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Old 04-18-2016, 08:18 PM   #1
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Installing a Bike Rack

We recently bought a 2017 Z1 328sb. We had planned to throw our bikes inside the TT, but lucked out and picked up a Thule Parkway XT Hanging Bike Hitch Rack, model 957SS, for $20.

What is involved in installing a hitch receiver on the bumper of our TT.
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Old 04-18-2016, 09:35 PM   #2
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Most of them clamp on. should take no more than 5 minutes. Do a search on "hitch receiver for rv bumper"
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Old 04-18-2016, 09:45 PM   #3
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I want to add a bumper bike rack myself, but am hesitant because of others who claim some of the bumpers can't tolerate the weight. In my case my spare is also attached, as well as the grill bracket. If it works for you or anyone else, I would like to hear about it good luck!
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Old 04-19-2016, 06:25 AM   #4
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I would first look carefully at the square bumper since a lot of them seem to be pretty thin and are often not supported all that well. Also be aware that you don't want to over tighten the clamp on hitch so that the bumper deforms and weakens. Finally, most of the bike rack manufacturers say flopping bikes can eventually fatigue the metal of the bumper and rack components. There can be a lot of sway and bounce on the rear end so you want the bikes well stabilized so they don't add movement stress to the unavoidable weight stress. Think it through carefully and you'll be fine.
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Old 04-19-2016, 06:53 AM   #5
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With bikes mounted that way, unless the bikes are strapped TIGHT to the trailer, every time you accelerate or slow there will be a twist on the bumper. The week point is the welds, I have seen welds cracked on a friends unit. We could see rust seeping from the weld and if we moved the bike rack slightly forward and backward you could see the cracks opening and closing.
Also if you have the diamond plate cover on the bumper, you will have to press /pound the mount on, the cover makes the bumper slightly bigger than the mount. This I know first hand, I mounted one on mine, to only use for a backup camera. I would never put anything with weight in it.
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Old 04-19-2016, 07:00 AM   #6
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I'm a big fan of the PVC bike rack. I've used this for years.

Make your own Bike Rack
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Old 04-19-2016, 07:29 AM   #7
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Those bumpers can barely hold the weight of a sewer hose, let alone the added weight of a bike rack and bikes. I am in the emphatic NO group.
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Old 04-19-2016, 09:39 AM   #8
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Crossroads hangs the spare tire carrier from it.
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Old 04-19-2016, 10:36 AM   #9
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Mine came with a regular 2" hitch mount actually bolted to the frame which is supposed to only be good for 300 pounds and an extremely light weight bumper that I wouldn't personally trust with just the bolt on rack (no bikes). I think it depends entirely on how sturdy your bumper is or how you beef it up. The ideal is a properly installed frame hitch and I would question even using it for much more than bicycles since trailer frames are not that heavy to begin with and whatever is attached to the hitch is flopping around 15 or 20 feet behind the wheels. You have to tie things down tight too.
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Old 04-19-2016, 11:00 AM   #10
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I went with a front receiver hitch and normal bike rack. My TT bumper is not rated for bike racks and didn't want a bike rack and bikes shredding some poor motorcyclist behind me. Works great and is easy to load/unload.
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Old 04-19-2016, 11:02 AM   #11
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I have the bumper add on for a hitch , but is is long enough to touch the rear cross member and is attached to it also. Plus I put 2- 4" eye screws on each side of the trailer where the corner trim is attached. If you pull part of the rubber off you will see screws that go into a 2x3 aalum stud. Just drill a proper size hole and screw the eye screws to the corner and then use racket straps to hold the bikes just tight enough to stop bouncing. Has worked good for 17000 km so far.
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Old 04-20-2016, 10:22 AM   #12
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Just a word of caution... the rear bumper cannot withstand the negative 6G's of force that is generated on the bike rack when going over bumps. Thule does not warranty the bike rack that is mounted on a trailer. I work for Thule and we test them over the sleeping policeman at 15mph and found that it generates over 6G's of force on the back of a truck with shocks. Imagine how much force is on the back of a trailer! I have tested bike racks on the back of my previous trailer and have ripped the bumper off.
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