Rear bumper recommendations

[cnbhand]

We have the extending rear bumper ie bike rack on our 2008 cougar 29rks. I currently have the spare tire and a one bike, bike rack attached to the bumper. I have checked the welds and it looks OK. Is this a problem in the making? This set up has been on there for about 5K miles. Just learned about the bumper problem with other models.

[Dawg]

I have a Cougar 318 SAAB with the built in bike rack. Like others the spare tire mounts here also. After a 4k miles trip I moved the tire to the truck bed. Pulled the built in bike platform out 2/3 and drilled new pin holes. I then mounted 2 diamond plate boxes on the platform with support. One for sewer supplies the other for fresh water and jack hardware. This eliminates the sore back from those "one nighters" when you don't disconnect and your bending over between your truck and the 5th wheel. I then mounted a 3 bike rack to a 2 inch receiver attached to the bumper. With the additional support for the boxes and the boxes themselves the bumper looks very secure. 3 bikes are much lighter than the spare tire.