Coachmen 21BH 2011 - Bike Rack

[paladave]

Hello,
I want to add a bike rack on the rear bumper of my TT. I took it to a welder to have it strengthened...he said it was already strong enough.

Have any of you put a bike rack on your TT rear bumper - what is the best type?

I do not want to put a bike rack on the rear of my TV or on the front of the TT.

Thanks
Dave & Betty
Catalina 21BH - second year TT campers (5 year tent campers)
Pittsburgh

[JonClark]

I have a 2014 coachmen freedom express 320bhds and was told the bumper was strong enough and surprisingly it wasnt. Ended up finding a set of plans on here and fabricated a hitch and that works great. Still haven't taken the bumper off but can't get a length of sewer pipe out of it. Good luck

[AJCR2011]

Jon where did you find the plans to fab a hitch? I've been wanting to do that to mine as well, could wing it but if there is a good set of plans floating around I would appreciate a link. Thanks!

[JonClark]

Will look in a few and let you know

[JonClark]

I did a search of bike racks and the original builder of the hitch is Jeeplj8

[TURBS]

I'd advise against it.

TURBS
08 duramax tuned n modded
2011 32bhok Sabre
2015 camping "9 nights"

[bikendan]

If the trailer is an ultralight, most manufacturers will void the frame warranty, if such a mod is done.
Some, like Rockwood/Flagstaff put a sticker stating this, on the bumper.

[Super 8]

Originally Posted by JonClark

I did a search of bike racks and the original builder of the hitch is Jeeplj8

Post #22 and 38 in this link
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...s-61338-3.html

[Thurman]

"Have any of you put a bike rack on your TT rear bumper"? Yes. I had a four bike rack that originally made to fit into the 2" receiver on the back of my truck. I wanted to be able to take at least two (2) bikes, my g'son's, with us when we went camping and IF I could take mine and/or my girl friends that would be even better. I bought a new Coachmen Freedom Express in January and there was a tag on the back bumper stating that if one were to add anything to the bumper the capacity of the attachment was not to exceed 300 pounds. The salesman told me that there were actually two (2) different types of these 4" x 4 1/2" bumpers on different units. He showed me that the thickness of the material of the bumper was thicker than another unit sitting on the lot. He assured me (he is a sales man remember) that the bumper on my unit would handle the 300 pounds and would "probably" handle up to 500 pounds. That said: I took the bike rack I had and started figuring out how to mount it to the bumper of the TT. I didn't want to start adding extra material to strengthen the back bumper for one thing. I would up removing the 2" piece that would slide into the truck's receiver hitch first. Then I took some material I had on hand and made two (2) plates as needed. One would go behind the bumper and the other would be in front of the bumper with holes at the corners for four (4) bolts. This would sort of "sandwich" the existing bumper between the two (2) plates. I then looked, measured, and made up a plan to weld the old bike rack to the plate behind the bumper. When finished what I actually had was a bike rack that clamped on to the rear bumper, using 1/2" bolts. I weighed all four (4) bikes and that came out to be 145 pounds, less than I had imagined. With just the two g'son's 20" bikes mounted I shook the bike rack really hard to see if the rear bumper would flex any--it did not. I added the girl bike to this and tested it again--no flexing. I added my 45# bike to the last mount position and again tested the bike rack--no flexing of the rear TT bumper. I have now made two (2) trips with this set-up. One of only eleven (11) miles and the other about ninety (90) miles with no problems.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Thurman

"Have any of you put a bike rack on your TT rear bumper"? Yes. I had a four bike rack that originally made to fit into the 2" receiver on the back of my truck. I wanted to be able to take at least two (2) bikes, my g'son's, with us when we went camping and IF I could take mine and/or my girl friends that would be even better. I bought a new Coachmen Freedom Express in January and there was a tag on the back bumper stating that if one were to add anything to the bumper the capacity of the attachment was not to exceed 300 pounds. The salesman told me that there were actually two (2) different types of these 4" x 4 1/2" bumpers on different units. He showed me that the thickness of the material of the bumper was thicker than another unit sitting on the lot. He assured me (he is a sales man remember) that the bumper on my unit would handle the 300 pounds and would "probably" handle up to 500 pounds. That said: I took the bike rack I had and started figuring out how to mount it to the bumper of the TT. I didn't want to start adding extra material to strengthen the back bumper for one thing. I would up removing the 2" piece that would slide into the truck's receiver hitch first. Then I took some material I had on hand and made two (2) plates as needed. One would go behind the bumper and the other would be in front of the bumper with holes at the corners for four (4) bolts. This would sort of "sandwich" the existing bumper between the two (2) plates. I then looked, measured, and made up a plan to weld the old bike rack to the plate behind the bumper. When finished what I actually had was a bike rack that clamped on to the rear bumper, using 1/2" bolts. I weighed all four (4) bikes and that came out to be 145 pounds, less than I had imagined. With just the two g'son's 20" bikes mounted I shook the bike rack really hard to see if the rear bumper would flex any--it did not. I added the girl bike to this and tested it again--no flexing. I added my 45# bike to the last mount position and again tested the bike rack--no flexing of the rear TT bumper. I have now made two (2) trips with this set-up. One of only eleven (11) miles and the other about ninety (90) miles with no problems.

Yet

TURBS
08 duramax tuned n modded
2011 32bhok Sabre
2015 camping "9 nights"