rear reciever

[MILBY]

OK with all the problems I hear about the rear bumpers, where I was going to put a storage box but have changed our minds. Now thinking about putting a hitch reciever on the frame and putting a carrier into that. Then I could put a big box on that. I did look into the lippert underbody but storage is not what I hoped for, wanted more bang for the buck. So what I am asking is what kind of hitch should I get. This will be bolted or weld directly to the frame.

[MIKEPATC]

I went to a local fabrication/welding shop. I had them weld on a 2" hitch receiver to the bumper and weld on additional braces from the bumper to the frame. With it all beefed uo we never had a problem. Used it mostly for our 4 bike carrier. :thumbsup:

[Bob Landry]

I also found outside storage on my 277RL to be lacking. It came with a bike rack. receiver mounted on a cross support that was bolted to the frame. I don't need a bike rack so I removed that assembly and had a welding shop install a length of steel tubing that is welded to the frame. That's the first photo. Then they welded short supports between the new tube and the bumper making for four supports holding the bumper. One of those is also shown in the first photo. I had a diamond tread aluminum box made to specific dimensions so that it could sit on the whole right half of the bumper and not obstruct the tail light. it's also narrow enough so that it does not protrude past the spare tire so there is no additional length on the trailer, and that makes it narrow enough so that the heavy items in the box, my air compressor and the wooden leveling pads sit directly above the bumper and not create weight hanging off creating leverage. So far, it's been a great set up. I spent arount $200 at the welding shop and that included materials, and around $300 for the box shipped, which was probably less than an off the shelf box from Northern Tool, which would not have worked nearly as well. I had the box made so that it opens with a swing down door. A top opening lid would have interfered wit the light and I would not ave been able to go allthe way to the end of the bumper. The top of the box also provides a place to carry the Barker tote tank, but I havn't gotten around to installing the mount for it yet.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_31792_0_30de4dce8a5840b343d9a4d551b283e7.jpg

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_31792_1_51da12e3787748b92224d90132b34d3e.jpg

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_31792_2_3e2bc59b921fe7b9c573ff4e73eb9239.jpg

[MILBY]

Called the dealer where we have it stored at and they want 400 to weld on the reciever(not gonna happen) we pick it up from them on sat. so I will look at it and figure something out.

[Bob Landry]

Called the dealer where we have it stored at and they want 400 to weld on the reciever(not gonna happen) we pick it up from them on sat. so I will look at it and figure something out.

Find someone in your area that specializes in hitches and I don't mean U-Haul. That's what I did and I'm happy with the results. There are very few things I would ever hire a dealer to fix.

[Shoey]

I've been tossing around the same problem. I would like to add a rear hitch for a cargo carrier for my generator a "tote tank". I don't trust the rear bumper to hold the weight, so I've been looking for a bolt on reciever. I'm typically very handy and capable, but unfortunately welding is not in my bag of tricks. I have the tools to cut and drill as required, but I haven't been able to find a universal reciever that can span the frame.

[Bob Landry]

I've been tossing around the same problem. I would like to add a rear hitch for a cargo carrier for my generator a "tote tank". I don't trust the rear bumper to hold the weight, so I've been looking for a bolt on reciever. I'm typically very handy and capable, but unfortunately welding is not in my bag of tricks. I have the tools to cut and drill as required, but I haven't been able to find a universal reciever that can span the frame.

You aren't going to find one. You are going to have to find a place that does custom bumpers and hitches. Mine was done with 3/16 steel tubing cut to a snug fit, tapped up between the frame members and welded. The stock trailer bumper, if reinforced properly, is strong enough to set a storage box on like I did, but it still will not handle a heavy weight hanging off of it in a manner that creates a lot of leverage. I certanly would not attach a cargo carrier to the bumper. A carrier with a hundred pounds will create several hundred pounds of stress when it starts bouncing .

[Shoey]

Bob, I think your right about not being able to find one. 46 inch span is the largest span I found so far. I did find a reciever that just bolts onto the bumper, but there's no way I'd even consider it for the same reasons you listed above. I was actually surprised they would advertise a bumper reciever commerically. Somewhere, sometime, someone will think its a great idea until they leave their rear bumper on the highway somewhere. Yours looks very nice by the way. I just surprised theres not a frame mount hitch available. There's definitely a market for one.

[SteveC7010]

Bob, I think your right about not being able to find one. 46 inch span is the largest span I found so far.

