Hubby and I are new owners of a 2022 Keystone Hideout 174rk. He is an avid cyclist, both road bike and mountain bike. We've seen bike racks mounted to the rear bumper, but have also read posts stating that the bumper won't handle the weight. Who has mounted a bike rack to their rear bumper? Any modifications or issues with weight?
I hope I didn't miss a response to your original question. I do have our bikes on the back tube (bumper), but not without modifications.
I used the Mount-N-Lock brackets from the frame of the 5er. These brackets wrap around the tube to prevent them from falling off of the trailer. I also used a Stromberg Carlson bike carrier designed for carrying on the back of the RV. Plus I also use an anti rattle pin to prevent unnecessary up and down shaking and shock loads.
It's not as stout as a 2 inch receiver or accessory rack. But I have very little movement while driving and so far absolutely no twisting of my bumper. That's with about 3k miles of towing so far. All in all, I have about $250 in all of it. Hope this can help.
It looks like my travel trailer bumper is welded to the frame underneath, why can't I bolt a bike rack to this?
Take a look at these photos of "welded to the frame" rear bumpers. That "cheap square tube" is not structurally strong enough not to twise and break at the welds with the stress put on it by bouncing bikes on a rack as you tow it down the highway.
In the first two photos, you can see how the "rust inside the welded tube" broke loose and allowed the damage. In the last photo, you can see the "U-bolts that have deformed the square tube" and are just waiting for the failure to happen.....
It looks like my travel trailer bumper is welded to the frame underneath, why can't I bolt a bike rack to this?
The flimsy lightweight steel of the bumper is the reason.
They make some supports to reinforce the welds but they do absolutely nothing the strengthen the lightweight steel of the bumper tube itself therefore just move the stress points a little further away from the welds.
Traveling you'll see countless rvs with all kinds of stuff strapped to that bumper, & the just as flimsy ladder & will testify they've been doing it forever, but when their time comes they'll arrive at their destination to find there's nothing back there or being flagged down cause their bikes with the bumper attached are stuck in someone's grill.
If your dead set on carrying stuff back there go to a local welding shop & have them remove that tin can bumper & custom fabricate something with real.steel that will carry whatever you want back there.
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Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
I don’t understand why more people with 5th wheels don’t use pin box receiver mounts for carrying bikes?
I would really appreciate a pointer to a commercially available 2" receiver that I can mount on my pin box. I've seen a few pictures of 5ers with bike racks mounted on the pin box, but have been unable to find a receiver.
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2022 Cougar Half Ton 24RDS
2017 F350 DRW 6.7L
I would really appreciate a pointer to a commercially available 2" receiver that I can mount on my pin box. I've seen a few pictures of 5ers with bike racks mounted on the pin box, but have been unable to find a receiver.
You likely won't find one ready to go. There are so many variables as to distance out to clear front cap, I don't think one can make a one size fits all.
I got some 1/4" thick 4"X 6" angle iron and a 18" long 2" receiver tube. I cut the angle Iron and clamped the assembly together and took to a wielder/fabricator.
If you can't cut yourself you might be able to do the layout and have the fabricator do all the cutting.
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Russ & Paula and Belle the Beagle.
2016 Ram Laramie 3500 DRW 14,000# GVWR (New TV)
2005 Copper Canyon 293 FWSLS 32’ GVWR 12,360 Visit and enjoy Oregon State Parks
I would really appreciate a pointer to a commercially available 2" receiver that I can mount on my pin box. I've seen a few pictures of 5ers with bike racks mounted on the pin box, but have been unable to find a receiver.
Any local welding shop could fabricate any design you chose & better quality than any commercially sold part.
Russ might not even charge you too much to copy his design if you took a picture of it with you to the shop.
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Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
They do just as advertised, strengthen the weld. The drawback is it just moves that stress point a little further from the weld. It's still a flimsy lightweight metal bumper a 1/2" away from.the welds.
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Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
wonder if it’s a good idea to drill into the pin box with the larger bolts required to mount the bike rack? ..any concerns with metal fatigue? especially since your adding the rocking motion of the bikes to the top of the pin box.
i don’t think i’d do it on a fifth wheel still under warranty.
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