rear reciever

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

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]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

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.

[Bob Landry]

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



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