Rear bike rack setup.....

JJ I do respect you opinion and your cautious approach to attaching and loading cargo on the rear of a TT.
The truth is the existing frame needs to be substantial enough to carry the additional load.
I was dealing with an 11k GVW TT with a 10" I beam frame.
I agree adding things to the rear of any trailer must be done on a case by case basis.
If the trailer is built light in any fashion you need to beware before doing any rear additions.
Where we disagree is the idea it can't be done at all. Dodge guy has an old school stick and tin trailer, built on a full frame. I imagine his GVW is in excess of 10.5K. These stick and tin trailers are still around but they are a dieing breed. They are slowly going the way of the dinosaur.
He also took the extra step of adding cable supports
to reduce the inherent bouncing often encountered with rear bike racks. Dodge guys set up has been in use a few years at this point and is time tested.
My genset platform performed well the entire time I had it.
I'm not suggesting you promote the use rear carriers and to some point playing devil's advocate is good for those considering rear racks.
Nevertheless if properly designed,and attached to a substantial frame a rear carrier is a viable option for many full frame TT's.

JJ I do respect you opinion and your cautious approach to attaching and loading cargo on the rear of a TT. The truth is the existing frame needs to be substantial enough to carry the additional load. I was dealing with an 11k GVW TT with a 10" I beam frame. I agree adding things to the rear of any trailer must be done on a case by case basis. If the trailer is built light in any fashion you need to beware before doing any rear additions.
Where we disagree is the idea it can't be done at all. Dodge guy has an old school stick and tin trailer built on a full flame. I imagine his GVW is in excess of 10.5K. These stick and tin trailers are still around but they are a dieing breed. They are slowly going the way of the dinosaur.
Dodge Guy also took the extra step of adding cable supports to reduce the inherent bouncing often encountered with rear bike racks. Dodge Guy's setup has been in use a few years, at this point it is time tested.
My genset platform performed well the entire time I had it.

I'm not suggesting you promote the use rear carriers and to some degree playing devil's advocate is good for those considering rear racks. Nevertheless if properly designed,and attached to a substantial frame a rear carrier is a viable option for many full frame TT's. I am not speaking from theory or what if's. But I am speaking from experience with my prior TT. My genset set up was well designed and performed without issue.
JJ I'm not really trying to change you mind on rear racks, I do understand where you are coming from. There are lot of potential pitfalls when adding a rear rack. But I can say if done properly they can be a good way to carry additional cargo.

Lantley wrote:

JJBIRISH wrote:
dodge guy, I am glad it is yours… that is a lot of strain on a wall not meant for carrying a load… I know you have had that setup for a while… it could be ok or just blind luck… you should try the lottery…

Dodge Guy,
JJ is our anti rear cargo police not to be confused with the weight police.
He never liked my rear genset platform that I had professionally welded on my prior TT.

lantly , I will take that as a compliment even though it isn’t a fare characterization IMHO…

it is true I am not an advocate of many of the rear loading schemes people have come up with and by virtue of have a camping friend that made good money repairing mistakes made by both the mfg. and self-inflicted wounds by the owners to many trailer frames… I have tried to present the side no one wants to hear on these issues…
how what I say is used is of no concern to me, most people asking have already made up their mind and are only looking for affirmation anyway… but for those truly seeking information, they should hear all sides and then decide for themselves…

I do not believe the most common answer given here ( sure I did it with no problems) is neither informative or helpful with the many variables that exist…

Now to your gen box… I didn’t remember being critical about your trailer, and I usually do remember, but my mind is ageing to…
but it seems like my concerns were the same as yours, and were in line with the problems it presented, and no I don’t agree with mounting over 400 pounds on the back of any TT…
nor would I agree with overloading one end and compensating by overloading the other… this is especially troubling because it adds stress to the entire chassis and more so to the tongue that now has the see-saw spring board effect to handle… that is not spreading the load to achieve balance…
so yes you did it and did a good job with what you did, and no I still don’t like it and would never advocate it, and that is something you never did… as a matter of fact to your credit you cautioned against it, and there we did agree…

here is what I said about your rack addition…

looks good even though I am one that don't agree with this...

it looks like you run your bumper mounts are about 18" up the frame rails... that is enough to hold the 400# no problem... my main concern is and always has been closer to the axles, and hope it is a non-issue for you... my other concern is shifting weight farther away from the axles... this changes the handling geometry of the unit... this is true even if not adding weight but moving it to the extreme ends...

the example I like to use is to hold a broom stick in the center and hang a one pound weight near both sides of your hand and rotate back and forth... its easy... now move the two weights to the ends of the stick and feel how hard it is to rotate and change directions... it wouldn't make much difference if the stick was 30' long as long as the weight is near the grip point, but if you moved the weights 15' out you would have almost no control...

