Rear Bumper

[OhRver]

My wife and I are picking up our 313 RKS on Monday and I have a question. How strong is the rear bumper? Will it hold a bike rack on the spare tire? I know the one on our Outback wasn't strong enough.

Thanks,
Ed

[tinlizzie23]

Not sure about your exact model, but none of the bumpers I have seen are strong at all. They pretty much are good for protecting the rear of the trailer from light bumps, and for storing the sewer hose. Unless you can verify that it is made of 11 gauge steel or thicker, I would not trust it to hold more than the spare tire, and even that would be pushing it for most of the RV bumpers I have had or seen. Up to you, but that's JMHO.

[Quahog]

I wouldn't add a bike rack without first reinforcing the bumper. Pictures here aren't that great but you can get the idea.

http://www.jaycoowners.com/showthrea...ahog+bike+rack

[rwilley]

The rear bumper on my 5er is welded directly to the frame the same way my old 5er was. The old 5er held a spare tire rack and I put a bike rack on it and had no problems

[taylorj]

I have a 2010 365 BHS. My bike rack broke the poor welds on my camper. Luckly the bike rack did not fall off. I took it and had it reinforced at a weld shop. Jayco would not warranty the bumper. " the customer put a bike rack on, so he void the warranty on the bumper".
Camper 10

[rbrumfield]

On my superlite the bumper is supposed to support 100#. I am going to add a bike rack and we shall see.

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by rbrumfield

On my superlite the bumper is supposed to support 100#. I am going to add a bike rack and we shall see.

I think where the problem comes into play is it may hold a static load of 100lbs, but keeping the bike rack from bouncing around while in tow can be a game changer.

Bob

[3'senough]

Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle

I think where the problem comes into play is it may hold a static load of 100lbs, but keeping the bike rack from bouncing around while in tow can be a game changer.

Bob

X2. I would not do it. The last thing you want is to be driving down the road and having someone pull up to you honking pointing back at the sparks flying off the rear of your unit. I've seen it happen. The one I saw was fatal and some bikes paid the ultimate price.

Reinforce like Quahog above or another option is to invest in the adjustable receiver that frame mounts, then plug in a bike rack to it. Sure it's more money, but for the cost of a decent bike it's money well spent IMHO. You can't see behind your unit and I know I would be worried about it holding up distracting me from the road.

Here is a link for a receiver. You will need to confirm what you need based on your unit though. This is just an example.

http://www.etrailer.com/Specialty-Tr...urt/13703.html