Bumper Mounted Bike Rack

[Majim]

I have a slight planning dilemma - I installed a bumper mounted receiver for a bike rack on the back of the new camper. I slid the spare tire over to the left as far as possible (which does obstruct the view of the license plate). The problem is the bike rack doesn't clear the spare tire - the first bike will be in the same plane as the tire.

This is the carrier rack assembly i bought:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...ount-rack/8166
The receiver extenders I have seen only seem to be rated for hitch mounted receivers, and I want to be very cautious not to overloading the rear bumper.

In the perfect world, I would be able to have both mounted on back bumper, but as science and physic may have it

Does anyone have creative ideas for how they have solved this?

[coastn]

We wanted to cover the bikes with a Swagman as we travelled but didn't want to block either of the taillights on the trailer...so removed the spare from the bumper and it rides in the front storage area. Then moved the bike receiver mount to the middle and that's it. I might also add that we reinforced the bumper to accept the weight of the bikes.

[anaro]

I have heard horror stories about putting bikes on the rear bumper. The bikes will bounce a lot and sometimes fall off. I have the same TT as you and considered it but decided it was too much stress on the bumper. We just run them in the bed of the truck. Some people will mount the bikes on the front a frame of the TT. You might be able to figure out a design to make that work.

[Papa-T]

I had one mounted on the bumper once. (Once) When we arrived at the campground they were dragging the ground. Take advice from smeone thats been there. Camping now for 27 years. Have a reciever hitch mounted on the rear. They will have toweld a heavy bracket to the main frame on each side, then weld heavy tubing across from bracket to bracket. Then weld a two inch reciever to come out under and weld also to bumper. All the weight though will be on the tubing and frame. I would never use a bumper mounted anything again.

[luv2camp]

We lost two bikes with a bumper mounted rack, I would recommend trying another method.

[anaro]

Originally Posted by Papa-T

I had one mounted on the bumper once. (Once) When we arrived at the campground they were dragging the ground. Take advice from smeone thats been there. Camping now for 27 years. Have a reciever hitch mounted on the rear. They will have toweld a heavy bracket to the main frame on each side, then weld heavy tubing across from bracket to bracket. Then weld a two inch reciever to come out under and weld also to bumper. All the weight though will be on the tubing and frame. I would never use a bumper mounted anything again.

If you are still under warranty, check with crossroads before doing this because I have heard that it can void your warranty. If not then this has been known to work well.

[Hamops]

I have a bumper mount bike rack and when I first used it, the bikes would bounce back and forth. I tried to use heavy duty bungee cords to reduce the bouncing but it only had minimal affect. I then resorted to something a little more robust. I purchased 1/8" stainless steel aircraft cable and strung the cable from the bike rack to the each bumper support so that there was triangulated support for the bike rack. I used turnbuckles to tighten the cables. It turned out to well and stopped all movement of the bike rack.

Edited by: Hamops

[rv-rick]

There are horror stories about bumper mounted bike racks. As far as I'm conserned, a class III hitch, frame mounted, is the only way to go. Pretty much as Papa-T said. It also gives you the option of putting a hitchhaul on to carry other stuff, such as coolers, chairs, etc. Ours was set up to carry a 3-wheeled scooter, as well as my 2-wheeled scooter, both electric.

I dont know about other trailers, but the welder said we had the best frame he had ever seen on a trailer.

As to frame warranty, thats the chance you take. I still think this is the better option.

[happycampers]

I have had some success with 2 bikes on the bumper.... I do what hamops does but I use ratchet straps and keep them tight. But I do keep a close eye on the bikes and bumper welds each time we stop. Its a 4 bike rack, but I don't think I would attempt to put 4 on it.

[CygnusSailor]

I put a class 3 front hitch on my truck and carry the bikes on the front. I feel better by being able to see them and the bouncing is minimal. Also, the problem of dragging the rack across the ground when the rear of the trailer gets close to the ground is eliminated. It can be seen in my signature photo.

[Papa-T]

Here is a carrier I made for my 5er. The top reciever can recieve a second carrier or I use it to carry my Reels on Wheels Fishing Cart. The top reciever also folds forward with the removal of a pin. Of course I havethe main2" reciever hitch mounted to the frame of the unit.