The "weak bumper" issue has been discussed here many times, with all sorts of opinions, solutions, and suggestions, but unless I've just over looked it, I've never seen this product mentioned. Ran across it tonight and am asking does anyone use it or know anything about it pro or con. Very high reviews on Amazon and that's the only place I can find it except the manufactures own site. What say ye.......?
I threw this product out on this forum a few months ago. I was also looking for input. No one responded. I was not sure if they thought I was advertising the product or if everyone was just unfamiliar with product. I look forward to seeing if you get more reviews.
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2004 silverado 2500HD ext cab short bed
2012 Rockwood 8280WS
It's been discussed a number of times but they haven't been around long enough for a long term review.
Personally, my bikes are too valuable to put someplace I can't see them or where they can be smashed by a rear ender.
I prefer to put them on the truck bumper or in the truck bed.
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Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
It's been discussed a number of times but they haven't been around long enough for a long term review.
Personally, my bikes are too valuable to put someplace I can't see them or where they can be smashed by a rear ender.
I prefer to put them on the truck bumper or in the truck bed.
Before my 1st post, I had not SEARCHED the forum about them, I just had not seen any mention of them, but your post made me curious and I did a search. Don't know what you consider "long enough", but I found a thread from Sept. 2014(2yrs. ago), where they were mentioned by someone who was already using them and another positive mention from Sept. 2015(1yr. ago). As now, you were negative in both of those as well, you're certainly welcome to your opinion, but you've not used them and I was hoping someone who HAS used them would give their assessment, positive or negative. You seem to imply your concern is the value of your stuff not the condition of the bumper, so I guess you wouldn't put anything back there no matter how safe or sturdy the bumper was, if that's your position, fine,...... but in the rv world they're millions of people who DO mount stuff on their bumpers everyday, and probably an equal number who WANT TO, but don't. The search and concern is to know that the bumper can handle the load without a failure. The 4 Square Safety Strut is simply a product that claims to eliminate that bumper failure. The 63 reviews on Amazon are 98% positive, the one and only neg. "Way over priced for what you get did not see where you gain a great amount of benifits",..... price? and its easy to believe he returned the item...... Anyway, now I know there are 4Square SafetyStrut users in the forum and am hoping they will add to the discussion,......... happy trailering..........
I have to wonder that this product, while adding strength to the welds where the bumper tube connects to the frame, it does not do anything for the frame itself. My take on many posts here is that the frame may be the failure point.
I will now sit back and read the following comments... LOL
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Bob & Michelle
2016 Ford F-250 Lariat 4x4
2017 Flagstaff Super Lite 526RLWS
I bought and installed this product on the TT we just traded in. I mounted a truck style toolbox onto the rear bumber to store and tote all of our lounge chairs and firewood. In addition to the bolts drilled through the i-beams, I also had the supports welded in place. In the 2 years / 5000 miles it was there, it worked as advertised. I checked the bumper welds frequently and there was never any signs of impending failure. I will be doing the same mod to the new 5er. It works! (no matter what the naysayers who will be along shortly to tell you.)
I have to wonder that this product, while adding strength to the welds where the bumper tube connects to the frame, it does not do anything for the frame itself. My take on many posts here is that the frame may be the failure point.
I will now sit back and read the following comments... LOL
In my 4yrs + on this forum, lots of folks have discussed frame failure, but it's almost always been "hear-say." Only one person ever posted an actual picture, and most of us who saw it thought it was caused by using the stabilizers as jacks rather than hanging weight on the bumper, based on where the failure occurred.
I installed the 4Square Safety Struts on my new 2014 Shamrock 183 way back in the summer of 2014. I carry a home-built aluminum channel bike rack on the passenger side of the TT bumper and on the driver side I have installed a HF aluminum cargo carrier. They are both attached via Curt bumper adapters. see picture... The two Curt adapters are attached within about 2 feet of each side where the bumper welds to the frame
I am careful to not overload the carrier and typically carry no more then 40# in the carrier ( total weight maybe 80# including carrier), while also carrying my fairly heavy adult bike on the passenger side. I shortened the HF carrier tube by drilling new holes so it does not hang out so far past the bumper.
