bike rack for Vantage 29rls

[rschad]

I would like to put a bike rack on rear of my Vantage 29rls. I think I recall seeing a photo of a vantage with a hitch receiver on the trailer and a bike rack inserted into the receiver.

Does anyone know if it would be costly to have a hitch receiver added to the trailer and any idea of what it might cost and whether or not it is a good idea in the first place?

any advice welcomed.

[Festus2]

rschad -
There are a ton of posts that are already here on the forum about bike racks - different types, where and how to mount them, pros and cons of adding them, etc. Try doing a forum search - you will find enough information about bike racks to keep you out of mischief for quite some time.

[JRTJH]

Like Festus2 said, there's lots of posts on how to do this, problems, issues, costs, etc. With a "new trailer under warranty" be aware that if you modify the frame in any way, Keystone and Lippert will void your warranty. That is carefully and explicitly spelled out in the owner's manual. If you are considering adding a receiver, I'd urge you to wait until the trailer is out of warranty before doing any modifications. Yes, adding a receiver is a modification, in fact, that's one of the examples in the owner's manual that Keystone uses to show what would void the warranty.

[35mastr]

You can either have one hotch made by a local welder. Or just buy this one from Etrailer its 321.00 right now. Thats not a bad deal for that hitch.
Drill a few holes, Bolt it in and its all done.

[neilnj]

I have a 2012 Vantage 32FLS.
I was bothered that this camper didn't come with a bike rack or any place to store a generator so my son fabricated a frame rail with hitch out the back to support 500Lbs. I can carry my 200lb Generator plus a hitch bike rack.
We removed the light weight rear most horizontal cross-member and replaced it with a 1/4" reinforced rail with hitch. We added a 500Lb scooter rack with ramp from Harbor Freight and added a 2x2" hitch to the bottom of the rack to support a bike rack. Total weight of hitch with rail is 77Lbs. Scooter rack is about 35Lbs. If anything we added strength to the rear of the camper.
I can now easily roll the Generator up onto the scooter rack and secure it with tie downs and lock. I can also run the generator from the rack since the exhaust points away from the camper. I wouldn't run it overnight on the rack as the bedroom is in the rear. I know Vantage may void my warranty with altering the frame but i don't see any negative impact with the frame cross-member swap.

[CTurney]

neilnj,

Can you make a second hitch for sale for another Vantage owner?

Thanks and great job on the fabrication work.

[35mastr]

I ended up just building my own. Started off with 12 feet of 3/16 2x4 tubing. Some 3/16 plate and 2 18" 2" receivers that I got at Harbor Freight.I also added the other 6 foot lenth of 3/16 tubing at the end of the center receiver and welded it all in good and hot.

[35mastr]