I have a feeling I already know the answer to my question, but... Adding a bike rack to my bumper would be a bad idea, wouldn't it? I think it's the typical "store your hose in here" and have the spare mounted on it type. Would adding brackets help? What would help to ensure a bike rack won't rip it off? TIA.
theoldwizard1 wrote:dodge guy wrote:
I carry 4 bikes on the back of my trailer. However I took all the slop out of the hitch and carrier. And I have ratchet straps tht cross cross to the back wall of the trailer. The eye bolts go through the wall studs and the horizontal bunk studs. Been doing it this way since 07 with no issues. I also made sure to keep tongue weight in check. If you don’t do anything other than just put the bikes in the rear then you will have problems like this in the photos.
Taking the "slop"/bounce out pf the system is the key !
Yeah, but drilling all the way through a RV wall and installing eye bolts through the walls is a pretty darn rednecky way to go about trying to keep the bikes from ripping the bumper off.. :E
There ARE much better ways to go about this.
You CAN buy a specially designed rack that goes on your trailer tongue, looks better and no need to add extra potential water leaks to your trailer (these things leak easily enough without adding extra points to leak).
If you don't want to spend the money on a A frame bike rack, there are adapters you can buy that mount to the tongue A frame that allows you to use a standard hitch bike rack on the trailer tongue.
Stromberg Carlson..
Neither option is cheap but, both options are the better way to go than trying to dangle junk off the back of your trailer, best of all, the bikes ARE in full view of your rearview mirror, no more guessing if you still have the bikes or if they decided to take a scenic ride without you.
And for the record, I HAVE delt with nearly losing my bikes from a bumper mount bike rack. I was lucky to notice the bumper ripping away from the welds while traveling.. What a pain it was to figure out how to carry those bikes the rest of the way home..
Do yourself and other motorists a favor, in spite of all those who claim it will never happen to them or you, please, DO NOT DO IT!
It is not worth taking the chance, it is not worth the hassle, it is not worth potentially causing an accident or worst of all injuring or killing others.
Listen to the voice of experience.
mike-s wrote:
Looks like the lever action of the two bikes was too much for the welds when the driver hit a dip in the road. I would have mounted at least one of the bikes behind the tire just to avoid that levering action of the bikes weight. Or beefed up the bumpers connection to the frame. Maybe with some steel plates to broaden the surface area that connects the steel.
mike-s wrote:
LOL, those same pictures get posted any time someone mentions bike racks and bumpers here, and at every other forum on the net. The fact is plenty of people haul bikes on trailer bumpers without issue. Sure, some RV manufacturers do a less than stellar job of bumper mounting and you can have an issue with anything, but hundreds of thousands of people attach bike racks to RV bumpers using some common sense and evaluation of how the bumper is mounted. Most owners never give it a second thought nor do they ever visit one of these online rags.
I've hauled a 2'X6' steel platform, using a bolt on Curt receiver bracket, on 3 different trailers. One I felt needed additional reinforcement at the attachment points, the other two I clamped on the receiver bracket and forgot about it. I also do not haul bikes on that platform but two RTIC 65 coolers that weigh 37 lbs each empty, and hold 70 lbs of ice.
People on these forums never cease to amaze me as soon as bumpers are mentioned, and the vast majority who comment and post those same pictures have never attached a bike rack or anything else to an RV bumper.
