A little paranoia can be a good thing.

colliehauler wrote:
Your a senior member, you should know better.

But, but, but - -
there's PLENTY of senior members who would tell him, *NO* problem!!..:S

Right along with...

ST tires are great, jack under the axle, etc.

*If* you choose to believe folks (advice) on an internet forum, you get what you paid for...:W

.

Helimech wrote:
There it was, two 3" cracks where the bumper is welded to the frame.

Once you have this damage repaired check out the Mount-n-Lock bumper reinforcement products. I have no personal experience to say whether it's good or bad but it may be worth checking out. :)

The bouncing puts a lot of stress on the rear end.

Your a senior member, you should know better.

3 high end bikes. Bikes and rack about 125lbs

This post disturbs me...

...most everyone here recommends against this. Who told you to install it and that it would be OK?

Plus, as so many have said, it's not the weight, but the leverage of long bars hanging bikes a relatively long way off the bumper. Spare tire racks generally keep things close in on shorter support members.

I should confess, that I installed a bike rack on the cheap bumper (and fortunately had read some of the warnings here). It lasted about 300 miles- there were no near-disasters, but the bumper was bending.

Unfortunately, it is kind of tricky to see spare tire racks all over creation (and a tire is fairly heavy), so hey, what's a couple of bikes...again, leverage.

I'd been thinking about adding one, but have been hesitant for this very reason. How many bikes did you have on it, and about how much did they weigh?