Bike rack

[scotty46]

I have a 2020 Grand Design Imagine. Would it be safe to place a bike rack on the bumper to carry about 80 pounds of bicycles?

[the_e-man]

For the first year we had our camper, we tried bringing them in camper and laying them in the bed of the truck. Both options worked but we didn't think they were very convenient.

Here are two good options for bringing your bikes.

Option 1: an over-the-propane-tank rack like Arvika (from 2-4 bikes) or Jack-It (2 bikes)

Option 2: a rack over your pickup bed. Check out Thule or Adarac

There are ways to add a bike rack to the back of your camper. You may need to investigate welding a mount to the frame. As others have mentioned, the bumper likely isn't strong enough.

You may even be able to find a rack for the front of your truck but this seems to be a less common choice.

If you search the forums for bike rack, you'll find many past threads with lots of thoughts and opinions.

Let us know what you pick.

[CavemanCharlie]

Because we are going back and forth on Yes or No... I vote for no.

I watched a high end 5th wheel go down the highway one day. He had a strong bumper with a small receiver hitch attached to it from the factory. He had a decent looking bike carrier and he also had the biked reinforced to the ladder of the 5th wheel with straps.

Every time he hit a large bump the entire assembly would bounce up a down. ( A big amount of bounce too) . I actually backed off from him until I could pass safely because sooner or later this thing was going to break off and I didn't want to be near by while bikes were flying down the highway all over the place.

[wintersun]

Check the websites for the e-bike racks as these racks will handle 120 lbs with ease. The Hollywood, Thule, Yakima, Swagman, and 1up manufacturers will specify if the racks need a 1-1/4 or 2 inch hitch receiver or can be mounted on a bumper.

Easiest to mount the rack on the tow vehicle and not off the rear of the trailer. There are dual hitch receiver adapters so the tow vehicle can be attached to the trailer and also have a place to mount a bike rack that requires a hitch mount.

[Lwiddis]

That's where my bike rides, SDcampowner.

[mr_andyj]

Lantley wrote:
The no poster did not elaborate however no is correct. The OEM bumper is not sturdy enough to support a bike rack. You can get a welder to reinforce the bumper/replace it with a sturdier bumper or have the welder fabricate a rack or hitch to carry bikes. Even then you will need to be concerned about tongue weight and the adverse effects of carrying the
weight hanging off the back.
It can be done but it not as simple or straight forward as installing an off the shelf bike rack

.....So, that's a YES!?
you covered both the yes and the no.

The bumper can be made of quite flimsy thin steel, while other 4 inch square bumpers are made of thicker steel that can handle anything. I assume you are talking about clamping a rack on with a couple of supplied U-bolts? or are you clamping on a receiver hitch with same u-bolts and using a receiver bike rack?

Do it, and if the bikes are looking like they are mounted to a rubber spring, then you likely can just bungee one of the bike tires to the ladder and that will stop the sway and the bumper will be plenty strong to hold the weight. The issue is of how much twisting the bumper might do if it is the flimsy kind.

The best option is to mount a receiver hitch to the main frame of the trailer and go from there.
You can also replace the bumper with a strong bumper and then not have the issue of flymsy bumper.

Without looking at your specific bumper none of us know. You tell us your make and model camper like everyone knows what that is, It is not like vehicle like a F-150 where it is well known and common.

The ladder or even a spare tire, or anything higher up that you can make a second point of contact, is key to making it work. Otherwise you should do some welding to make a strong base.

[Dick_B]

We carry our two bikes on a rack in the front of our Suburban with a custom receiver made by a welding shop. There are other ideas if you search for `bike rack' in the TT forum.
I think the best idea is to buy foldable bikes (our favorite is Dahon) and store them inside the TT for travel.

[GDS-3950BH]

It depends on the gauge of the tube used for the bumper, and how its attached to the frame rails. Lots of variables. About the only thing that is kind of common is if its a Lippert frame most likely a bad idea without a lot of added reinforcement and there is a 100% chance your Grand Design has one.

All of that said I see plenty of folks with bikes hanging off of rear bumpers and have yet to see a pile of them on the road other than pictures posted in RV/camping related forums, and its usually the same picture that has been posted thousands of times for 15 years LOL. Heck I seen a Grand Design TT picture where the entire rear wall fell off on the way home from the PDI.

[Fizz]

This has been argued to death in the past.
It’s not the weight you have to worry about, it’s the swaying back and forth that breaks the welding. If you can anchor the top of the rack to the trailer and stop the sway it should be ok.

[SDcampowneroper]

put them inthe truck or get a rack to carry them on the front , over the propane bottles.

[frisco_dave]

If you have "standard" skewer fork mounts, I carry my Trek's on the dining table inside the camper.

I mount these forks to a 1x4, clear off the cushions in the u-shaped dinette, and then put a 1x4 on each side. I've also screwed in 2 eye hooks opposite the fork mounts, and am able to bungee cord my rear wheel to the eye hooks, while the front fork goes into these mounts:

Bike Fork Mount

[Lantley]

The no poster did not elaborate however no is correct. The OEM bumper is not sturdy enough to support a bike rack. You can get a welder to reinforce the bumper/replace it with a sturdier bumper or have the welder fabricate a rack or hitch to carry bikes. Even then you will need to be concerned about tongue weight and the adverse effects of carrying the
weight hanging off the back.
It can be done but it not as simple or straight forward as installing an off the shelf bike rack

[ScottG]

mr_andyj wrote:
Yes.

Your forum experience is complete now.

:B:B:B

Thanks for that. It's been a long time since I actually LOL'd at anything on this forum.
Oh, I laugh at certain chronic, ego-maniac posters from time to time (today even) but not threads.

[mr_andyj]

Yes.

Your forum experience is complete now.

[spoon059]

No