Am I making a mistake going with a heavier, thicker bumper?

I highly recommend installing a 2" receiver such as this Curt model vs. using the bumper for, well, anything.

Have you got the steel?
From wat I read on 2 threads I would consider building a bracket for bike rack, and have tabs on it to mount PCV post for stinky slinky.

You won't have to worry about the 3/16 thk tubing tearing like the 1/16. Welds will be thicker. The 3/16 thk tubing will weigh about 75 lbs, so could reduce your tongue weight about 20 lbs less than the 1/16 thk tubing.

trailernovice wrote:
Thx, gdetrailer....that's what I needed....my issue, not being a 'metal' person, was the way-out-there idea that the extra weight of a thicker bumper might in and of itself make it more prone to snapping off at the welds when the rig starts boucing at 65mph just because it weighs more that what was originally there

Just saw your other post..

Consider this, even IF you upsize the bumper to meet the twisting motion of the bike rack and bikes, you will still have potential of causing damage elsewhere from that twisting motion..

Picture your bike rack as a huge wrench, every foot from the bumper will multiply the torque of the rack and bikes. So 50 lbs of bikes can turn into hundreds of pounds or more of torque on the bumper.

What you need to do is find a way to arrest the torque.

This is not easy to do when there is no place to add a strap to the top of the rack. Some folks have resorted to drilling holes right through the back walls and bolting tie points.

Myself, instead of mounting a bike rack on the bumper again I made a rack for over my truck cover. No more bike rack issue.

I did add a big plastic utility box to the top of the bumper, to do that I added an extra two ft extension to the frame to bumper which allowed me to add an additional mounting point for the box via extra steel strut from frame to frame..

If you do not have a pickup truck, you can buy bike rack mount adapters which mount to your trailer tongue and allows you to use a standard 2x2 hitch bike rack over top of your propane tanks. I would highly recommend you do that instead of beefing up the rear bumper and retrying this again.

Just do a search for "trailer tongue bike rack" or something like that.

Just repair what you have. If you want to hang stuff off the back do not use the bumper. Get a properly installed class 3 hitch.

And for the sewer hose get a 5" vinyl fence post and mount it under the RV. Many pictures if you do a search.

No one ever ended up with a failure from over building. The stronger the better.

"Last time we went through that town I dropped off 2 pounds of 5 year old Wisconsin cheddar that he mentioned he loved when he did the job."

The next time you need a new bumper, can I do it?

I had to have the rear bumper replaced on my Class C. I was luck to find a great machine/fabricating shop while on the road after asking for recommendations at a local breakfast diner. I did not ask the shop owner what the price was going to be because I needed it repaired no matter what the cost.
The guy reinforces the bumper mounts all the way to the original truck frame and had everything welded up perfectly square and looking great. He asked why I did not ask for an estimate and I told him that he was highly recommended by locals as being extremely skill and honest. He used 1/8" stock and it worked great.
The final price (6 years ago) for labor and materials was under $200. I gave him a $20 tip for doing it and getting me on the road in under 2 hours. His regular work is repairing and building farm machinery. Last time we went through that town I dropped off 2 pounds of 5 year old Wisconsin cheddar that he mentioned he loved when he did the job.

Thx, gdetrailer....that's what I needed....my issue, not being a 'metal' person, was the way-out-there idea that the extra weight of a thicker bumper might in and of itself make it more prone to snapping off at the welds when the rig starts boucing at 65mph just because it weighs more that what was originally there