I constantly read posts warning against mounting a bike rack on the rear bumper. People say they've seen bumpers & bike racks laying on the side of the road. People say they've seen bikes dragging down the road because the bumper twisted. I've been a driver/passenger for over 56 years & I have never seen these things. I have camped for over 40 years and over 10 of those years I've towed an ultralite. I constantly see bike racks on the back of ultralites & I constantly talk to the owners who constantly say they've never had or seen a problem. I know, someone is going to say "Go ahead & try it bright boy & I'll be the first to laugh when you post that you lost your bikes". Well I'm going to try it. A 4" square bumper welded to a solid steel frame should be able to take the torque & bouncing of 80lbs of bikes. I have also talked to numerous dealers who say they have never had a customer say his bumper came off because of a bike rack. From this day forward I will no longer listen to the fear mongers of the world, & if you see a bumper with 2 bikes attached I sure hope they're not mine.

If your seriously going to do it, I would suggest that you use a rack where the bikes are held by the wheels instead of hanging. I found out the hard way. The wife said what's that jingling sound?? I looked at the rear view camera and couldn't see the bikes. Several miles of dragging them down the road was not good for them. The stress of bouncing had broken the weld on the lower part of the rack. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Sounds like a plan to me...oh, and by the way, you need a bigger tow vehicle for that trailer of yours. You are risking the safety of your family and everyone else on the road......:):)

This is why I leave a lot of stopping room between me and the vehicle ahead. You'd be surprised what kind of salvage one can find on the highways! :)

Since you aren't looking for any advice and your mind is made up, let us know how that works out for you. And good luck!

Dealers told you? Well of course they're not going to say their bumpers fall off - DUH! Reminds me of the tire dealer who claimed he never saw a Carlisle tire failure.You can do a search on here about the subject and read about people like ME, who actually had a bumper torn off that mighty solid steel frame. We tell the story in an attempt to keep others from suffering the same fate. You don't sound like the type who wants to learn from others experience though and you even sport a chip on your shoulder for it for some odd reason. So go for it.

Bike Rack On Ultralite Rear Bumper | Good Sam Community

29 Replies

rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Oct 02, 2014
westend wrote:
IMO, it's not so much of welded to the frame or not but how it's welded to the frame and the dimensions of the parts involved. Some of these ultralights have very thin bumpers and the welds are only a small filet weld to the frame. There is a very real chance of the bumper material tearing or an individual weld failing when a large amount of force is put on them.

Thanks, so people "should" be careful with TT bumpers. And do their homework before using their square RV bumper racks.
fairfaxjim
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
westend wrote:
IMO, it's not so much of welded to the frame or not but how it's welded to the frame and the dimensions of the parts involved. Some of these ultralights have very thin bumpers and the welds are only a small filet weld to the frame. There is a very real chance of the bumper material tearing or an individual weld failing when a large amount of force is put on them.

This. I had a welding shop add a piece of 4" square tubing between the back of the bumper and the back frame crossmember on either side of the bolt on hitch receiver. That adds a lot of stability to the bumper and reduces the flexing to near zero. It also adds 32" of weld to the bumper and to the trailer frame. I was not comfortable with the flexing of the bumper with the bike rack before adding reinforcement. Now I don't worry about it. It wasn't a very expensive mod for the peace of mind it gives me.

I also only carry two bikes and move the mounts in on the bike rack as close to the bumper as possible to reduce the length of the lever arm.
westend
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
IMO, it's not so much of welded to the frame or not but how it's welded to the frame and the dimensions of the parts involved. Some of these ultralights have very thin bumpers and the welds are only a small filet weld to the frame. There is a very real chance of the bumper material tearing or an individual weld failing when a large amount of force is put on them.
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Oct 02, 2014
Arn wrote:
I constantly read posts warning against mounting a bike rack on the rear bumper. People say they've seen bumpers & bike racks laying on the side of the road. People say they've seen bikes dragging down the road because the bumper twisted. I've been a driver/passenger for over 56 years & I have never seen these things. I have camped for over 40 years and over 10 of those years I've towed an ultralite.

I constantly see bike racks on the back of ultralites & I constantly talk to the owners who constantly say they've never had or seen a problem. I know, someone is going to say "Go ahead & try it bright boy & I'll be the first to laugh when you post that you lost your bikes".

Well I'm going to try it. A 4" square bumper welded to a solid steel frame should be able to take the torque & bouncing of 80lbs of bikes.
I have also talked to numerous dealers who say they have never had a customer say his bumper came off because of a bike rack. From this day forward I will no longer listen to the fear mongers of the world, & if you see a bumper with 2 bikes attached I sure hope they're not mine.

X2

This is the KEY FACTOR, "welded to the frame".

I carry a huge MH tire mounted on the bumper AND I have a bike rack also mounted on the same bumper that I carry very heavy ex-pens on.......10 years and counting and have not lost either one of them! :B

I suspect the the bikes/racks in a ditch are from the owner NOT mounting the bumper rack and/or the bikes properly. And honestly I think the ones you see on the side of the road are from the ladder mounts.

That said:
When I post what I do and suggest these types of mounting racks for a square bumper I am reminded that not all RV's especially TT's and FW's have a welded to the frame square bumper.

Curious how many of you out there have bumpers that are "not" welded to the frame?
ScottG
Nomad
Oct 02, 2014
Dealers told you? Well of course they're not going to say their bumpers fall off - DUH! Reminds me of the tire dealer who claimed he never saw a Carlisle tire failure.
You can do a search on here about the subject and read about people like ME, who actually had a bumper torn off that mighty solid steel frame. We tell the story in an attempt to keep others from suffering the same fate. You don't sound like the type who wants to learn from others experience though and you even sport a chip on your shoulder for it for some odd reason.

So go for it.
dewey02
Explorer II
Oct 02, 2014
Since you aren't looking for any advice and your mind is made up, let us know how that works out for you. And good luck!
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
This is why I leave a lot of stopping room between me and the vehicle ahead. You'd be surprised what kind of salvage one can find on the highways! :)
downtheroad
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
Sounds like a plan to me...oh, and by the way, you need a bigger tow vehicle for that trailer of yours. You are risking the safety of your family and everyone else on the road......

:):)
powderman426
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
If your seriously going to do it, I would suggest that you use a rack where the bikes are held by the wheels instead of hanging. I found out the hard way. The wife said what's that jingling sound?? I looked at the rear view camera and couldn't see the bikes. Several miles of dragging them down the road was not good for them. The stress of bouncing had broken the weld on the lower part of the rack. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Bike Rack On Ultralite Rear Bumper

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