I typically tow slow 60-65 and never do wash-board roads that would send the TT bouncing down the road... as I said I try to be careful. All that said, I have NOT had any problems with my bumper or the things hanging off the bumper. This is after a couple of 3,000+ mi trips during the winter south into FL, and numerous other shorter trips. I inspected the bumper welds and frame and the previously added struts earlier this summer after returning from my latest winter south FL trip... I found nothing amiss and the struts seem to be doing the intended job of keeping the bumper from trying to "roll-over" and break the welds. I endorse the Strut product IF you are smart and don't overload the rear bumper...
the 3rd pic... greyish paint is where I applied some rubberized black paint to keep corrosion at bay when I first installed struts.
__________________ "nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle." Thomas Jefferson to John Norvell pg. 2, June 11, 1807 2014 Shamrock 183
2014 RAM 1500 Bighorn Crew Cab, HEMI, 3.21 gears, 8 Spd, 4X4 TST TPMS
After a 2200 mile trip in June, I noticed a squeaking noise from the bumper as I moved the spare or the bike rack. I had the spare and two bikes on the back.
There is a label on the bumper that says something to the effect, don't haul anything other that what was equipped by the manufacturer. The reality is that the spare tire and mount installed by the manufacturer had already cracked the bumper before I added the bikes.
There was a 1" preexisting stress crack on the left side where the spare was located. This was there when I bought this 2012 trailer just two years ago. But when I returned, I had another larger stress crack on the right side near the bottom of the angle gusset on the bumper. This crack is 2". The bumper was not going to fall off but I surely don't want to see it get worse.
I had been concerned about the weight for some time. But the manner in which FR attached the bumper was better than I've seen on my other trailers.
I considered welding a plate over the cracks but it would be tough to get to it with a rod without risking damage to the body work. So, I decided to give the Safetystruts a try. I ran across them a few months back but decided against since the hole pattern would have compromised the existing welds. Due to the way my bumper was welded I could not use the predrilled Safetystruts. It would have meant drilling through the welds and further weakening the bumper at the frame.
I ordered the Safetystruts without holes and drilled myself so as not to compromise the welds. I had to buy a 2 12" bits since you can't fit a drill between the bumper and the body of the trailer. The bolts were 1/2" too short. I had to buy new mounting hardware and make shims for the lower bolt position.
You need good clamps and I used a floor jack to load the struts against the bumper as I marked the hole positions in the frame. This ensured the Safetystruts were tightly against the bottom and rear of the bumper. I am considering welding the Safetystruts along the rear of the bumper.
Immediately after installing the Safetystruts the flexing and creaking noise caused by the stress cracks was gone. The Safetystruts had indeed stabilized the bumper.
I just returned from a 1600 mile trip and still no more flexing or any indication the stress cracks are expanding. If I buy another trailer, I'll add them when it is new. For the time being this problem appears to be resolved.
thanks to everyone for your input, ... y'all have convinced me they're worth trying, will be ordering and installing very soon......
again, thanks to you all.........
I added them a couple of years ago because i wanted to carry a generator on a carrier attached to my bumper So far so good no signs of any stress on the bumper. I would recommend them !
I too have installed them about 8 months ago, 5,000 miles while carrying 3 bikes. However, I did install the BAL Hide-a-spare rack to move the spare under the trailer to remove that weight. So far, no issues, no cracks.
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2016 Rockwood 2702WS
2016 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 4x4 High Country
the struts came yesterday afternoon and I finished the install just as it was getting dark,.... I ordered the "no holes" model,...... $10 cheaper, but mainly so I could do my own drilling and tapping to insure there was no slop between the bolt and the drilled hole, ...... I drilled and tapped the struts themselves and then screwed three bolts into each one, then added the lock nuts onto the bolts where they came thru the other side of the struts,......... I also had to notch the lower part of the I beams for the struts to fit in place,......
