Concern with attaching bike rack to TT bumper

[crispyc21]

I would like to get a bike rack for three bikes that attaches to the bumper of my travel trailer (2010 Sprinter Select). I started looking at a few online but when reading some of the reviews, some people mentioned that after attaching a bike rack to their bumpers, the additional weight caused the welds to come apart and their bumper and bikes would break off the trailer. Is this a common thing when attaching a bike rack to the rear bumper? My bumper already has the spare tire attaches to the bumper. Is their anything that can be done to eliminate that from happening?

[PAThwacker]

crispyc21 wrote:
Thank you for all the quick replies. I've been reading through all the threads on this. I won't install the bike rack on the bumper. I just wish their was a low cost option other than putting them in my truck (Ford Excursion). I don't want to spend $200-300 on hitches and bike racks for our cheap-o bikes that we only use once or twice a trip.

front hitch $200, swagman 3 bike: 140 to 170, done deal.
2-basic mt bikes i bought last week totaled: $1057.00 and are piece of c ra p.

My last mountain bike was $3,000!

[RoyB]

My sister carries her two bikes inside the trailer after the slides are brought in. If two fit ok three probably would as well... The fit just right in the available hall space inside the fifth wheel trailer with the slides in. Easy to take out if you have to get into the bath room or fridge if you do a quick stop along the way.

Just an Idea...

Roy Ken

[brulaz]

westend wrote:
Check this rack out.

This guy strengthened a bike rack by thickening the arm from the rack to the receiver so it would fit in his 2" receiver. An excellent idea.

My bike rack also had a skinny arm going to a 1.25" receiver, and it bounced all over the place. So much that I ended up tying the handlebars to the back of the trailer. Others, I see, are applying upward tension on the bikes/bike rack with straps and tie-downs.

There exist bike racks designed from the get-go for 2" receivers. etrailer has a bunch. These are the way to go. But make sure you have a 2" receiver solidly mounted to your frame, and make sure your frame can handle the additional stress.

[goducks10]

http://www.mount-n-lock.com/products/4square-lightweight-rv-cargo-accessories/4square-rv-bumper-stre...

That looks pretty slick.

[shotgunner]

Hove you looked at the bumper reinforcing brackets from Mount-n-Lock? (www.mount-n-lock.com). I have their heavy-duty bumper, but this looks like it shores up the standard square bumper to make it not bend off like smkettner said.

[time2roll]

I went about four years carrying three bikes on a platform carrier attached to the steel bumper with a bolt-on hitch adapter. Worked fine. Bumper was welded at both the top and bottom edges. I have seen some bumpers welded maybe 3/4 up on the flat side and the metal flexes and breaks easily. Got some nice bikes a couple years ago and had a proper receiver installed (attached to the frame) for about $600. No more worries.

[westend]

Check this rack out.

[MackinawMan]

modern family wrote:
Yep... Exactly what happened to us! So, to answer your question how we felt? Really sucked!

Oh man, sorry to hear that!! I would bet that it felt awful to lose your bikes and rack, etc...but I would have felt bad wondering and hoping that they didn't damage another person's vehicle or something when they came off.

The bikes we saw were RIGHT along the edge of the road still....they might have hit a car when they came off or the risk that someone hit them along the side of the road had to be fairly high.

[modern_family]

Yep... Exactly what happened to us! So, to answer your question how we felt? Really sucked!

[RandACampin]

Go to the campground and look at trailers with bike racks. Chances are you find plenty with racks on the bumper. Ask any one of them and the answer will be "been doing it for years with no problem". The bumpers only happen here on rv.ne and thats because very have any real experience. They only spout intermet myth.

I have had a 2 bike rick on my bumper for years...no issues.

[MackinawMan]

A few years back we were on our way to Northern Michigan for vacation...when we were just north of Ann Arbor where US 23 turns to the west we saw 3 bicycles (mostly) still attached to the bike rack they were hooked to laying along the median of the road completely smashed up.

I decided right then that continuing to transport our bikes inside the TT and in the back of the truck (with a cap) would be the way we would continue to go.

I wonder about those poor people and the shock they must have felt when they got to their destination and went to take the bikes off the back of the TT and they were all gone. Yikes..:E

[Tystevens]

JordanH wrote:
What about one of the mounts that are placed on the front of the TV?

You can physically put a typical trunk-mounted rack on the front of a vehicle, I suppose. They are hard on bikes, don't work with all bike frame designs or sizes, and can also be hard on the finish of the vehicle. One could install a 2" receiver on the front of a vehicle and use a receiver mounted rack, but it would stick out pretty far. And I'm not sure about the legality of either method.

[RedRocket204]

Tystevens wrote:
Well, to each their own, I suppose. Depends what you're riding and how important it is to you. For me, I don't want my bikes bobbing on the rear end of a TT on a rigged contraption. I prefer a hitch mounted tray rack on the back of my vehicle, but when that isn't an option, on the roof is the next best place IMO.

But I like my bikes a lot more than I like my TT (or just about anything else I own, for that matter), so they get preferential treatment!

hehehe, on the description of your bike's importance to you as I am exactly the same way.:) No way would any of my bikes end up on the back of my RV...they are tucked away nicely in a truck bed mount under a locked canopy when we have the RV or on a hitched tray mount (Thule T2) without the RV. Too risky for damage or worse, theft.

[brulaz]

I know this doesn't apply to the OP and his Excursion, but here goes ...

Originally planned to get a rear bike hitch and rack for the new trailer. With maybe a wrap of some sort to keep them clean and so nobody can see how expensive they are. But never got around to it last fall before we left for Florida, so just stuffed them in the back of the truck.

And after a while I figured out an easy way to carry them there (slide them in wheels to the outside, raise the seats to the roof with bungee cords), they stayed clean, are out of sight and locked up under the Leer Cap and there was still lots of room around them for all the other light weight junk we carry there.

So unless there comes a time when I want to put something else bulky in the bed, the bikes have found a new home.

[JordanH]

What about one of the mounts that are placed on the front of the TV?