This one is advertised to span up to 72". What is the frame width on your unit?

http://www.etrailer.com/Specialty-Trailer-Hitches/Curt/13703.html

Edit: Found the install sheet on this model on the Curt website:

http://www.curtmfg.com/masterlibrary/13703/installsheet/CM_13703_INS.PDF

[JRTJH]

Bob, I think your right about not being able to find one. 46 inch span is the largest span I found so far. I did find a reciever that just bolts onto the bumper, but there's no way I'd even consider it for the same reasons you listed above. I was actually surprised they would advertise a bumper reciever commerically. Somewhere, sometime, someone will think its a great idea until they leave their rear bumper on the highway somewhere. Yours looks very nice by the way. I just surprised theres not a frame mount hitch available. There's definitely a market for one.

Curt Hitch Company makes a bolt on receiver for RV frames that spans 72". Here's the link:

http://www.curtmfg.com/part/13703

I think the "only problem" with it is the cost. It's $520.07 plus shipping. Even if you install it yourself, you're not reinforcing the rear bumper at all, just adding a receiver under it connected to the frame. There's still a lot of force generated with any load "out there behind the frame connection points" I think that for much less than that price, you can have a custom receiver welded to your frame and also have the bumper reinforced and the receiver welded to that point also so you eliminate any twisting at the frame attachment points. That's what we did with ours, unfortunately it's still in storage, so I can't take pictures, but essentially, they built a "girdle" between the frame rails and welded the receiver to that, then welded a 4" "L" angle to the back and bottom of the square bumper that also spans the entire frame width. Then welded the receiver under the bumper to that new "L" steel angle. Then they gussetted the front and back of the receiver tube. It ain't goin' nowhere. I had all that done at a machine shop/metal fabrication shop with a guarantee that it won't flex with a 3500 lb trailer and aa 350 lb tongue weight. With a flat 48"x24" carrier in the receiver, I can't get any flex by jumping on it. I know that's only a very limited "test" but I feel comfortable that it'll carry bikes, firewood, extra cooler, etc with no problem. Total cost last year was $350. I'm sure with inflation, that's up some. but still significantly cheaper than Curt wants for their bolt on hitch.

[SteveC7010]

Curt Hitch Company makes a bolt on receiver for RV frames that spans 72". Here's the link:

http://www.curtmfg.com/part/13703

I think the "only problem" with it is the cost. It's $520.07 plus shipping.

etrailer.com has it for $298 plus shipping. Probably a much more reasonable price; certainly makes it very attractive to me.

I have the slide-out bike/utility rack on the back of the Cougar so I have to get under and around that to add a rear receiver. There's no way I can use the receiver as a starting point to reinforce the bumper because of the slide-out so I am stuck with the 200# max.

[Bob Landry]

Bob, I think your right about not being able to find one. 46 inch span is the largest span I found so far. I did find a reciever that just bolts onto the bumper, but there's no way I'd even consider it for the same reasons you listed above. I was actually surprised they would advertise a bumper reciever commerically. Somewhere, sometime, someone will think its a great idea until they leave their rear bumper on the highway somewhere. Yours looks very nice by the way. I just surprised theres not a frame mount hitch available. There's definitely a market for one.

I could be mistaken, but I think there probably isn't one available because people would try to use it to tow a utility trailer or a boat, and in many states, double towing is illegal except behind a fith wheel.

Some of the Keysones come with a frame mounted receiver(mine did). but it's bolted on and intended as a bike carrier with a 200lb max. I looked at mine pretty closely when I took it off, and I question if it would actuall handle 200lbs, but the design is good, it just needs to be beefier if you are going to hang a carrier on it.

[craiglud]

I had my local welder put one on for me and it works great and I paid ~$100 for the setup. It works great for my bike rack!

[SteveC7010]

I could be mistaken, but I think there probably isn't one available because people would try to use it to tow a utility trailer or a boat, and in many states, double towing is illegal except behind a fith wheel.

JRTJH and I have both pointed out the Curt 72" hitch for RV's. It is rated at 350# tongue, 3,500# trailer. etrailer.com currently has it for $298 plus shipping.

