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Old 01-10-2013, 08:41 AM   #1
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Rear Bumper Mounted bike carrier

I am new to the 5th wheel world, recently purchased a Jayco Eagle Superlite 33.5 QBDS. My questions is, can I put a bike carrier on the rear bumper. I had it mounted on my TT and never had a problem however I keep seeing post on this forum as well as others that say not to. Does anyone know the true weight that the rear bumper can support. When I ask the guys at CW, they say 300#, I have also heard 100#. I asked about having a hitch mounted under the rear of the camper and they told me that would void my warranty due to me modifing the frame. I just dont want to get on the road and have a problem. Thanks in advance for your help.
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Old 01-10-2013, 09:17 AM   #2
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I would think that the Eagle superlite FWs might come with a hitch as an option. Did you look into that? As far as putting a hitch for a bike on that FW, just go to a good welder and have him fabricate a hitch to carry it. My son had a bike rack attached to his bumper and found his bikes dragging on the interstate one time, manufacturer would not cover the damage. If you put on a good, solid hitch and something happens to the frame from putting the bike on it, then there was something wrong with the frame to start with, not the hitch.
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Old 01-10-2013, 09:42 AM   #3
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According to my literature my bumper will support 100 pounds. I talked with my dealer about mounting a bike rack on the bumper and he said a rack carrying only one bike would not be a problem. If I was going to carry more than one bike I would do something else. I have seen receivers that mount to the frame with bolts instead of welding them on. I think either would be Ok as long as the welder welds the receiver to the frame and not burn holes through the frame. JMO
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Old 01-10-2013, 09:44 AM   #4
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Those rear bumpers on the Rv Trailers are sure light weight things... I would definitely beef them up before hanging anything on them. Its amazing they carry the spare tire ok... Like others on here has suggested if you get a rear trailer hitch mounted to the frame you could purchase something like this bike carrier shown that will insert into the rear trailer hitch receiver.

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Old 01-10-2013, 09:47 AM   #5
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I am not a fan of the bike racks where you hang your bikes. Would just as soon have the type that the bike wheels sit in a U shaped frame, much easier on the bikes and you. They do make them that fit into a receiver hitch.
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Old 01-10-2013, 10:56 AM   #6
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Another option that I've seen and am thinking about is a hitch on the front of your truck. You can put a bike rack on it and keep an eye on your bikes while you travel. Might get bugs & other road gunk on them tho.
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Old 01-10-2013, 11:36 AM   #7
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On a fifth wheel, I'd go with a Pin Box Bike Rack.
Check out this post.

On my previous 5er, I had a bike rack on the rear bumper. I didn't trust this set-up because of all the bad stories I read of.
I made one(1-1/2" receiver) to mount onto the bin box. Here, you'll get a smoother ride than the rear bumper.

Below is the hitch I made to attach a bike rack. The bike rack would fold down, but I would load and un-load the bikes while standing on the tail-gate.
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Old 01-10-2013, 01:02 PM   #8
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You will NOT void the warranty if you properly weld onto the frame. If you cut away part of the frame that might be a different story. What I have found is the square tube bumper is only tack welded onto the frame and it is NOT strong enough to secure a load to it.

I have a 2” square tube receiver hitch on my hybrid, no issues. Luckily my dealer added it to my TT without my permission. So I guess I could argue that it came that way. I have never had an issues with my bike carrier (3 bike) on the back of the TT. My brother followed me once and said the bikes moved around a bit. However, I am not concerned about that as I ALWAYS secure them to both the carrier and I add two lanyards to the TT frame, so they cannot move around to much.
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Old 01-10-2013, 06:13 PM   #9
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Actually on my outfit, the welder didn't weld the hitch directly to the frame. He first welded a couple of brackets kinda folded over the top of the frame and then dropped down toward the ground. He welded this to the top and bottom "tees" and than welded the cross-member to the drop-down brackets. I think this way is very strong. In addition, he did reinforce the frame about 4-6 feet from the rear toward the axle. I do think this is a great way to go and have no qualms about hitching my boat up and going on down the road.
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Old 01-10-2013, 07:50 PM   #10
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You will NOT void the warranty if you properly weld onto the frame...... snip
I would agree that one shouldn't have an issue with a weld/frame shop that knows what their doing.., but Jayco can deny a warranty service claim if they (Jayco, and/or the frame OEM) feel that the alteration/modification made to the frame contributed to the claim in question (unless installed at the factory).

I have seen on some "lite" HTT/TT/FW frames warning labels about making any frame modifications, apply heat, etc..

Bob
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Old 01-11-2013, 10:30 AM   #11
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I am not a fan of the bike racks where you hang your bikes. Would just as soon have the type that the bike wheels sit in a U shaped frame, much easier on the bikes and you. They do make them that fit into a receiver hitch.
I bought a Hollywood bike carrier that the bike sits in two wheel holders. Is attached to the rear bumper in a 2" receiver adapter. I sold the Swagman that hung the bikes by the frame.
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Old 01-28-2013, 03:45 PM   #12
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Update: after trying my luck I went ahead and bolted my receiver hitch onto the rear bumper of my 5er. About half way into the trip the couple behind us lets us know that we just lost both caps off of the bumper. When we got to the CG I looked at the bumper and it bent from the weight of the bikes flexing. So I now have someone coming out to install a receiver hitch under the rear of my 5er. So much for going with what the CW employees tell you.
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Old 01-29-2013, 12:43 PM   #13
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Update: after trying my luck I went ahead and bolted my receiver hitch onto the rear bumper of my 5er. About half way into the trip the couple behind us lets us know that we just lost both caps off of the bumper. When we got to the CG I looked at the bumper and it bent from the weight of the bikes flexing. So I now have someone coming out to install a receiver hitch under the rear of my 5er. So much for going with what the CW employees tell you.
I was concerned about all the weight being put on just one point of the bumper and you may have just confirmed my "fear". So, I went with a Swagman two bicycle hitch that does mount to the bumper but in four places. It's the one where the bicycle rear tires fit into slots on a separate frame from the front tires (sorry, that was a poor explanation). Anyhow, my thought is that the entire weight will be spread out over the length of the bumper and thereby have less twisting effect on the bumper. The weight of our bikes and the hitch will be about 80#. Will let you know if we end up dragging our bikes off the Interstate
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Old 01-29-2013, 12:56 PM   #14
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What you don't want to happen (not my TT):

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Old 01-29-2013, 02:12 PM   #15
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You will NOT void the warranty if you properly weld onto the frame. If you cut away part of the frame that might be a different story. What I have found is the square tube bumper is only tack welded onto the frame and it is NOT strong enough to secure a load to it.

I have a 2” square tube receiver hitch on my hybrid, no issues. Luckily my dealer added it to my TT without my permission. So I guess I could argue that it came that way. I have never had an issues with my bike carrier (3 bike) on the back of the TT. My brother followed me once and said the bikes moved around a bit. However, I am not concerned about that as I ALWAYS secure them to both the carrier and I add two lanyards to the TT frame, so they cannot move around to much.
I had my x23J bumper reinforced by a welder. He also found the bumper to only be tack welded. He completed the tacks and also added supports from the trailer frame to the bumper. I had the square receiver attached with brackets to the bumper. Our 1st time out we almost lost the bikes cause they do still bounce around quite a bit, but my brother was behind us and was able to tell me to pull over. With a few adjustable straps starpped around the bikes and bumper, they now bounce less.
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Old 01-29-2013, 08:35 PM   #16
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[QUOTE=Rustic Eagle;114254]What you don't want to happen (not my TT):

Rustic,
Do you know if they had more than the spare tire on this bumper? It looks like there are attachment points for other items.
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Old 01-29-2013, 09:03 PM   #17
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I had my x23J bumper reinforced by a welder. He also found the bumper to only be tack welded. He completed the tacks and also added supports from the trailer frame to the bumper. I had the square receiver attached with brackets to the bumper. Our 1st time out we almost lost the bikes cause they do still bounce around quite a bit, but my brother was behind us and was able to tell me to pull over. With a few adjustable straps starpped around the bikes and bumper, they now bounce less.
My hitch does NOT touch the bumper. What I have is simular to an aftermarket hitch that would be installed on the TV. That is why I am not to concerned about the bikes moving around a little bit. Actually the bike rack is doing the moving as it is not a tight fit into the reciever.
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Old 01-29-2013, 09:05 PM   #18
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What you don't want to happen (not my TT):

Hummm; I wounder what the BIG round pipes are for on that bumper.
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Old 01-29-2013, 10:15 PM   #19
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snip......Do you know if they had more than the spare tire on this bumper? It looks like there are attachment points for other items.
As I recall the story all that was attached at the time of the incident was a BQ grill, no bicycles.

I don't recall the purpose of the two vertical end tubes....., possibly for flag poles or clothes line supports??

Bob
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Old 01-29-2013, 10:54 PM   #20
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I have a receiver mounted on the front of the truck and use a Swagman carrier that supports the bike wheels. Bikes are secure. Easy to load. Type of bike frame makes no difference. No messing with ropes and bungies. This has been good for 5000 miles in the past year.
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