using a cargo carriers on my travel trailer

The back bumper of most travel trailers is not meant to have anything attached to it. It is designed to hold the sewer hose and not much else. It you want to put something heavier back there, you need to reinforce it with welded supports and/or encase it with stronger metal along with stronger mounting to the frame of the trailer. You would probably be best off putting a regular 2" receiver welded to the trailer frame on the back of the trailer rather than use the bumper to mount something.

Also keep in mind the removal of tongue weight if you carry something heavy back there. Most travel trailers have a long rear overhang which makes the addition of of weight that far behind the axles troublesome for many trailers. You are risking sway problems because of that lost weight.

Hope this helps you out in your decision making.:)
Barney

If you search the forum you'll find dozens (if not hundreds) of posts on this topic. It's universally a terrible idea and a great way to leave your bumper and anything on the carrier skidding down the road with people behind you trying to avoid it. Have a hitch receiver welded or bolted to the frame.

Rob

IMHO.......... If you look at the "bumper" on your TT, you will see that at best it will store your stinky slinky, and not much more. The static load on the very thin tube is one thing but the forces generated by a 200/300 pound lever bouncing up and down will be much more. I think that most here will agree that it's not a good idea.

I carried my spare tire that way for a year or so, but the load was vertical and didn't bounce around as would a relatively heavy basket extending a couple of feet behind the trailer.

You see them on the road, but given enough time, they will probably fail. Maybe at the next railway crossing or the frost heave that snuck up on you. Not to mention the transition from the street to a steep driveway where the basket scrapes the ground because of the extended overhang. Lots of scenarios.

If you go to a welding shop, they can attach a hitch directly to the frame, and you can mount the basket on that.

I found out just how bad of an idea it was B4 learning about this site.. I put a 4 bike holder on a bumper mount bike rack of my 1997 Wilderness TT..

Going south on RT13 in DE, I looked in my rear view mirror to see a rack with 3 bikes skirting across the highway into the medium.

I told my wife, look some poor sap lost their bikes.. I was lucky they did not hit anything, or anyone. I stopped and had to toss everything into the bed of the truck and inside the camper... what a mess :S

PS - I had 1 adult and 2 kids bikes on there at the time

^Funny story that, probably not at the time.

I often wonder how many spare tires, that are only fastened to the bumper are lost? Many RV trailers including my last three, have the spare fastened to bumper only.

Bikes or anything moveable and hanging off, much different than a spare though.

Jerry

I use one for years. Just careful how much weight I put on it no problem

It really can upset the handling and the added weight also pulls down on the trailer box too.

There are a couple different thick J hook like RV bumper reinforcements available. These take the sewer hose storage tube welds out of the equation. No one has reported probs once those are installed.
However, best is to get a universal between the frame receiver hitch and have that welded on. Then you can carry a heavy load confidently, like a mid size generator.
Note: even the factory FR rear rack does not depend on the sewer hose storage tube, it clamps to the frame rails in front of that.

It’s a bad idea in all ways.

200# far from the axle centerline “weighs more” given tail-whip (centrifugal force). Shortens the already too-short amount of time to correct trailer sway (a few seconds in best conditions). That, alone, mitigates against it.

Second, it tends to either cover or obstruct trailer brake/turn/warning lights. From several angles. Again, this ALONE mitigates against it.

Third, backing is more difficult as this increases the amount of “trailer swing”. AND one can’t see the edge leading as one backs (I do this for a living: the joke about truck drivers is that they don’t pay us to drive them somewhere, they pay is TO BACK THEM as the vast majority of truck-caused property damage is while backing). Lose any idea you can avoid backing.

Fourth, and potentially the most serious, is related to number one in that one has lengthened the sail area against a crosswind.

Winds are the TT problem. “Vision” by operator and others is hampered. (We can find more).

To go camping means toss some clothes, food and beer into trailer. I believe you need to clean it out (100%) and start over in packing what you actually use. We all go thru the pains of adding too much and having to remove the “what if & just-in-case” stuff.

Make going camping simpler. If you do, you’ll go more often. (Bank on it)

.

BackOfThePack wrote:
It’s a bad idea in all ways.

200# far from the axle centerline “weighs more” given tail-whip (centrifugal force). Shortens the already too-short amount of time to correct trailer sway (a few seconds in best conditions). That, alone, mitigates against it.

Second, it tends to either cover or obstruct trailer brake/turn/warning lights. From several angles. Again, this ALONE mitigates against it.

Third, backing is more difficult as this increases the amount of “trailer swing”. AND one can’t see the edge leading as one backs (I do this for a living: the joke about truck drivers is that they don’t pay us to drive them somewhere, they pay is TO BACK THEM as the vast majority of truck-caused property damage is while backing). Lose any idea you can avoid backing.

Fourth, and potentially the most serious, is related to number one in that one has lengthened the sail area against a crosswind.

Winds are the TT problem. “Vision” by operator and others is hampered. (We can find more).

To go camping means toss some clothes, food and beer into trailer. I believe you need to clean it out (100%) and start over in packing what you actually use. We all go thru the pains of adding too much and having to remove the “what if & just-in-case” stuff.

Make going camping simpler. If you do, you’ll go more often. (Bank on it)

.

Roflmmfo!
Where to start …

1. Yes or maybe but not necessarily. Especially since you have no idea how much weight the OP was thinkin about hauling back there or the trailer weight/tongue weight.
2. Nope not even close. Google a hitch rack and then go measure the spread between your tail lights… duhhh
3. Nope again, refer to #2. Width. Maaaaybe in a perfect 90 deg ijackinife with virtually zero extra clearance. But by then if you don’t have a spotter, a camera or legs, to get out and check, you’ll probably smash the corner of the trailer first.
4. Lol. This is perhaps the funniest, biggest stretch to try to sound smart. Exactly how much “sail area” is added with a little piece of angle iron and some firewood/genny and gas can, mother in laws suitcase, you know the typical stuff that goes on a light duty hitch carrier?
5. Now you’re just trying to hard to create text.
6. No one cares how “you” camp, nor is it polite to presume a whole bunch of stuff about someone else because you conjured up an image or opinion.

If you’d have stopped after “bad idea” (generally, due to the lightweight construction of camper bumpers) you would have had a lucid response.
Cheers slowmover!