Receiver attachment

[Jengie]

I have a Jayfeather X17Z and I’d like to put a hitch receiver on the back to hold a cargo tray. I am considering removing the original bumper and attaching a receiver to to frame where the original bumper was bolted. Has anyone done this, or had issues doing the same or similar? I have attached photos of the orig bumper with bolts.

[RobieMo]

Jengie,

When I owned a TT I did that exact thing. We primarily camped out in the desert so being able to bring extra water and firewood was important to me.

I had a Thor TT but the concept is the same. What I did was remove the tube bumper and I welded two 2" receivers to the frame of the trailer. Then I built a tray that would slide into the two receivers. I felt like this would distribute the weight better side to side with two receivers vs one. My original thought was I would take if off and on as needed but the reality was once it was on, I never took it off. There was always something to put on it. It stayed on for almost 10 years and I never had a problem with it staying put.

Looking back, there may have been a time or two that I had too much weight back there. When you start thinking about your design remember that the bigger the tray the more stuff you will be inclined to put back there. The more stuff... the more weight. I am attaching a link to a great video about weight distribution. I wish I had seen this a long time ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mW_gzdh6to

Best of luck.

Rob

[jd99336]

I am on a two month trip with my daughter and son-in-law in their new travel trailer. It is an Open Range which is apparently a Jayco subsidiary. He wanted to carry his generator after we part ways (right now the travel tray is on the back of my toad).

There is an reinforcement bracket(s) that he bought on ebay that increases the bumper capacity to 400 lbs. It was a relatively easy install that involved drilling 3 holes on each frame rail and installing self tapping bolts (1/2 to 5/8?, can't remember the size). Then a bolt on receiver was put on the tube bumper.

We just did the install and have 1000 miles to go so I guess we will see how it works.

There is a prior article on those bolts used to hold the bumper on. Apparently the only way to remove them is to cut them off, so this was the easier option.

[DocBrown]

There is not much there on the frame to support any real weight. Very thin. It's an ultralight trailer and does not have a robust frame like the bigger Jayfeathers and Jayflights. You may do more damage than good.