I have a 2011 Forest River Surveyor RKS. Does anyone know if the rear bumper can handle a bike rack or additional hitch attached. RV dealer said no way, but I've seen and spoken to plenty of RVrs who say it's not a problem. Thoughts? Looking to attach a tray with firewood or 4 bikes, depending on the season.
The rear bumpers barely strong enough to hold your sewer hose. If you're thinking of adding something like that, and you're not worried about your frame, have one manufactured that is reinforced and can handle the weight.
The rear bumpers barely strong enough to hold your sewer hose. If you're thinking of adding something like that, and you're not worried about your frame, have one manufactured that is reinforced and can handle the weight.
And make sure you have a qualified welder look at the frame BEFORE you build anything. The frames are a fabricated thin metal I beam and are not your normal structural I steel beam.
My dealer refused to add a hitch to our trailer. He said the extra weight and flexing could cause the wall to crack at the corners of the slide out. I would trust his advice over several TT owners who have installed a hitch with "no problems yet".
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Ours came with a folding bike tray on the rear. A 2014 surveyor 295 Sport. We had 4 bikes on it last week, seemed pretty solid and we had no problems in 800 miles of road miles, however, I do wish we could see it when at full speed! I wondered how much 'bounce' it had.
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GeorgiaBears:
You will find a LOT of debate on the bike rack-on-bumper issue. A number of people have mentioned that they've "seen" or "heard of" failures but there's never any details of what kind of rack, how many bikes, just clamped to the bumper or welded receiver, with or without spare tire, etc. etc. Without details, I suspect any failures were probably racks clamped to the bumper. As stated above, the bumper isn't very stout by itself.
Below a link to just such a debate. On page 4 you'll see pics of the 2" receiver my dealer installed on my Roo19. I believe it's pretty stout. I have a couple thousand miles on it with two bikes on a Thule TH990XT rack. Bikes are about 30lbs each and the rack is maybe 30 pounds.
GeorgiaBears: You will find a LOT of debate on the bike rack-on-bumper issue. A number of people have mentioned that they've "seen" or "heard of" failures but there's never any details of what kind of rack, how many bikes, just clamped to the bumper or welded receiver, with or without spare tire, etc. etc. Without details, I suspect any failures were probably racks clamped to the bumper. As stated above, the bumper isn't very stout by itself. Below a link to just such a debate. On page 4 you'll see pics of the 2" receiver my dealer installed on my Roo19. I believe it's pretty stout. I have a couple thousand miles on it with two bikes on a Thule TH990XT rack. Bikes are about 30lbs each and the rack is maybe 30 pounds. http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...k-43111-4.html
Actually there is plenty if proof right here in this forum. Herk, time for your pictures!
If you happen to go to any of the RV shows take a look at the trailers with the already installed fold down racks, you will see that the frames are just the same as was described by OC, they have just welded tubing on to the frame to accommodate the rack, nothing fancy and no apparent mass strengthening of the frame. So the conclusion must be that yes it is possible to do this on older units but must be done properly.
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I believe the pics that have been added above by RKR and Turbo simply prove the point that you should not be clamping something simply to the BUMPER. You need something stouter than that.
I think that's the point being made to the OP. You shouldn't hang anything off a stock bumper that isn't made for it from the factory.
I understand HIS point - Don't do ANYTHING. But MY point is that you need to know all the details about what was hung on the bumper, how heavy, how far out from the bumper, what beefing up, if any, was done before you can make any kind of valid determination about what happened. Without any details just "hey, look at this," it is impossible to make any real determination of what the problem was.
I don't know if someone tried to hang a 500 lb generator on that bumper or a 40 lb spare tire. I don't know if it was 3 inches from the bumper or 3 ft. I don't know that he didn't drive his trailer over a 12" curb. All I know is what he's shown me.
I think it's perfectly acceptable to hang stuff of the bumper, provided you are smart about it. It's disingenuous to hang something on your bumper in a (perhaps) not smart manner, have a problem, and then say "NOBODY should hang ANYTHING on their bumper."
(I'm not trying to say the OP did something in a not smart manner, but without all the details, what am I supposed to think?)
I understand HIS point - Don't do ANYTHING. But MY point is that you need to know all the details about what was hung on the bumper, how heavy, how far out from the bumper, what beefing up, if any, was done before you can make any kind of valid determination about what happened. Without any details just "hey, look at this," it is impossible to make any real determination of what the problem was.
I don't know if someone tried to hang a 500 lb generator on that bumper or a 40 lb spare tire. I don't know if it was 3 inches from the bumper or 3 ft. I don't know that he didn't drive his trailer over a 12" curb. All I know is what he's shown me.
I think it's perfectly acceptable to hang stuff of the bumper, provided you are smart about it. It's disingenuous to hang something on your bumper in a (perhaps) not smart manner, have a problem, and then say "NOBODY should hang ANYTHING on their bumper."
(I'm not trying to say the OP did something in a not smart manner, but without all the details, what am I supposed to think?)
In the Original Poster's (OP) statement he asked about putting a rack on the stock bumper to haul firewood or 4 bikes. The photos you see here are from forum members who had less than that attached to a stock bumper. The statement being made is, if it didn't come from the factory stock, it shouldn't go on a stock bumper. This has been brought up many times here. Can I engineer a rack on the back of a trailer and have it hold anything? ABSOLUTELY, and I can guarantee it will still be there when the frame of the trailer has bent in half. I saw a guy have a full dresser Harley on the back of a fifth wheel. I'm guessing the weight of Harley and added steel to the ramp was about 1300lbs. Was engineered and built fine, but that frame isn't going to last, not to mention his pin weight is now at a very dangerous point.
The details of the photos are not important, what IS important is that the manufacturer clearly states, that nothing should be mounted to the stock bumper, as it is not engineered for anything more than they put on it. If you do, this is what could happen.
I have a similar rack that hangs on one of the steps rather than clamping to the rails. We've hauled two bikes on it. You should strap or bungee them securely to the ladder so they don't bounce around too much. If the ladder will hold a 250# adult climbing it, it should hold two bikes, even with a little bounce in the rear of the trailer. The bikes, if strapped tightly to the ladder, won't bounce that much.
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