[jol]

I bought the one from E-trailer it did bolt up directly to the frame no problems, it hangs a bit low but to carry the bikes it works great. Someone told me that someone here had premade ones for fifth wheels when I called them they said they stopped making them as they did not make enough money on them, wow that was honest

[JRTJH]

JOL, That's pretty much the answer to a lot of "mom and pop" fabrications. I welded a set of "brush forks" for the front end loader on my tractor. They worked great and a couple of neighbors wanted a set. I bought the materials, did the fabrication, welding, painting and installation to show them how to use them. All told, that cost a specific amount of my time and money. When I started looking at "my investment" it became apparent that I could buy a set off Ebay or from Tractor Supply for about the same cost. While the commercial ones may not fit quite as well, or be adapted to a specific tractor as well, they work adequately and essentially cost less in the long run. So, to be told that someone cant make enough money to keep producing them is a reality in today's "made in China" world......

[dave-g]

Called the dealer where we have it stored at and they want 400 to weld on the reciever(not gonna happen) we pick it up from them on sat. so I will look at it and figure something out.

If you want a hitch- that seems like a good deal. and the dealer would mostly know what to do.(miss water tanks and such) Most shop time is around 85-110 per hour plus material.

[Bob Landry]

if they are going to fabricate the ntire thing from design to installation and provide the materials, $400 pobably isn't bad, but if you are going to order something from e-trailer and just take it to be welded on, that's too much money for a job like that.
As far as knowing what to do, the area where the receiver would be welded is not covered and the frame is exposed, so there's no great expertise involved there. There's no reason to open yourself up tp being ripped off by the dealer.

[MILBY]

If I had all the fab. equipment at home that I do at work it would be easy to make one myself but the boss would be very pi**ed off.

[jol]

JOL, That's pretty much the answer to a lot of "mom and pop" fabrications. I welded a set of "brush forks" for the front end loader on my tractor. They worked great and a couple of neighbors wanted a set. I bought the materials, did the fabrication, welding, painting and installation to show them how to use them. All told, that cost a specific amount of my time and money. When I started looking at "my investment" it became apparent that I could buy a set off Ebay or from Tractor Supply for about the same cost. While the commercial ones may not fit quite as well, or be adapted to a specific tractor as well, they work adequately and essentially cost less in the long run. So, to be told that someone cant make enough money to keep producing them is a reality in today's "made in China" world......

Yes it is getting harder and harder to find something without the "Made In China" on it, there are things that have not been brought or bought into this house for that reason, kind of makes me a little irate. Had to pickup cartridges for sink faucet and then the wording is made in china on a Price Pfister cartridge.

[wyobulldog]

I wanted a hitch setup also so I could mount a cargo rack for my generator and air compressor. I had a buddy of mine who is a welder build the hitch and then we cut the bumper off of the camper and used the existing tubing that mounted it to the camper originally and cut an L notch in it then welded it to the top of the new hitch. It is all one piece and looks like it came that way from the factory. It has mounting plates that bolt to the outside of the frame rails. Here are pics of my setup.

[SAD]

I wanted a hitch setup also so I could mount a cargo rack for my generator and air compressor. I had a buddy of mine who is a welder build the hitch and then we cut the bumper off of the camper and used the existing tubing that mounted it to the camper originally and cut an L notch in it then welded it to the top of the new hitch. It is all one piece and looks like it came that way from the factory. It has mounting plates that bolt to the outside of the frame rails. Here are pics of my setup.

I would love to see how this was integrated into the existing brackets with the notch you describe.

Possible to get us a pic from from left and below, looking up towards the frame where it attaches? Maybe one from the right (lower inside of frame rail) and looking up?

[wyobulldog]

Here is a picture of the hitch before paint and install. The frame rails on my Springdale are I-beams, so we had to pull down the black plastic underbelly then cut the outside "foot" off of frame rail so the mounting plates would slide up on the outside of frame rails. The L notch you can see where the bumper is welded to top of hitch. The bumper mounts were just thin wall 2x4 tubing that was welded to bottom of frame rails, I just cut them off with a cutting wheel and left enough attached to bumper to make notch. Once we had the whole setup under the camper we just clamped it to the frame and then drilled frame for mounting bolts. I will try to get under there and get some pics on Sunday.

[SAD]

Thanks. Great!!!

[happytrails]

I figured this would be as good a place to put this as any since the discussion seems to be similar.

We recently went on a 120 mile each way trip with some friends. I had been reading warnings about putting bikes on the rear bumper with a bolt on or other modded receiver without making sure the bumper would withstand it. I had been carrying two bikes and my buddy carries four. I told him about all the things I had read and that I was putting my bikes in my bunk room until I could mod my bumper.