I do believe these struts really can solved the weak bumper and broken weld problem that happens so often,..... now I'll be able to finish two other mods that have been on hold for over two years,..... when we had our Micro Lite 21DS, I had already bought a Swagman bike rack for the bumper and a BAL Hide-A-Spare to remove the spare off the bumper, before I saw the sticker warning against mounting anything that wasn't factory approved, ..... those mods have been in limbo and those two items have been stored away, for so long that I'd actually accepted the possibility that I would never mount anything back there,..... but that's changed now,... happy trailering,.......
the struts came yesterday afternoon and I finished the install just as it was getting dark,.... I ordered the "no holes" model,...... $10 cheaper, but mainly so I could do my own drilling and tapping to insure there was no slop between the bolt and the drilled hole, ...... I drilled and tapped the struts themselves and then screwed three bolts into each one, then added the lock nuts onto the bolts where they came thru the other side of the struts,......... I also had to notch the lower part of the I beams for the struts to fit in place,......
I do believe these struts really can solved the weak bumper and broken weld problem that happens so often,..... now I'll be able to finish two other mods that have been on hold for over two years,..... when we had our Micro Lite 21DS, I had already bought a Swagman bike rack for the bumper and a BAL Hide-A-Spare to remove the spare off the bumper, before I saw the sticker warning against mounting anything that wasn't factory approved, ..... those mods have been in limbo and those two items have been stored away, for so long that I'd actually accepted the possibility that I would never mount anything back there,..... but that's changed now,... happy trailering,.......
Seems you could have put the Hide-a-spare on anytime, couldn't you?
Seems you could have put the Hide-a-spare on anytime, couldn't you?
yes, If I had chosen to do that, but without the bike rack on the bumper,...... I chose to not, remove weight from the rear and add weight closer to the front, ...... that just didn't seem like a wise thing to do, but that's just my opinion....
yes, If I had chosen to do that, but without the bike rack on the bumper,...... I chose to not, remove weight from the rear and add weight closer to the front, ...... that just didn't seem like a wise thing to do, but that's just my opinion....
I don't always take my bikes with me, so I figure it probably doesn't matter when I put it on. I installed it only a foot or so in front of the front axle. If you haven't seen it, here's my thread on my install:
I don't always take my bikes with me, so I figure it probably doesn't matter when I put it on.
well, we do have to make our own decisions about what we do and what we don't do to our tt's and then live with the results of those decisions, and of course my decisions won't always be the same as yours, ...... and as it's turned out, if we had either or both of those items on the 21DS, we would have lost them in the accident and I'd be buying them again,..... so, even though it wasn't planned this way, there is a plus to how this has turned out,......
the Hide-A-Spare is a quality product and is now sitting in place, next trip to Lowe's will be bolts and Nylock nuts, ...... always Nylock nuts, whenever possible on the trailer, outside and inside, ...... its not likely, but if they do loosen a bit from vibration, they will not turn all the way and fall off the bolt,......
Another issue is the thickness of the bumper. If the bumper
is too thin then no amount of brackets will help. The manufacturers
are doing everything possible to make trailers lighter. If a thinner
bumper drops 5 pounds off the weight then they are going to do it.
Personally I would just go down to Harbor Freight Tools and
buy 4 U-bolts and install those.
Really interested in this thread. We have a 2011 2304s and are tired of hauling bikes in & out of camper & had been looking at various ways to carry bikes. Ladder mount, front of car mount, aframe mount but this looks like what we are looking for. Do you think we would be able to carry bikes & spare tire on bumper with these struts?
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Pam & Don
2003 Ford Expedition EB
2011 Rockwood 2304s
Linear Mode
