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Old 12-22-2020, 12:57 PM   #1
jasin1
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Rv approved bike rack

Anyone get a new bike rack lately? I have the factory receiver mount on my 315rls. 300 lb max. I have a Thule folding mount now. I realize it’s wrong because it can shear the pin from bouncing on the tail end of the rig. I thought about welding it in fixed position and beefing it up a little. I’m thinking of getting electric bikes and will put those in the bed of the truck but want the beach cruisers for campgrounds.
I don’t really want the pin box mount or front of truck, has the reciever mount from the factory solved some of the drawbacks of bikes on the back of a fiver?
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Old 12-22-2020, 01:28 PM   #2
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Try Hollywood racks. They have some meant for trailers.
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Old 12-22-2020, 01:43 PM   #3
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I can recommend the Swagman E-Spec Bike Rack. RV approved when you replace the removable pin with the supplied bolt (making it no longer a folding rack).
It is rated for two 70# e bikes. I carry regular bikes on it and have over 4,000 miles with it attached to the back of my 5th wheel traveling the likes of Interstates 78, 80, 95. It’s been a very solid unit but not inexpensive at $400.
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Old 12-22-2020, 01:48 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by QCMan View Post
Try Hollywood racks. They have some meant for trailers.
Thanks I will take a look
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Old 12-22-2020, 01:50 PM   #5
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I can recommend the Swagman E-Spec Bike Rack. RV approved when you replace the removable pin with the supplied bolt (making it no longer a folding rack).
It is rated for two 70# e bikes. I carry regular bikes on it and have over 4,000 miles with it attached to the back of my 5th wheel traveling the likes of Interstates 78, 80, 95. It’s been a very solid unit but not inexpensive at $400.
Thanks it looks like this or the Hollywood will do the trick. I just hope it isn’t putting undo stress on the frame of the fiver
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Old 12-22-2020, 03:10 PM   #6
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Search for bike racks and see the many threads where these things turned out badly. Of course, where folks haven't had failures, probably didn't post about those.
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Old 12-22-2020, 03:14 PM   #7
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Search for bike racks and see the many threads where these things turned out badly. Of course, where folks haven't had failures, probably didn't post about those.
I did search but most posts were older..I wasn’t sure when cougars got the receiver mount factory installed so I wondered if it fixed the issues
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Old 12-22-2020, 03:16 PM   #8
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My cruisers are aluminum frame so not super heavy but it does put some stress on the bike rack itself. It wasn’t a cheap one either but I can see where it’s been tweaked a little to one side form the forces on the back of the fiver.
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Old 12-22-2020, 07:41 PM   #9
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swagman has one.
deal with etrailer and you'll figure it out.
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Old 12-23-2020, 03:46 AM   #10
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swagman has one.
deal with etrailer and you'll figure it out.
Yep I order a bunch of stuff from them already. Probably get the swagman. Thanks for all the responses. Wanted to see what others were using and looks like the two mentioned are solid ones
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Old 12-23-2020, 07:51 AM   #11
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My opinion, the frame is not to worrisome. It's the thin bumper and lousy welds holding it on. If you have a good mount onto the frame and solid system likely it will be trouble free. As you travel you will see if you look, how bad items bounce when mounted on the rear end of other RVs. Motorhomes are not nearly as bad as a trailer. Every bump in the road will create up and down bounce with front and back movement at the same time. Make it solid and recheck your system as you travel.
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Old 12-23-2020, 08:45 AM   #12
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Excerpt from Keystone Limited Warranty.

Damage or loss caused in whole or in part by the unauthorized attachments, modifications or alterations to the structure, body, pin box, or frame of the RV including but not limited to trailer hitches for towing, or platforms for supporting cargo.

Reference: Keystone owner's manual.
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Old 12-23-2020, 10:32 AM   #13
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Hi we have a 2019 Cougar 315RLS and have hauled 2 bikes around since we got the 5ver. We use a swagman RV rated carrier and have not (knock on wood ) had any issues with it. The 315 has a factory mounted receiver hitch rated for 300lbs and we usually haul a small 2000w Champion generator on a carrier. We use a double receiver extension carrier on the bottom and bike rack in the top receiver. This seems to work good for us. We also bought the Swagman double bike cover, it keeps a lot of road grime off and we have a rear view observation camera so we can watch the bikes and they look pretty solid with very little movement. Hope this helps.
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Old 12-23-2020, 11:15 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CWtheMan View Post
Excerpt from Keystone Limited Warranty.

Damage or loss caused in whole or in part by the unauthorized attachments, modifications or alterations to the structure, body, pin box, or frame of the RV including but not limited to trailer hitches for towing, or platforms for supporting cargo.

Reference: Keystone owner's manual.
It’s a factory keystone cougar “approved” receiver tube. It’s made and marketed by keystone for bike racks up to 300 lbs welded to the frame by keystone
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Old 12-23-2020, 11:16 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by jim1 View Post
Hi we have a 2019 Cougar 315RLS and have hauled 2 bikes around since we got the 5ver. We use a swagman RV rated carrier and have not (knock on wood ) had any issues with it. The 315 has a factory mounted receiver hitch rated for 300lbs and we usually haul a small 2000w Champion generator on a carrier. We use a double receiver extension carrier on the bottom and bike rack in the top receiver. This seems to work good for us. We also bought the Swagman double bike cover, it keeps a lot of road grime off and we have a rear view observation camera so we can watch the bikes and they look pretty solid with very little movement. Hope this helps.
Thanks I’m going with the swagman
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Old 12-23-2020, 11:18 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia View Post
My opinion, the frame is not to worrisome. It's the thin bumper and lousy welds holding it on. If you have a good mount onto the frame and solid system likely it will be trouble free. As you travel you will see if you look, how bad items bounce when mounted on the rear end of other RVs. Motorhomes are not nearly as bad as a trailer. Every bump in the road will create up and down bounce with front and back movement at the same time. Make it solid and recheck your system as you travel.
Thanks. Yes I’m going with a rv fifth wheel approved ( some are rv but not fifth wheel approved) bike rack.And it is the factory welded receiver tube on the frame
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Old 12-23-2020, 11:35 AM   #17
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A bike rack you say..... here's mine
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Old 12-23-2020, 02:28 PM   #18
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Hey Lee nice rig. One of my first trucks was a 1968 Mercury 1/2 ton 4x4, almost bullet proof. Wish I had it now for a daily driver, column shifter, strong arm steering, windows and locks that actually work if you remember to hand crank them, nice. Oh well all the bells and whistles aren't that bad either.
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Old 12-23-2020, 02:40 PM   #19
Ken / Claudia
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Lee, the smaller version of your photo does not do justice to your truck. Nice rig!
As a kid dad carried a motorcycle on the front bumper also.
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Old 12-23-2020, 03:18 PM   #20
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A bike rack you say..... here's mine
Now that is heavy duty!
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