Hitch for a 2014 Flagstaff Shamrock

[bdodson]

Hi, all! Brand new to the forum!

I have a question for you--we have just purchased a 2014 Flagstaff Shamrock Hybrid camper. Haven't even picked it up yet. We want to buy a 2 inch undercount hitch for our bicycle rack so that we can carry our bicycles on the back of it. We would need it to support at least 100 lbs of bicycles and the rack--it's pretty heavy. Obviously we couldn't attach this to the camper bumper itself, because it's hollow. Has anyone done this? Can you tell me what kind to purchase?

[bikendan]

unfortunately, what you want to do, will void your trailer's frame warranty.
there is a sticker on the bumper stating this.

even if you decide to have the 2" receiver welded and braced to the frame, instead of the bumper, this is an ultralite trailer frame that any mod like this will void its factory warranty.

most put the bikes in the trailer, get a tongue-mounted bike rack, get a roof rack or a front bumper receiver for the bike rack.

[rockfordroo]

bdodson:

Google "bike rack" on this forum and stand by.....

You are opening a real can of worms, as emotions run high on whether this is OK to do or not.

Some folks have posted pics of damage as proof it should not be done, but never any details or pics of what it looked like before their damage, how the rack was attached to the bumper/frame, what they actually had hanging on their rack (2 bikes, 4 bikes, a 200 lb generator, etc) when the damage occurred, etc. Thus a number of us are skeptical of the naysayers. Some of their responses to us have bordered on the rude, but they've never provided the missing info requested. Kind of like showing a pic of a pickup truck with a sagging rear end and claiming you shouldn't pull a trailer of any kind, with no detail about what actually caused the sagging rear end.

Without these details, you can't make any determination for yourself if something was either done incorrectly or subsequently overloaded.

I've had a 2" receiver and beefed up frame for 2 years, 2 bikes on a Thule 990XT rack, no problems yet. Others have, too. So I guess it up to you.

[Rrickim63]

I've tried it. My tt is well out of warranty. You will lose a bike at a minimum, as I did. The flexing after 100 miles broke the straps off bike and I saw it fly over a bridge into a river. Don't do it. Store them inside tt or try something different.

1999 Silverado with tow package

2006 Roo 23B hybrid

[DaGrinch]

Here's what I did to my '08 Roo 23SS to carry bikes and then to have extra carrying space.

Notice the reinforcement behind the rear bumper? I wouldn't have done anything without the reinforcement.



Bikes are on the platform on the left of the Roo. 3 Adult bikes - no problems. All the way to Myrtle Beach and back.



Then I decided to use the platform to carry things I didn't want in the Roo, like firewood and the grill. And yeah, I had a second receiver welded in the middle of the camper for the platform. Heck, it's only money.



I agree with Rockfordroo - you'll find all kinds of opinions. Just remember, you asked. You have to decide if you are willing to take the risks. And if you only have the year warranty, you might want to wait. An extended warranty? You really don't want to throw that money away, do you?

Larry

[rockfordroo]

I've tried it. My tt is well out of warranty. You will lose a bike at a minimum, as I did. The flexing after 100 miles broke the straps off bike and I saw it fly over a bridge into a river. Don't do it. Store them inside tt or try something different.

bdodson:

See? No details. We don't know if he strapped something onto his bumper or had a 2" receiver and a beefed up frame. I know that I don't know what "broke the straps off bike" means; maybe you do. The rack stayed, but the bike fell off? What's that got to do with the frame? Did he have 1 bike that fell off, or 2 bikes, and one fell off? No pics. We JUST DON'T KNOW.

Google my handle when you google bike rack, and you'll see my pics.

[Rrickim63]

The bouncing of the bikes and the bike rack despite checking it.

1999 Silverado with tow package

2006 Roo 23B hybrid

[Triguy]

bdodson,
You have a lot of options for your bikes: Inside trailer or bed of pickup or on top of SUV roof are most common in my opinion. You can place a bike rack in a number of places: front of tow vehicle, front of trailer (Arvika), or back of trailer.

As for back of trailer, you already know that a bumper mounted rack will not work. The bumper cannot carry the load.

As bikendan wrote above, you WILL void the warranty on your new trailer - there is no question about that - if you decide to attach to your frame. You might decide that is fine with you. If so, then securely welded and braced to the frame is a necessity. Dan is also correct in pointing out how light your trailer's frame really is. Its your decision.

[rockfordroo]

Dan is also correct in pointing out how light your trailer's frame really is.

And yet OC was suggesting on another thread to drill holes in the flanges to do the sewer hose tube mod. I didn't do that on mine.

[Buckeyecmpr]

rockfordroo...can you provide us with specific details on why you didn't drill said flanges? Any pictures or specific criteria that you used to make your decision? Is there another modification or method that you may have found that works better...in your opinion? I'm neither for or against anyone else's mods. I agree that each individual situation should be carefully thought out, planned and executed with FULL knowledge and awareness of possible ramifications of what can or may occur. I also agree that we will find people, like yourself, on this forum with passionate opinions on what may or may not be correct. It is a forum of camper owners looking to make their own camping experience better while also sometimes attempting to help others work through possible questions and/or issues that they have. I agree that attempting to provide others on the forum with the best, most accurate information is key...I also believe that the overly-passionate, sometimes sarcastic tones that come across in our lovely tech-filled world have a tendency to ruin the overall true meaning of why we are all here. Good luck to the OP...whatever decision is ultimately made and many thanks to everyone on here attempting make all of our camping experiences more enjoyable!

[rockfordroo]

My passion on this bike rack deal is with the lack of details provided by folks so say "don't do it." If you don't really know the details of what they did, you don't know if they did something obviously stupid (my guess, since they won't give details), or if they really did something most of us would deem "reasonable," but something else went wrong.

Welding on additions in almost all cases will strengthen a frame, but drilling a hole will always weaken it, to some extent. So, drilling a hole in the flange of the frame just didn't seem like a good idea to me, no matter how good or bad the frames on these things really are. That being said, it's probably not a big deal, but my method has some other advantages, as discussed below.

I attached my sewer tube (5"x5" fence post) by using a pair of bolts on either side of the frame web. A 2" fender washer inside the fence post, and 1-1/2" fender washer on top of the frame flange. Stainless steel washers, nuts and bolts. Since half of this washer is over the web, but the other half will hang out in space, I cut another washer in half and captured both halves between the 1-1/2" washer and the fence post, basically making up the thickness of the web. So I have a total of 8 bolts - 4 bolts on each side of the trailer - two on each side of the frame flange. See the attached drawing of one side (it's not perfect, but you'll get the idea.)

The other advantages with this setup are that I can also slide the whole thing forward or backward on the frame if I decide I don't like where it's at, and I can also remove it, if and when I sell/trade-in the trailer, and there won't be any holes left in the frame to turn off the next buyer. It did cost me some more, because you could probably get away with only 1 or 2 bolts on each side of the trailer if you drilled through the web.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

I attached my sewer tube (5"x5" fence post) by using a pair of bolts on either side of the frame web. ... See the attached drawing of one side (it's not perfect, but you'll get the idea.

Thanks for the detail. That looks like a safe and effective way to accomplish that.

Chris