wolf pup - bumper crack

[lukasbernat]

was carrying 2 bikes with a bike rack. 80lb total inc bike rack.
this is just a warning to anyone trying this - yeah I know, should have not done this spear me the preaching lol. it was fine for a year, but while going through mountains and having a lot of swinging on the back, i noticed the crack, as seen in photo. 2 more photos with the welding done. my welder thinks i can put bikes back on, but i will be done carrying that stuff now except the spare tire
you think that 200lb weight limit would have handled this, since I was under it, but I assume due to the angle the force was more then the bumper can handle.
thankfully nothing happened and I was able to weld it for cheap

[bikendan]

All it takes is to follow a trailer with a loaded bike rack, on a non-reinforced bumper.
You'll see the bouncing and flexing that happens. Remember that travel trailers don't have shocks.

[Bob K4TAX]

I've looked out TT and the square bumper's thin material. We have the spare tire mounted there and I'm concerned about the reliability and stress applied to the bumper.

I always slow down depending on the road, potholes, seams, etc. Thus I'm trying to minimize the pounding the trailer and frame is subjected to. I'm always looking ahead to observe the greasy spots on the pavement. They are always several feet past the bump. This gives one time to ease up on the gas (don't touch the brakes) and not power through the bump. Too many times I've observed a trailer bouncing around like tin cans behind a newlyweds car. (Do they still do that to newlyweds?)

Bob

[lukasbernat]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

I've looked out TT and the square bumper's thin material. We have the spare tire mounted there and I'm concerned about the reliability and stress applied to the bumper.

I always slow down depending on the road, potholes, seams, etc. Thus I'm trying to minimize the pounding the trailer and frame is subjected to. I'm always looking ahead to observe the greasy spots on the pavement. They are always several feet past the bump. This gives one time to ease up on the gas (don't touch the brakes) and not power through the bump. Too many times I've observed a trailer bouncing around like tin cans behind a newlyweds car. (Do they still do that to newlyweds?)

Bob

yeah now I even have concern with just the spare, although I hope the welding reinforcement will do the trick. but imagine losing even the spare on a freeway like the i70 through the rockies. this could kill a bunch of people and cause millions of damage

[TheMarkles]

Bad luck, glad you didn't loose your bikes. I plan on hanging a generator off mine and figured out I couldn't risk it so I added these Safety Strut supports I found on Amazon, fingers crossed.. waiting for the wife to approve the purchase

[MGD1961]

I posted a tread recently asking about the use of the cargo rack on the back of my Gray Wolf. Same rack they put on the Pup.

Question to the OP, was the bike rack on the OEM rack or one of the bike racks that clamp around the bumper only or in a receiver that had been added??

[lukasbernat]

Originally Posted by MGD1961

I posted a tread recently asking about the use of the cargo rack on the back of my Gray Wolf. Same rack they put on the Pup.

Question to the OP, was the bike rack on the OEM rack or one of the bike racks that clamp around the bumper only or in a receiver that had been added??

clamp, that one;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the bike rack itself according etrailer was 'TT approved'
the OEM spare also sits on a clamp, this bumper doesn't have a built in receiver/hitch

[MGD1961]

Originally Posted by lukasbernat

clamp, that one;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the bike rack itself according etrailer was 'TT approved'
the OEM spare also sits on a clamp, this bumper doesn't have a built in receiver/hitch

We know they don’t have built in receivers so this falls into the added receiver group. This clears things up selfishly for me. The OEM rack connection is at the frame rail not in the middle of the bumper. Thanks for the clarification.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by lukasbernat

clamp, that one;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the bike rack itself according etrailer was 'TT approved'
the OEM spare also sits on a clamp, this bumper doesn't have a built in receiver/hitch

And herein lies the problem... not all TT's are the same.
There ARE bumpers capable of carrying weight and racks.
My last Flagstaff had a very thick wall bumper that had braces welded to the bumper from the factory. I was able to build a folding rack and it was fine. My friends Wolf Pack had nothing similar.