Bumper mounted receiver for bike rack

[Bluebike57]

I purchased a 2010 EXP 19H last fall. i want to put a 2" receiver on the back to carry our bicycles. Is the bumper strong enough to hold a mounted receiver or do I need to get welded on?

[DocBrown]

In short, no. I believe there is something in the manual that says it's limited to 100#. The bumper is just a hollow square tube with a couple of welds holding it to the frame. Even if you kept it under 100#, the bouncing will just tear off the bumper. This is what happened to a relative. He was dragging bikes down the freeway until someone told him.

There was at least one member here who took his hybrid to a welding shop and had a trailer hitch welded on.

Keep in mind that most bike racks are not RV rated because of the bouncing. I know that Swagman carriers are.

[spoon059]

Like DocBrown said... no it isn't remotely close to strong enough. My Jayco had a frame mounted hitch on theback, specifically for carrying bikes. Even with an appropriate bike mount, the forces back there caused my bikes to bounce back and dent my rear wall. The little sewer hose carrier/bumper isn't nearly strong enough to handle those kinds of forces.

My suggestion would be to get an actual hitch installed. You might have a bolt on option if your frame has tabs hanging down, or else get one welded to the frame. That is the strongest and best bet.

Option 2 is those Safety Strut brackets. Those are better than nothing, but not as good as an actual hitch.

I took my rear hitch off because when the county repaved our street they raised it by 3 inches, which caused my trailer hitch to drag on the driveway and was gouging the driveway. I've since installed a front hitch on my truck and will carry bikes down to Florida next month on the front hitch.

[Bluebike57]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

In short, no. I believe there is something in the manual that says it's limited to 100#. The bumper is just a hollow square tube with a couple of welds holding it to the frame. Even if you kept it under 100#, the bouncing will just tear off the bumper. This is what happened to a relative. He was dragging bikes down the freeway until someone told him.

There was at least one member here who took his hybrid to a welding shop and had a trailer hitch welded on.

Keep in mind that most bike racks are not RV rated because of the bouncing. I know that Swagman carriers are.

Thanks.

[Jagiven]

Nope! There are some safety struts that can be added between the bumper and TT frame. Some people swear by it, some swear at it. Some people have had no issues. There have been a few people who's bumpers still broke loose.

I have a 2" receiver welded to my frame. Dealer installed it by accident (nice of them), I would have done it anyways. A good welding shop can build it up from scratch probably for less than you can buy a big bolt on hitch.

[bankr63]

You might consider carrying them over the tongue. I have an Arvika 2" receiver mounted up over the propane tanks, and just under the bed platform. We use a Thule crosstrack rack to carry two bikes.

I do suggest tying down the front of the rack to the front of the tongue with a web strap in while in transit. It greatly reduces the whipping/bouncing of the bikes over bumps.

Hard to tell from the photo, but the bikes are attached to the HTT not the TV here: