

I think that the spare is probably the worst culprit. With that said, I’m not going to use the slide out bumper unless I move the spare to under the tongue - and, even then, only for light loads like a couple of bikes. Thanks for the advice!

[Ken / Claudia]

You will be safer that way. I removed spare right away store it in garage until using trailer and put it in the truck bed. I seen 1 too many bumper mounted spares rocking like grandma's chair as they peacefully travel on the freeway.
My opinion the pull out bumper makes a great place at the campsite to store things like coolers etc off ground. Not so much while traveling.

[Cracker]

Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia

You will be safer that way. I removed spare right away store it in garage until using trailer and put it in the truck bed. I seen 1 too many bumper mounted spares rocking like grandma's chair as they peacefully travel on the freeway.
My opinion the pull out bumper makes a great place at the campsite to store things like coolers etc off ground. Not so much while traveling.

I think the spare will ride pretty good with the bumper stowed. The overall mechanism probably has a bit more beef in that configuration than a standard spare bumper mount. Where I think that I would really like to have the spare is under the hitch frame - but this is the first trailer I've owned with a storage bin in the front that goes across the body, and I can certainly see the possibility of getting too much load on the hitch.

I agree that the pull out is a good spot to sit a cooler or other thingamajig when stopped. For now, that's probably how it's going to be used.

[Ken / Claudia]

Check the bracket bolts and bumper once in awhile to make sure it's not lose or bumper is bending. At some point you may come across a RV on the road and see the spare rocking like I mentioned. Mostly you get to see bikes or other stuff bouncing like a yo yo.

[Cracker]

While checking the slide out bumper I noted the socket for a vertical pole to secure bikes to. That’s just perfect to mount my portable ham antenna. This particular antenna would also fold down and fit with the bumper slid in for travel. Now, having found a use for this feature, I’m a happy camper!

[Milocka]

So I just removed the entire bike rack slide out assembly from my 2010 Laredo 5th wheel. It weighed in excess of 200#s and was mounted by just 8 rather small bolts. Replaced it with a Curt class III hitch mounted to the frame with 8 grade 8 bolts. Going to use a hitch mounted bike rack from now on. Much better setup and now the trailer is roughly 130# lighter.

[Canonman]

Thinking of doing the same thing. How did you handle the bumper/stinky slinky holder??
Still need a place the put the spare and store the drain tube...

[Milocka]

Originally Posted by Canonman

Thinking of doing the same thing. How did you handle the bumper/stinky slinky holder??

Still need a place the put the spare and store the drain tube...

I put the stinky slinky in an old tote

And yes, need to find a solution for the spare. Don’t want it rolling around in the truck bed all summer. I can’t find a simple mount that attaches to the underbelly cross members. I might just hack up and bolt on the one from the number carrier. I also have JTstrong arms bolted to the front and rear cross members so the spare is gonna have to go further Inboard.

[Canonman]

Got it. Never have liked the so called "cargo carrier". I have a mod I built up so I can safely carry our bikes. I'll post pics of that later this spring when I assemble everything to use it.
Thanks for your response