Keystone Cougar Slide Out Bumper

[jteigen]

We have a 2016 Cougar fifth wheel with a slide out bumper for carrying cargo. We used it for the first time this week to haul our e-bikes. All was fine until we got ready to hit the road part way through our trip when I noticed a sag and a bent L-bracket. We were well below the listed weight limit. Sent pictures to Keystone. They've said they're willing to consider covering the fire once I get an estimate. I'm just wondering if it's worth it as it seems to be very poorly designed and I doubt a simple fix will hold. I'm adding photos (one shows the side that's bent and the other is intact as it should be) to this but would love to hear your input. Thanks!!

[66joej]

Used mine only on one cross country trip. No problem with the welds. Had about 100# plus the spare on the bumper. At one point about 1000 mi. into the trip I noticed what seemed like a bit of a sag on the extension rails. Some careful measuring showed the pullout rails had actually bent about 1".
I attribute this to the spare tire oscillating way back there as opposed to the weight on the rack.
Bought a BAL hide-a-spare, put the rack back in, replaced the 3/8" pins with 1/2" bolts and never to be used again.
Very poor design. New one has the drop down rack. Says 225# max load. I'm thinking lawn chairs at best. JMO YMMV

Above is a post I authored from another thread. I believe the spare tire way back there is the biggest problem.

[Ranchhand]

I’m going to have to check mine out now. I just bought a 2014 and assuming it’s the same design

[Ken / Claudia]

I suppose you have read through earlier posts about failures and modifications of the slide out/ pull out bumpers.
The idea is good, but poorly done. Just the fact of having the wheel/tire that is heavy on a light weight bumper and pulling it out 2 more feet is adding to a cantilever problem. The 75 lb wheel/tire is now acting like 150 lb object bouncing like a rubber ball at 65 mph. (I used made up numbers to show my point).
If you have not did this, go do it. While the bumper is extended grab the bumper and lift. If it's like mine it has several inches of free play up/down. When the weight bounces back down the force of that bends and breaks metal and welds. On the road it is bouncing at every dip/bump in the roadway.
Taking it to a welder and adding what's needed can work. Just making the L brackets into U brackets would help a lot. More work maybe needed, ask the welder. Stop that free play and make the mounts stronger.
Having the dealer fix what's there will not solve the issue.

[jteigen]

Originally Posted by Ranchhand

I’m going to have to check mine out now. I just bought a 2014 and assuming it’s the same design

We saw a TT when we were on our trip and it has the same bumper. It was slid out with a water barrel with water in it on that bumper. No one was around to talk to but it was doing exactly what ours was doing. I should have put a note on his trailer door. Disaster in the making for sure.

[jteigen]

Based on what we've seen and been reading we've decided to just keep the thing closed up. Will either put the bikes in the truck or figure out a different system. I'm assuming leaving the spare on the closed bumper will be ok??

[66joej]

Originally Posted by jteigen

Based on what we've seen and been reading we've decided to just keep the thing closed up. Will either put the bikes in the truck or figure out a different system. I'm assuming leaving the spare on the closed bumper will be ok??

If you are not going to use it I would advise replacing the pins with 1/2" bolts/nuts. This will take up that up/down movement.
I installed a BAL Hide-a-spare under the TT so the "bumper?" only carries a spare sewer hose. YMMV

[GMcKenzie]

I pull mine out and use it once I get to a site. I won't drive with it pulled out, but like the spot to keep things off the ground and locked up once we are set up.

[larry337]

I never trusted it. I tried it a couple times and the added length caused the spare to rub on some inclined driveways. There's so much bounce back there you really have to watch your spare tire mount as well. It will begin to loosen up over time.

[Canonman]

These things are a total "POS". I welded a much heavier bracket to the frame and then used bolts, not a receiver pin and clip to eliminate the factory L bracket from bending.
I don't think Lippert even makes this model carrier any longer.

[babaloo]

Same problem on my fold down bike rack, on our 2018 Cougar 279 RKSWE !
Its a fold down bike rack, with hinged swing-up holding bar, with 250 # max; only ever carried 2 Mt. Bikes on it, and the vertical arm, that swings up to hold bikes, has a split in the weld, at bottom connection.
Only took 2 trips, but went offroad, and some bouncing did occur. Still under warranty, so hopefully, will be covered. Poor construction .

[LV_Tom]

We have a 2011 27RLSWE TT with a slide out rear deck. It is a square tube rail system unlike the "L" brackets that are shown in the above pictures. I've hauled my 140 lb Honda EU3000i Generator and spare tire around for almost 50,000 miles now with no problem. I always check the deck while traveling to make sure the welds haven't broken. It appears to me that some young mechanical engineer decided to save money and switch over to the cheaper "L" bracket POS.

[shirleys545]

Have a 2014 Cougar that had the same problem. A friend of mine is a fabricator and he redid the whole thing, after that we had 600 lbs on it and bouncing up and down and it didn't phase it.

[louielouieohoh]

Oh my ... never have used mine! I need to go look now!

