anyone relocate their spare tire?
I finally got the hitch put on my bumper for the kids bikes and to lock our bikes up when not in use. I have heard of horror stories of bumpers falling off with a bike rack. The bumper looks prett...
Forum Discussion
We have the BAL hide-a-spare and it is great. We have nothing hanging off the bumper now and it sure makes the rear end look cleaner.
Check with your TT manufacturer. The max. load on a bumper is typically 100 lbs. The problem with hanging stuff off the bumper is that the rear end of a TT bounces a lot, and some more than others. The hitch ball/coupler acts as a pivot point and every time you hit a dip or bump in the road, the rear end shoots up like a catapult. If you add things to the bumper, the added dynamic stress can eventually lead to the bumper separating and your bikes or other stuff can be left miles and miles behind on the road. You simply can't see what's happening at the back of a TT.
If you really think you want to do this, go take a look at some trailers that come from the factory with a carrier on the back like Nash, Keystone and KZ (likely others too) and see how they have reinforced things to take the added stress/load. I would also suggest adding shocks to the TT to reduce vertical movement. Some frames that come on TTs are very weak to start with and there's no way I'd worsen things by mounting a rack at the rear otherwise you can eventually end up with some serious frame issues.
Increasing TW is not an issue unless you will exceed the TV payload capacity. Being over 15% in itself causes no issues and if anything, will improve handling. If you have nowhere to put bikes in your TV or inside the TT, I would suggest a carrier over the tanks, which are available.
Check with your TT manufacturer. The max. load on a bumper is typically 100 lbs. The problem with hanging stuff off the bumper is that the rear end of a TT bounces a lot, and some more than others. The hitch ball/coupler acts as a pivot point and every time you hit a dip or bump in the road, the rear end shoots up like a catapult. If you add things to the bumper, the added dynamic stress can eventually lead to the bumper separating and your bikes or other stuff can be left miles and miles behind on the road. You simply can't see what's happening at the back of a TT.
If you really think you want to do this, go take a look at some trailers that come from the factory with a carrier on the back like Nash, Keystone and KZ (likely others too) and see how they have reinforced things to take the added stress/load. I would also suggest adding shocks to the TT to reduce vertical movement. Some frames that come on TTs are very weak to start with and there's no way I'd worsen things by mounting a rack at the rear otherwise you can eventually end up with some serious frame issues.
Increasing TW is not an issue unless you will exceed the TV payload capacity. Being over 15% in itself causes no issues and if anything, will improve handling. If you have nowhere to put bikes in your TV or inside the TT, I would suggest a carrier over the tanks, which are available.
