bike rack

[lakechopaka]

I have a new 2015 Cougar 24RKSWE that has the pull out bumper with a heavy duty plastic tray behind the bumper. Looking toward the spring and taking our bikes, is their a bike rack or some other device you would recommend to put on the tray behind the bumper to store our bikes as we travel.
Thanks in advance for the information!:)

[Justvisiting2day]

Is your bumper a square tube? what is the plastic pull out. I have had two Keystone units, both had square tubing . That said, I made a plate steel 6" wide and welded a reciever on top, then had some U "square type bolts made to fit . Holes in the plate and able to mount the spare also . The reciever then was adapable for any good bike mount , thus not allowing the tube to flex. If you wish pictures don't hesitate to ask.
I can send them on a private line.
Chuck

[lakechopaka]

Thanks Chuck. yes I would like to see your pictures.
Thank you very much!

[eddarde]

our Zeppelin has square tube bumper and a 1.5 reciever welded to it and a flat plate back to the frame. We have a 2 bike holder that slips into the hitch. On our way back from Door Co. the weld broke trough the thin bumper, bikes tipped sideways, grinding away 1 tire. Luckily someone let us know as they passed by.

[Festus2]

I wouldn't attach any kind of bike rack to the bumper. If your set up is similar to other Cougars, the spare tire is mounted on it and that is more than enough weight for this "flimsy" bumper to hold.

While it is possible to place a couple of bikes on the extended tray, the fold-up metal square tube is next to useless as a support for the them. I'd look at welding a receiver onto the RV frame and then find a suitable bike rack that will go into the receiver. There are a number of good bike racks on the market that lend themselves to a receiver -- Swagman to name one.

If you use a welded receiver and a good bike rack, you can do away with using the extended tray - a much better option IMO.

[michael_h]

I bought a Curtis forward hitch for the front of my F150 and carry our full sized adult bikes on that. Since they're heavier I just feel safer and I don't have to worry about loosing them off the back. It just takes a little getting used to seeing them up there, and you may have to buy a cross member bar for the woman's bike to make it hang right

[sandy43]

7772

7773

This is what I did. I mounted a rack on top of a medium size tool box, which was mounted on a rear carrier. I added an aluminum pole in the middle to secure the bikes.

[Ken / Claudia]

Mine came with a bike rack post made of square tubing that is lying(stored) in the tray area of the pull out bumper. It may not be the best but, I checked it out and think it will hold 2 bikes ok. I still need to get pool noddles to place around the tube. Than strap the bikes down along with a cable lock.

[LM3929]

We have the 2014 Cougar like yours and it has the slide out.

we have carried a full load of fire wood on the slide out several times and have noticed that the very thin L brackets that it slides out on are bending down, so we will be adding reinforced brackets this year as soon as the weather gets better

Lorne M.

[lakechopaka]

Thank you guys for the ideas. I have some things to think about.

[kguess]

I had a guy weld angle iron to the frame of my Keystone to support my bike rack that has a receiver mount.

[mikewheel]

I have the same set up, when you stand the post up how does it fasten in to keep it from pulling straight up. The is a bracket for mine to set in but the holes don't line up to put a clip through.

[Ken / Claudia]

Not sure why the holes not do line up, maybe double check that. If they will not drill new holes use the bracket holes as the guide. They come with a pin to hold it in-place. Advice is do not use the pin, use a bolt and nut system that way it will be tight and not wobbly when in-place. Also if your going to use the pull out bumper to carry stuff. Pull it out and than grab the bumper and lift up. You will find play-wobble. Again that will move as you travel (bounce up/down). I placed a shim under each side of the pull out slots and tapped them into place. That ended the wobble. I road tested it only over a 50 mile trip and they stayed there. They may be much better ways to stop the wobble and bounce but, if not prevented will the brackets, welds and items on the bumper hold up long term? Some have not as read thru out this site.

[skifreak76]

I Bought this http://www.ruralking.com/accessory-adapter.html and welded it t the frame.
fits and works great.

[camperbrian]

I Bought this http://www.ruralking.com/accessory-adapter.html and welded it t the frame.
fits and works great.

skifreak76, is it possible that you could post pics of this? Would like to see this setup! thanks

[CWSWine]

If you have a Lippert frame they make hitches for their frames that can be used for bike racks to towing a bass boat. You can order them off Lippert's website.

https://store.lci1.com/products/storage-towing-and-security/bike-racks-receivers

[Canonman]

I have a new 2015 Cougar 24RKSWE that has the pull out bumper with a heavy duty plastic tray behind the bumper. Looking toward the spring and taking our bikes, is their a bike rack or some other device you would recommend to put on the tray behind the bumper to store our bikes as we travel.
Thanks in advance for the information!:)

We have the same set up on our '17 Cougar. Most worthless piece of junk I've ever tried to make work. We were excited to see this included with the trailer when we bought it, but after trying to use it we have an entirely different opinion. After checking with other owners and user forums we could not find anyone satisfied with using the Lippert cargo carrier for their bikes.
We have 2 bikes we wanted to carry. I extended the cargo carrier, raised the vertical support and strapped the bikes on as securely as possible.
After the first 100mi or so decided to hit a rest stop and check everything out. Glad we did. Everything was loose. There is enough up and down wobble with the carrier that the strapping simply moved with the load and the bikes subsequently fell down flat on the carrier. I re-strapped everything (the bikes laying flat) including the carrier this time and completed our trip without further incident until I removed the straps. One of the support brackets holding the carrier to the frame was bent down, the other was missing completely.
If this carrier can't even support the weight (80#) of 2 bikes what good is it?
Plus, the system is not really set up for carrying bikes. They don't ride well on the tray like they do on a receiver mount bike rack.
Our solution. is to remove the offending instrument of poor design (the cargo carrier) and install a 2"receiver welded to the frame. We'll need to cut off the square tube "bumper" and weld it to the receiver. If we need a cargo carrier we'll buy one that attaches via the 2" receiver. Otherwise our bike rack will be attached there.

[Ken / Claudia]

Canonman, you found out about what I mentioned in post #13. I think some due not believe it or do not care. Bottom line is if that whole part is able to bounce up/down with in the mount, how long does it take to fail. No matter how well the items are secured to the pull out the whole thing will still bounce within the brackets. My opinion of the pull tray is use it as storage at camp only or fix it so the bounce is removed.

[Canonman]

To bad this type of poorly engineered sub standard quality excuse for a workable product is even allowed on the road. We wouldn't even hang dishtowels on this to dry. People are going to use it as a bike rack. It's going to fail and some unlucky person is going to suffer the consequences when it does.
Here is Lippert's web info: http://www.lci1.com/assets/content/support/complists/Storage%20and%20Convenience/Bike_Rack_and_Hitch_Components
They call it a "Sliding Bike Rack" part number 126890.
We contacted their Customer Service Tech Support Desk and asked if there wasn't a better way to support bikes and cargo other than ratchet straps and bungee cords. Garth told us that is how was designed. Really?? Like the Beverly Hillbillies strapp'n stuff to the back of the RV hoping it doesn't fall off and get someone hurt or even killed at freeway speeds.
Like we said, ours is coming off and a 2" receiver is being put in it's place. Hopefully Keystone gets the message and stops buying Lippert's frame with this option.

[Bunhauler]

I moved the spare tire mount to the backside of the bumper, this puts the spare tire over top of the bumper, bolted a receiver tube to the bumper that I welded to a plate, then ran a tube from the backside of the receiver to a piece of angle that runs out to the rails of the sliding rack. Using a Saris (thelma) bike rack works great. I have a cougar 331mks fifthwheel, but would be the same for any with slide rack


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