[lakechopaka]

I saw that you made some modifications to your bumper. I was wondering if you could send a picture as I am looking to do the same thing. Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate it.
Mike

[geeman]

From a welding background stand point, if possible put a small channel iron or angle iron all the way across welded to the bottoms of the L brackets if possible. Will never bend again. Probably easier than trying to create a U bracket back to the top not knowing what is up on the inside and if the rack slides between the Ls that would prohibit a U.

While you are doing it I would also put in something to get rid of the side to side. while it would not be effected by the iron added above... it is just unnecessary slop. Could even use a piece of plastic so it slides in and out easier and does not bind.

If you thought the square slides was not strong enough, you could weld a thin flat iron on each outer side of the square to strengthen and also take up the slop.

I do not have one but just observing and have seen them.

[Canonman]

Originally Posted by lakechopaka

I saw that you made some modifications to your bumper. I was wondering if you could send a picture as I am looking to do the same thing. Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate it.
Mike

Finally got the Cougar uncovered and able to send some photos of the replaced L brackets. These are at the rear of the sliding channel and simply support the cargo rack. IMHO these are the weak link in the whole design. (Along with the fact that it takes two men and a boy to pull the damn rack out or push it back in)
We cut off the old brackets and welded the larger and thicker gauge brackets in their place. Then replaced the hitch pin "keeper" with SS bolts and nylon insert lock nuts to eliminate any bounce or wiggle due to slop. Rock solid now!

[jsmith948]

On our previous trailer - Cougar 282 RESWE - the slide out bumper had a great deal of "slop" and, since we never traveled with the bumper extended, I replaced the pins with grade 5 bolts and lock nuts as mentioned above.
I tried extending the bumper a couple of times to use as a platform/table while at the CG but found the slide very hard to work due to the sagging of the FW tank. Never replaced the bumper with anything sturdier because I figured the framework of the sliding bumper made for a good water tank support.

[Ranchhand]

Originally Posted by jteigen

We have a 2016 Cougar fifth wheel with a slide out bumper for carrying cargo. We used it for the first time this week to haul our e-bikes. All was fine until we got ready to hit the road part way through our trip when I noticed a sag and a bent L-bracket. We were well below the listed weight limit. Sent pictures to Keystone. They've said they're willing to consider covering the fire once I get an estimate. I'm just wondering if it's worth it as it seems to be very poorly designed and I doubt a simple fix will hold. I'm adding photos (one shows the side that's bent and the other is intact as it should be) to this but would love to hear your input. Thanks!!

My new to us 2014 cougar has a slide out bumper for a bike rack and it appears to be different then the OPs. Don’t know for sure because I haven’t tried it yet but I would think this design would be able to handle being telescoped out with a few bikes on it

[Canonman]

Originally Posted by Ranchhand

My new to us 2014 cougar has a slide out bumper for a bike rack and it appears to be different then the OPs. Don’t know for sure because I haven’t tried it yet but I would think this design would be able to handle being telescoped out with a few bikes on it

The problem we had is that I could not find a way to carry the bikes upright. There are several quality receiver mounted bike carriers but all carry the bikes in an upright position. Here's a quick writeup I did regarding my cargo rack modification to carry our bikes with some photos.

We were originally excited about our Cougar being equipped with an integrated cargo rack. This was the pull out configuration and not the fold down type. We wanted to use the cargo carrier to carry our two bicycles, total weight less than 100#. The cargo rack as designed is totally inadequate for safely carrying bicycles. there is no proper way to support or secure bikes in an upright position. Our first attempt to use the cargo rack was a complete failure. On our first trip we wound up laying the bikes on top of each other and ratchet strapping them to the cargo carrier after nearly loosing them on the freeway only 100 miles from home.
My first solution was to have the offending POS removed, install a frame mounted receiver hitch and have the bumper somehow welded to the hitch brackets. Total cost of fabrication and welding would have been over $600. My DW/CFO vetoed this solution due to cost and advised me to come up with an alternative solution utilizing the existing cargo rack without altering it's original form fit or function while integrating a safe and secure means of mounting our existing Yakima bike rack while maintaining a budget of $100.
First thought was to install the "Bumper Hitch Adaptor from CW. Cost, $30. However, as we have learned, these adaptors have a tendency to tear the bumper off the frame mounts.
Then a flash of "brilliance"!!
I pulled out the cargo rack, removed the plastic tray and revealed the metal frame. I bought a length of 2"x 4" steel tubing the same gauge as the rack frame. I cut the tubing to fit inside the entire length of the frame. I drilled through the tubing and the frame and mounted the tubing to the rear of the frame with 3/8" SS bolts and locking nuts. I then cut another piece of the tubing 4" long to act as a spacer so the bumper hitch adaptor could be installed in the center of the rack using the tubing in place of a bumper. I trimmed the plastic tray so it fit back in place exposing the tubing and adaptor, painted it all up and was done in one afternoon. I did have to change the spare tire mount, laying it flat on the tray and securing it with a longer U bolt/hanger I found at a boat dealer so the bike rack could be centered on the cargo rack.
Total cost was about $90. On time, under budget and 100% in compliance with the bosses specifications. We're on our third season and so far have had no problems. The cargo rack is still a total PIA to pull out and push back in, but I'm $500 to the good...or so I keep telling myself and my back😎