Hitch receiver

[MFuhrman]

What type of hitch receiver will work for a 2014 keystone montana 3582rl model. I want to add a cargo carrier rack for my generator. I have no bumper, so attaching to frame is a must.

[notanlines]

M, I'm afraid you have asked a question, a common question I might add, that stirs the fires around our little forum campsite like few others. I don't have an actual answer to your question, just cannon fodder so to speak. If you are looking to carry a 3500 watt generator in the 90 pound range I might be willing to go along with it, but if you have a 6K generator in the 150-200 pound range I'd advise against it, big time.
In our years on the highway (both 50-state club) we have seen some hellacious
things come off carriers like you describe. It particularly raised my brows with your phrase "I have no bumper, so attaching to frame is a must."
Nothing but nothing can be safely attached to an RV bumper except the hollow inside for your sewer line.
Keep us up on what you decide.

[dutchmensport]

There are some models of Montana's where a hitch cannot be installed. Your best option is to visit a hitch shop (or a company that specializes in welding), or a trailer sales shop (not RV's), and see what can be done for your specific model.

Meanwhile, the same question has been asked multiple times and responses are never overwhelmingly positive, what the poster was hoping to hear.

Another meanwhile: check out https://www.montanaowners.com/forums for more specifics about your Montana.

[MFuhrman]

Thsnk you for your honesty on the cannon fodder. Our generator is a 3500, 90 lb model. Ive been looking at how the chassis frame is built by keystone and looking at the class 3 reciever by Curt. They have 2 models, one bolt on and one welded. I will go talk to some shops that specialize in this to get more knowledge.
Thank you

[Ken / Claudia]

With that much work to do, if it was me and knowing what happens to stuff hanging on the rear of a RV trailer. (Just watch in you travels of the loaded stuff on those bumpers or hitches bounce sometimes like a yo-yo).
I would have a carrier welded with supports straight to the frame and by pass a hitch receiver. What ever you plug into a hitch will bounce up/down forward and back. If you carry anything back there, go on a test trip and have someone follow you a few miles and tell you how much movement there is and determine if its safe. I do not trust a camera mounted on the rear to help much as it is bouncing along also.
I posted a few months ago of a factory swing down into place carrier on a Cougar, judging by the cover it was supporting about a 3500 watt genny. The carrier was bent down about 1/3 of the way to total collapse. That is not all the bad stuff I have seen nor many others on here hanging on the rear of a 5er or TT. that are failing or did fail.

[Northofu1]

I personally like the front hitch. It's cheaper, easier to install.
500 lb tongue weight and pulls 9000 lbs.
An example.

https://www.hitchweb.com/31023/front...EaApf-EALw_wcB

[schwengel11161]

Good thought, look at the ECO HITCH from e trailer. I have one on my F250, has a 'tongue weight' of 1000lbs. Use it to back boats into tight storage, carry a spare tire and or small cargo rack.

[JRTJH]

While "on the road" start watching for RV's with a rack on the back.... Pay particular attention to how those racks "wobble side to side" and bounce/buck up and down. I have "the cheapest, on sale when I bought them" Champion 2KW generators. They are "square boxes that are ruggedized" with rubber feet and strong outer shells.... NO WAY do I want my generators "bucking and bouncing" on the back of my fifth wheel. If they do happen to survive arrival at the campground the same time as the rest of my trailer (IOW, if they don't bounce off onto the highway) I still don't want my equipment subjected to that kind of travel conditions.

Most truck beds, even short bed trucks, have enough room to put the generator in the bed, forward of the fifth wheel hitch. Mine even fit with the tonneau cover in place. Only problem is that I have to remove the tonneau cover to get the generator out of the bed. It won't slide out from under the cover because the hitch is in the way. They're "out of the weather", protected by a cover, riding in the same conditions as the hitch and fifth wheel pinbox. To me, it makes more sense not to subject electronic equipment (inverter generator) to the road conditions found on the back end of a fifth wheel.

[GMH]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Most truck beds, even short bed trucks, have enough room to put the generator in the bed, forward of the fifth wheel hitch.

That’s where I carry my 3000w Honda. It had two wheels on it and I added two more so I can roll it up a couple of 2x8 wooden ramps into the bed. The ramps are short enough to fit in the bed too. I load it before installing the hitch or I have to move the hitch to the side, but I don’t have to lift it. I also have a 30 amp extension cord so I can run it while in the bed and still hooked up if need be.

[flybouy]

If you want to put a generator (any size) on the back of a trailer I suggest you try this simple test. Find a nice long grassy hill. Take your generator to the top and get it rolling over (not on wheels but side over side switching top with bottom) and then take it home and try it out. That would be a “short test”. For long drives repeat this test for several hours.

[sourdough]

I've got to chime in and say I think putting a gen set on a carrier off the back of a trailer is a very bad idea. Like others I have seen way too many RVs with a carrier on the back with stuff about to fall off, tilted down at some crazy angle, things bouncing and swaying down the highway (I will not stay behind them) and the drivers totally oblivious. What goes on inside the RV on a rough road is bad enough but anything strapped to one of those things hanging off the back are subjected to 1000 times worse.....if they make it to the destination. And to think of a 3500 generator tumbling off in the middle of a highway at 65 mph into traffic? Oh heck no! Should've took a picture of the 20th anniversary Montana sitting next to me a couple of days ago with a rear rack on the back; generator on one end and a couple of plastic totes to fill it up across the back. Tilted to one side due to the weight of the gen and as he put stuff in the rack just swayed around. Can you imagine what that thing is doing going down a rough interstate?

[GMH]

Front hitch and a good quality rack could work. I have a Curt on my F-250 that I carry my e-bikes on. I would trust it to carry a generator.