Well, he decided to carry his. When he arrived at the campground his bikes were nearly falling off. I believe the only thing that saved him was the bike rack bar in the receiver was pushing against his bumper. The bolt on receiver that he bought at Camping World (and you can get them all over the place so this isn't about CW) was actually falling apart at the welds. He only had about 3/4" of the weld in-tact on either side. His bumper was fine, this time. He decided to put the bikes in the camper and the back of the truck for the ride home, but he plans on buying another bolt on receiver. Needless to say I won't be traveling behind him and most likely I won't travel behind other RVs where I see these or bikes that look like they're falling off because they are probably going to!

I just thought it was worth noting that even though you may beef up the bumper, if you buy one of those bolt on receivers you could still be fooling yourself. I am taking mine off the camper. I don't recall seeing a weight rating for it, but it must not be very much. Four bikes aren't exactly light, but they aren't exactly all that heavy either. The bumps in the road contribute to the weight and probably increase it significantly.

I hope that any of you who are still doing what I was doing will reconsider doing this any further. Thank you Keystone RV Forums for giving me the idea to remove the bikes/baskets/junk off my bumper.

[Mij]

attached is a picture of what I use to haul a 4 bike rack on the back. I do not camp much over 2hrs away so there isnt alot of bounce time on the back. I have checked and inspected the welds and the bumper and no signs of stress. Not sure if I would throw a cargo rack and a generator on the back without some reinforcment. Probably would go with a bumper mount cargo rack and not use a reciever type. Again I understand this is a basic and light duty option but has worked great for me.

[JRTJH]

attached is a picture of what I use to haul a 4 bike rack on the back. I do not camp much over 2hrs away so there isnt alot of bounce time on the back. I have checked and inspected the welds and the bumper and no signs of stress. Not sure if I would throw a cargo rack and a generator on the back without some reinforcment. Probably would go with a bumper mount cargo rack and not use a reciever type. Again I understand this is a basic and light duty option but has worked great for me.

What you've got there is essentially the same setup as the spare tire carrier. It simply bolts around the square tube "sewer hose bumper" and adds a 2" receiver under that bumper. Most of the issues people have had with spare tires "pulling" the square bumper apart at the welds to the frame extensions is because of the twisting that occurs in the light metal of the bumper tube. Your addition will most likely cause the same twisting effect when you hang a bike carrier and bikes off the receiver.

Watch it closely, not only at the welds where the square tube joins the frame extensions, but also at the "die-stamped" seam on the back of the bumper. You probably won't notice it deforming at the hitch bolt area (it's held square there by the Curt product) but you will see the seam starting to pull apart about 8" to 12" on either side of where you clamped that hitch on the tube.

Problem seems to be that the square tube bumper is not heavy enough to support the weight. It's just a light gage metal sheet that's die stamped into a square tube and spot welded to keep it square. Some people have also had "issues" with the frame extensions not being heavy enough to support the extra weight.

So, watch that Curt hitch carefully !!! It's built heavy enough to "tow a tank" but the bumper you've got it installed on is a "hummingbird"

[Outbackmel]

Take the heavy spare off and carry it in the bed if the truck and trade the weight for not greater than a 2 bike hauler. No problem. It only makes sense that a 3 or 4 bike hauler hanging further off the back of your RV is going to place more torque on that flimsy set up. If you do not remove the tire, you are just compounding your risk just because of the added weight.

I carry 3 bikes. One I disassemble the front tire and stow the bike inside the cargo compartment of the RV.

Decisions, decisions...also as everyone says, every time you stop, check the security of the bike rack. In addition, as added support, I place a soft tie loop on each end of the bicycle and use ratchet straps to secure them so it minimizes the back and forth that is going to occur and while it will NOT eliminate the sway, it darn sure reduces the heck out of it.

I tow 2 bikes all the time and the the only issue has ever been, tighten the straps every fuel or lunch stops.

It really does not matter what you carry, IT WILL MOVE back there. Ever see truckers stopping in rest areas checking tires with a steel bar and tie down straps as well. Heck, that's on a FLAT BED trailer. Loads will shift, roads are brutal.

