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wheatfarmer's avatar
wheatfarmer
Explorer
Sep 28, 2015

Keystone Sprinter Bumper

I have a 2013 32ft. Keystone Sprinter Copper Canyon 5th wheel. I
would like to pull a motorcycle trailer with bike behind it.
The total weight of trailer and bike would be about 1050 lbs. The
bumper looks pretty cheap on the unit. Has anyone ever pulled
anything with their sprinter without beefing up the bumper
and making it handle the pull and load? If you beefed it up
what did you do to accomplish this? Thanks

5 Replies

  • These site has several solutions

    Hitches

    If it was me I would contact Lippert which is probably the same company that makes your frame for your RV and check out their solutions.

    Lippet Hitches
  • TakingThe5th wrote:
    I have a Keystone Cougar and our rear bumpers probably came out of the same bin. My bumper is attached to the standard bike rack supplied by Keystone and the spare tire is bolted to the bumper.

    My bumper has heavy cracking around both frame attachment areas. The welds go all the way around and are good-it's the bumper itself that is failing. I can no longer carry the tire until I get some repairs. When you figure out your solution you might also consider replacing your bumper with something heavier.


    I had the junk bumper replaced on my Komfort with a heavier one specifically to carry a bike rack, not to tow anything with. It's heavy enough that the stinky hoses won't fit inside any longer, though I never carried them there anyway. Welding shop rated the receiver, in writing, to 300 lbs, if I wanted to use a cargo rack, but said I'd almost certainly be OK with 500 if I really had to. As I'm now trying to sell the Komfort, I've not even used it.

    Lyle
  • I have a Keystone Cougar and our rear bumpers probably came out of the same bin. My bumper is attached to the standard bike rack supplied by Keystone and the spare tire is bolted to the bumper.

    My bumper has heavy cracking around both frame attachment areas. The welds go all the way around and are good-it's the bumper itself that is failing. I can no longer carry the tire until I get some repairs. When you figure out your solution you might also consider replacing your bumper with something heavier.
  • wheatfarmer wrote:
    I have a 2013 32ft. Keystone Sprinter Copper Canyon 5th wheel. I
    would like to pull a motorcycle trailer with bike behind it.
    The total weight of trailer and bike would be about 1050 lbs. The
    bumper looks pretty cheap on the unit. Has anyone ever pulled
    anything with their sprinter without beefing up the bumper
    and making it handle the pull and load? If you beefed it up
    what did you do to accomplish this? Thanks


    Do NOT attach anything to the stock rear bumper, not even a bike rack! They are basically heavy sheet metal and not meant to support much of anything. Best thing to do is to build/have built a sub-frame that will bolt, or be welded, to the main FW frame ahead of the bumper. There are any number of build projects on here showing what people have done for this. Usual build is about 4' from front to back, with a minimum of 3 cross-members; one in front, one in the rear and one supporting the front of the receiver tube. Some guys go with 4 cross-members, with an extra-long receiver tube and 3 members supporting the tube. Note, that if you touch your frame in this manner, any remaining frame warranty will be voided.

    As an aside, be sure that where you live, and where you want to travel, double-towing is legal. Personally, I'd make sure that there was a hitch on the bike just in case you have to dismount it and tow the utility trailer separately. Hopefully, the DW will be able to drive the FW (or the bike) or you could face multiple cross-state trips, as you won't be allowed to continue. Research this thoroughly before starting on the process. Yes, you'll see any number of people posting that they double-tow all the time and are never bothered, blah, blah, blah. You =could= be the guy some p.o.'d LEO decides to pick on, that day, and you'll not be having fun.

    Lyle
  • You can buy the hitches that go across the frame and back bumper to beef it up or if possible go to a u haul and have them beef it up by extra welds, sometimes the bumper is the weak part if it has cheap welds, the welds should go all around the square tubing, and they can also add little brackets for extra support. beef up brackets good luck but always go stronger to be safe.