I wish you all the luck and success with your trailer... pay special attention to the slide operation... if it just sounds different I would do more checking and do visual inspections of the frame rails at or near the rear and front spring hanger areas often...

I have almost the exact setup as DodgeGuy. I can confirm it has completely eliminated any bounce on the bike rack (and it used to be a lot!). I no longer have any concern about carrying up to 4 adult size bikes on it.

dodge guy wrote:
Ya I know. like he stated it`s mine and that is how I transport my bikes.

Looks well thought out and secure. Thanks for sharing.

DutchmenSport wrote:
Well, I think your design is MORE than adequate. On my Springdale Keystone, we carried a bicycle for 2 like this for 8 years and never had any problems, and drove a lot of miles in 8 years. Our new Outback has a factory installed hitch now, but we quit carrying the bicycle. I think we're just getting darmed too old now and just want to vegetate when we go camping now-a-days. 8 years like this, never any issues.

FYI, consider the position of the spare tire. Keystone put it there because of the back storage door. We never moved it. It worked perfect for us this way.

If that rack is just bolted to the bumper which is made of metal about 1/16" thick I'm surprised it last 1 trip.

great idea with the 2 eyebolts and you did it correctly. bravo.

Lantley wrote:

JJBIRISH wrote:
dodge guy, I am glad it is yours… that is a lot of strain on a wall not meant for carrying a load… I know you have had that setup for a while… it could be ok or just blind luck… you should try the lottery…

Dodge Guy,
JJ is our anti rear cargo police not to be confused with the weight police.
He never liked my rear genset platform that I had professionally welded on my prior TT.

Ya I know. like he stated it`s mine and that is how I transport my bikes. I didn`t just drill holes blindly into the trailer wall. I used the vertical wall stud and the horizontal bunk stud, then I used a piece of angle iron about a foot long for each eye hook so it doesn`t just pull the wall apart. I would do it again in a heartbeat with the right trailer. like I said the big thing is to take the bounce out of whatever you put back there.

Oh ya.....I have tried the lottery (not because of my bike rack) and no luck! so I guess I know what I`m doing!!!

After installing a Curt 2" receiver on my old trailer (had thicker steel than the trailer frame, really over-kill) and a platform style bike rack (2 bikes only, the Elkmont trailer frame is pretty light), I noticed that the inner bike handle bars were too close to the rear wall of the trailer. They would hit the trailer wall on bumps.

First I twisted the bike's handle bars away from the wall, but there was still the sway/bounce problem. So I bolted a piece of Al angle to the rear wall just where the bike handle hit and clamped/tied the handle on to it. I was able to adjust the bike rack so it worked nicely.

Now the whole assembly is very rigid. No more sway back and forth or front and back. And most of the weight is still on the bike hitch receiver.

Haven't decided what to do with the new trailer. But it has so much pass-thru space that a lot of the junk I used to carry in the truck bed will go there and, for now, maybe forever, the bikes will go in the back of the truck, covered and protected, which is nice. We'll see how it goes on our way down to Florida in a week or two.

JJBIRISH wrote:
dodge guy, I am glad it is yours… that is a lot of strain on a wall not meant for carrying a load… I know you have had that setup for a while… it could be ok or just blind luck… you should try the lottery…

Dodge Guy,
JJ is our anti rear cargo police not to be confused with the weight police.
He never liked my rear genset platform that I had professionally welded on my prior TT.

dodge guy, I am glad it is yours… that is a lot of strain on a wall not meant for carrying a load… I know you have had that setup for a while… it could be ok or just blind luck… you should try the lottery…