Trailer Hitch

[RACarvalho]

Hello,

I'm looking for a hitch to be installed in my 23IKSS.

My question is:
Have anyone bought / installed one commercial available?
If yes, what model is it?

The reason for my question is that I don't see space enough to install it close to the bumper for we have the jacks on the corners and just following it the water thank.
I need to install one that can hold weight for my bike rack is heavy by itself (4-Bike Steel Wheel-Mount Hitch Bike Rack BC-7621-2E | DiscountRamps.com) and it carries 4 bikes....

Thank you for any help.

[bikendan]

Betcha that rack won't be warrantied on the back of a RV.
Looking at it, it looks too weak to handle the bouncing it will be subjected to.
That is if the bumper doesn't fail first.

Update :
I was right.
Under the More Info tab, it states not suitable for RVs, 5th wheels and TTs.

[Retired JSO]

There are several adjustable hitches on the market. Hidden hitch makes one but I can't find the link. You should find one that will work. To cut down on the bike rack bounce, drill a 3/8 hole in the 2" mount and tap. Tighten a 3/8 bolt against the bike mount shaft.http://www.autozone.com/trailer-hitc...0_0/?cmpid=PS:

[GalsofEscape]

just to offer a different solution - we went with putting the bikes inside our 23WS - all four fit on the dinette. A little bit of work to get them in, but I like them inside the trailer rather than bouncing around on the back where I can't see them. The bikes are firmly held in place and we have had no issues (and cheaper - only two scrap boards, four tongue mount holders and some straps - the straps are threaded through holes we drilled in the seat bottoms to hold the boards in place). Holds the bikes super stable.

[RACarvalho]

Thank you all for the responses but my quest continue.
My problem is not a bike rack but a hitch that will fit the IKSS.
Do we have anyone here with a IKSS that bought and installed an aftermarket hitch?

Bikedan,
That rack has 10K miles on it and it doesn't bounce, even with 4 bikes on it.
It's solid rock and heavy, a pain to put it in the car by myself alone, but that is the reason I want to use it on the trailer and the reason I need a strong hitch on it.

Retire JSO,
Thank you for that link, I'll take a look.
I checked etrailer but I don't think what they have there will fit.

GalsofEscape,
I saw that solution and I think it's really smart, but when we go out we usually spend at least 2 nights turtling on the way and we need to use that space to sleep....

Again,
Thank you all.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by RACarvalho

Thank you all for the responses but my quest continue.
My problem is not a bike rack but a hitch that will fit the IKSS.
Do we have anyone here with a IKSS that bought and installed an aftermarket hitch?

Bikedan,
That rack has 10K miles on it and it doesn't bounce, even with 4 bikes on it.
It's solid rock and heavy, a pain to put it in the car by myself alone, but that is the reason I want to use it on the trailer and the reason I need a strong hitch on it.

I'm assuming that got the 10k miles came mounted on a car/truck.
They have shocks to help prevent the bouncing.

Your trailer doesn't have shocks.

[Mainframe]

I made my own but I think one of these would work


Frame Mount RV Hitch | etrailer.com

[jking46]

Most cars / trucks have either a frame or factory designated mounting points for a hitch. Your ultra lite camper has an ultra lite frame suitable only for supporting the camper and nothing else.
Check the tires maximum load rating.
Check the axles maximum load rating.
You will find they barely exceed the mgvw of your camper.
Then imagine putting an admittedly heavy rack loaded with 4 bikes on the tail end of a loaded camper.
You could stress, weaken, and twist the frame.
It could even cause severe handling issues.
Don't do it. Look instead for a rack that mounts above the propane tanks, or the bed of your truck, or even the inside of your camper.
Many options are available that are better than what you are trying to do.

[Mainframe]

Originally Posted by jking46

Most cars / trucks have either a frame or factory designated mounting points for a hitch. Your ultra lite camper has an ultra lite frame suitable only for supporting the camper and nothing else.
Check the tires maximum load rating.
Check the axles maximum load rating.
You will find they barely exceed the mgvw of your camper.
Then imagine putting an admittedly heavy rack loaded with 4 bikes on the tail end of a loaded camper.
You could stress, weaken, and twist the frame.
It could even cause severe handling issues.
Don't do it. Look instead for a rack that mounts above the propane tanks, or the bed of your truck, or even the inside of your camper.
Many options are available that are better than what you are trying to do.

Not true, i have been hauling bikes on Ultra light campers for 8 years now, ADDING METAL BRACING TO A FRAME STRENGHTENS IT! LOL When you are fabricating things and you want to "beef" something up for added support, you weld in or add metal, go ahead and put your hitch on and load your bikes and have fun, your bikes won't flip your trailer Ha Ha

Do a search on here, many people have done this for multiple years.