[Bob Landry]

Curt Hitch Company makes a bolt on receiver for RV frames that spans 72". Here's the link:

http://www.curtmfg.com/part/13703

I think the "only problem" with it is the cost. It's $520.07 plus shipping. Even if you install it yourself, you're not reinforcing the rear bumper at all, just adding a receiver under it connected to the frame. There's still a lot of force generated with any load "out there behind the frame connection points" I think that for much less than that price, you can have a custom receiver welded to your frame and also have the bumper reinforced and the receiver welded to that point also so you eliminate any twisting at the frame attachment points. That's what we did with ours, unfortunately it's still in storage, so I can't take pictures, but essentially, they built a "girdle" between the frame rails and welded the receiver to that, then welded a 4" "L" angle to the back and bottom of the square bumper that also spans the entire frame width. Then welded the receiver under the bumper to that new "L" steel angle. Then they gussetted the front and back of the receiver tube. It ain't goin' nowhere. I had all that done at a machine shop/metal fabrication shop with a guarantee that it won't flex with a 3500 lb trailer and aa 350 lb tongue weight. With a flat 48"x24" carrier in the receiver, I can't get any flex by jumping on it. I know that's only a very limited "test" but I feel comfortable that it'll carry bikes, firewood, extra cooler, etc with no problem. Total cost last year was $350. I'm sure with inflation, that's up some. but still significantly cheaper than Curt wants for their bolt on hitch.

The Curt receiver in the link you posted looks exactly like the one that came on my Outback. I saw very little utility in it and pitched it so I coud have my bumper reinforcement done. Keystone said that receiver was only good for a couple of hundred pounds anyway. One bike bouncing will be a problem on a rough rode.
Going to a trailer/welding shop may sound like an expensive fix at $300-400, but that will get a reinforced system made specifically for your rig that will do the job. Relative to what we pay for our trailers and trucks, that's cheap insurance to be able to go down the road with peace of mind that you won't leave gear scattered all over the highway. Of course there are people who won't do anything but cheap and will probably end up being unhappy with whatever type of Rube Goldberg contraption they put together. I think tht after you put a pencil and paper to it, it costs less to do it right up front and only have to do it once, not to mention having to deal with a problem on the road.

[Mij]

What you've got there is essentially the same setup as the spare tire carrier. It simply bolts around the square tube "sewer hose bumper" and adds a 2" receiver under that bumper. Most of the issues people have had with spare tires "pulling" the square bumper apart at the welds to the frame extensions is because of the twisting that occurs in the light metal of the bumper tube. Your addition will most likely cause the same twisting effect when you hang a bike carrier and bikes off the receiver.

Watch it closely, not only at the welds where the square tube joins the frame extensions, but also at the "die-stamped" seam on the back of the bumper. You probably won't notice it deforming at the hitch bolt area (it's held square there by the Curt product) but you will see the seam starting to pull apart about 8" to 12" on either side of where you clamped that hitch on the tube.

Problem seems to be that the square tube bumper is not heavy enough to support the weight. It's just a light gage metal sheet that's die stamped into a square tube and spot welded to keep it square. Some people have also had "issues" with the frame extensions not being heavy enough to support the extra weight.

So, watch that Curt hitch carefully !!! It's built heavy enough to "tow a tank" but the bumper you've got it installed on is a "hummingbird"

Thanks for the info. I will look at the bumper more closely and get the spare off the bumper. (tx)

[Bob Landry]

Here's a photo of how mine is beefed up.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_48597_0_30de4dce8a5840b343d9a4d551b283e7.jpg

The black bar that appears to be parallel with the bumper is a piece of 1/4" thick steel tubing that was cut to length to span the frame where the Curt receiver assembly was bolted to the frame. The short piece of tubing is one of two that was added giving me four places where the short supports attach the cross piece to the square bumper. The welder also checked the factory welds on the bumper and completed them where they did not go the entire length of the joint. The total cost for the job including materials was around $200. In the lower part of the photo, you can see one of the ubolts that attaches my spare tire carrier. On the other end of the bumper there is a diamond tread aluminum box that I had custom built to ride on the bumper. It houses an electric air compressor, shore power cords, x-chocks, and water hoses. I might add, the storage box is positioned to sit with most of it's weight on top of the bumper, not hanging off of it creating leverage and stress on the bumper assembly likeyou would have witha receiver hitch hanging off of the bumper. It's not going anywhere.

[Bushman512000]

This is the way I have My install 4 trailer done this way so far not a hitch problem see the pic.s