[gspot01]

Originally Posted by GalsofEscape

just to offer a different solution - we went with putting the bikes inside our 23WS - all four fit on the dinette. A little bit of work to get them in, but I like them inside the trailer rather than bouncing around on the back where I can't see them. The bikes are firmly held in place and we have had no issues (and cheaper - only two scrap boards, four tongue mount holders and some straps - the straps are threaded through holes we drilled in the seat bottoms to hold the boards in place). Holds the bikes super stable.

This is a really ingenious solution if you don't mind converting the dinette before every trip. Might eventually try something like this myself. Heck, makes me want to remove the dinette totally and install a permanent rack there instead. Might encourage DW and DKs to actually get out of the camper and spend time outside. Bugs me to no end.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

[raspivey]

I'd advise against loading up the back of that camper any more. As I recall, there was some discussion a while back about this towing combo. You've got a 108" wheelbase TV pulling a 25' trailer with a dry weight of around 700 lbs shy of your TV tow rating. My concern is not if you can pull it, but how stable it'll be when you start making it tail heavy.

[Mainframe]

Originally Posted by raspivey

I'd advise against loading up the back of that camper any more. As I recall, there was some discussion a while back about this towing combo. You've got a 108" wheelbase TV pulling a 25' trailer with a dry weight of around 700 lbs shy of your TV tow rating. My concern is not if you can pull it, but how stable it'll be when you start making it tail heavy.

AGAIN, not a problem at all, LOADING UP the back of the camper with bikes, many on here have done it for years and for many many miles, so fare I have been out 6 times this year no problem hauling the bikes on the back, the camper never even knows it has them on, put a good solid hitch on the back and enjoy the bikes, our trips are all about riding the bikes so go for it and forget about the fear. It quite simply has already been proven to work.

[Retired JSO]

Hers another one.

http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-RV_H...rukaAo8f8P8HAQ

You could also get a trailer place to weld 2 cross bars to the frame and weld a 4' 2" reciever tube to those cross bars which would support your bikes very good.

[raspivey]

Originally Posted by Mainframe

AGAIN, not a problem at all, LOADING UP the back of the camper with bikes, many on here have done it for years and for many many miles, so fare I have been out 6 times this year no problem hauling the bikes on the back, the camper never even knows it has them on, put a good solid hitch on the back and enjoy the bikes, our trips are all about riding the bikes so go for it and forget about the fear. It quite simply has already been proven to work.

That wasn't what I was getting at. You probably don't have a borderline / overweight combo to start with. He does, and it will take less to get him in trouble. Forward of the axles would probably be safer for him.

[rockfordroo]

RAC - Look at my pics under post #7 here. Might give you some ideas.

I don't think I'd put FOUR bikes on it, though.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1296271

[bikendan]

As an avid cyclist, I have bikes I'm not willing to risk by putting them
where I can't see them while on the road.

Even with a bomb -proof setup on the trailer's bumper.
They'll either be on the tongue, on the truck's bumper, in the bed or on the truck's roof.

That way they're always where I can see them.

[RACarvalho]

Thank you all for your inputs.
Since fabrication and welding something to the frame is not really what I'd like to to do, I'm leaning towards loading the 4 bikes (in fact we carry 5) on top of the car.
Maybe I can even get a better gas mileage "breaking" the wind before it hits the camper????

Raspivey,
Thank you for your concerns but I proved my theory that short wheel base can be more than compensated with a performance suspension plus the right hitch set up taking a 4400+ miles round trip to Nevada, where we got really high cross winds and We didn't have a single situation where the trailer wanted to sway. In fact I can hold the steering wheel with two fingers when a semi is passing me with no problem...
But, yes, you are right, I'm on my weight limit.

[RACarvalho]

Just some feedback on this.
I end up giving up the bikes on top of the car solution after testing it (too heavy/complicated/risky) and buying two bike racks to transport the bikes inside the trailer.
These are the bike racks I bought: Floor Bike Stand - Double in Bike Stands

We just returned from a trip to Florida (1400 miles round trip) and they worked perfectly.
I put one on the dinette and one in the floor, between the dinette and the kitchen slide.
It fit perfectly.
I didn't attach them to the trailer for I realize that when two bikes are on the rack it's really difficult to move them.
I did hold the bikes to the racks with a bungie cord, put some cardboad pieces where the racks could damage the cabinets and some blankets on the rear wheels of the bikes in the floor though.
It's really quick to get the bikes in and out and way less effort than load them in the car roof.
Sorry for the poor quality pictures, I didn't realize the camera lens were dirty....

[Life is great]

Looks like it works pretty good!