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Old 11-23-2018, 02:44 PM   #1
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Has anyone ever purchased and used one of these?

Interested in anyone who's had experience with one of these Generator/Cargo Carrier mounts from "Mount and Lock".



After doing a lot of measuring and weight calculations I've decided to mount my Champion 3500W Inverter on the rear bumper of my MicroLite 25BDS. To make sure the bumper doesn't fall off I am also installing the safety struts from the same company:



These "struts" provide support where the bumper tube is welded to the frame and also help maintain the tube in it's "square" configuration rather than turning into a "parallelogram" due to weight being added to it. Same for the mounting struts for the platform of the carrier.

Platform is 24"X24" and I plan on installing so the platform extends over the top of the bumper for minimal overhang in the rear. Perfect size for my 18"X24" inverter's footprint".

It looks like a well designed and sturdy system to carry up to 200#.. Just curious if anyone else has had any experience with this mount, good, bad, or just neutral.

Weight wise I'm fine both from a standpoint of gross weight of the trailer and tongue weight. Any tongue weight removed from the hitch will actually be an advantage as I'm currently near the upper limits for the spring bars.
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Old 11-23-2018, 02:57 PM   #2
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I'd be worried about getting rear ended and getting my $1000 generator damaged in addition to the camper. It also looks like an invitation to attempt to steal it. I'm sure any potential thieves wouldn't be successful but I bet a few would try.
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Old 11-23-2018, 03:39 PM   #3
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I'd be worried about getting rear ended and getting my $1000 generator damaged in addition to the camper. It also looks like an invitation to attempt to steal it. I'm sure any potential thieves wouldn't be successful but I bet a few would try.

As for getting rear ended, there'd be more damage than just a $1,000 generator. Even if the "rear ender" didn't have insurance I have plenty of my own. The tray would only stick out about 6" more than the spare tire does already.


As for being tempted to steal it, I think the large security cable with HD security padlock on it might give them a hint that stealing it would be a day-long job. Even if successful (which I too doubt) that's another reason I carry insurance.

If I were to worry about thieves and marauders all the time I wouldn't enjoy life much. I just lock up things that are tempting and for the "marauders", I'm prepared for them too. I then just go about having fun.
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Old 11-24-2018, 01:48 PM   #4
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I have one of these installed on the back of my Mini-Lite 1905, and it works great. I have the small aluminum tray with 100lb capacity. I would not feel comfortable putting any more weight than that on my particular bumper. The only thing I put on it is my Honda 2200i generator, so it's nowhere near capacity. Those TT bumpers are just not meant to carry anything very heavy. I also make sure to place the generator as far forward as possible to avoid adding extra torque. And finally, I got a Master Lock cable lock, drilled a small hole in the pan, and routed the cable under the pan, around the bumper, and thru the generator's handle, under the generator's cover so it's mostly out of sight. Should dissuade all but the most persistent thieves.
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Old 11-24-2018, 02:35 PM   #5
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Lots of folks are using the safety struts with a clamp on receiver for a bike rack. I haven't seen one report of them failing. If they're both by the same company, I would expect that they've determined that 200 lbs is acceptable; although it seems like a lot.

See some other options here:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...oo-107358.html
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Old 11-24-2018, 06:01 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by billhale View Post
I have one of these installed on the back of my Mini-Lite 1905, and it works great. I have the small aluminum tray with 100lb capacity. I would not feel comfortable putting any more weight than that on my particular bumper. The only thing I put on it is my Honda 2200i generator, so it's nowhere near capacity. Those TT bumpers are just not meant to carry anything very heavy. I also make sure to place the generator as far forward as possible to avoid adding extra torque. And finally, I got a Master Lock cable lock, drilled a small hole in the pan, and routed the cable under the pan, around the bumper, and thru the generator's handle, under the generator's cover so it's mostly out of sight. Should dissuade all but the most persistent thieves.
I spent some time reading about the design of the mounts from the manufacturer. I too was concerned about the strength of the bumper due to the gauge of metal used. The manufacturer of this product did a good job of explaining the failure sequence on these thin, square, bumpers.

The most common method of mounting carriers has been to clamp on a 2" receiver and then hang one of the numerous "hitch carriers" on it. In their explanation they stated how all the load was focused on a single point and the rotational force on the square tube turned it into a parallelogram. Continued movement then caused the welds to fail at the junction with the frame.

If you look at how their supports attach to the square tube they are designed in a manner that keeps the tube square as load is applied.

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Originally Posted by rockfordroo View Post
Lots of folks are using the safety struts with a clamp on receiver for a bike rack. I haven't seen one report of them failing. If they're both by the same company, I would expect that they've determined that 200 lbs is acceptable; although it seems like a lot.

See some other options here:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...oo-107358.html

The Safety Struts arrived yesterday and when I unpacked them I have no fears that one will ever fail. They look like they are cut from 1/4" steel plate with a water jet and powder coated. Holes drilled through the web of the trailer frame are just large enough to allow self tapping bolts to fit with nominal clearance in the strut itself. Once installed the self tapping bolts are then locked in place with self locking nuts.

Three bolts through each frame web and if one desires, after installing the middle bolt a jack can be put under the strut and the strut pre-loaded before installing the remaining two. This kills all flex at the vulnerable welds allowing the adding of load to the bumper safely.

Even if all that's attached to the bumper is a spare tire and support bracket it might be a good idea to add the Safety Struts.

After I ordered the carrier I found that the company making it also offers just a pair of support arms so one can mount their own custom carrier. $80 for a pair of arms that someone else had done all the engineering and fabrication on isn't bad. A truck cross bed tool box could be added to the arms and then used to transport all the miscellaneous items that we all wish we had more space for. Max load for their steel arms is 200 "Foot Lbs" which they described as 100# at the half-way point from bumper to end of platform. Considering that my Champion Inverter weighs about 115# in total that's about half the max for the platform.
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Old 11-24-2018, 06:15 PM   #7
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Someone here put 2 struts on each frame rail, one on each side of the rail. He really wanted to be sure.
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Old 11-24-2018, 06:19 PM   #8
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Someone here put 2 struts on each frame rail, one on each side of the rail. He really wanted to be sure.
From a pure engineering standpoint all he accomplished was to double the cost of the struts. The extra strut still fastens to the same anchor bolts and section of frame web. Frame web is about 1/8" thick and struts are twice that.

The new frames are not like the old roll formed mild steel beams that used to be used. They're welded up from "flats" that are half the thickness of the roll formed beams.
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Old 11-24-2018, 07:31 PM   #9
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True, but clamping the web between two struts is better than simply bolting one strut to one side. But the weak link is still the thin the web.
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Old 11-24-2018, 11:26 PM   #10
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True, but clamping the web between two struts is better than simply bolting one strut to one side. But the weak link is still the thin the web.

Yes. One very important note and that's what you pointed out. The weak link. Just because one is using the safety struts they still need to stay within a reasonable limit. The struts are just there to keep the bumper from falling off if the welds fail and if one has exceeded the weight limits suggested by the cargo carrier manufacturer they risk the chance of both weld AND web failing.


Gone are the days when one could add another 4 feet or so to the back of their trailer when they own one of the lighter weight units like a MicroLite.

Have a friend who used to own a Wilderness 5er. He added an extension with a canted ramp that he could carry a Kawasaki Snow Mobile with 440 cc water cooled engine. I ended up buying the Snow Mobile from him and can attest that it was one heavy "chunk", especially when I got it stuck in deep snow. With the extension, ramp, and sled, he had to have at least an extra 800 lbs. But that was back in the day of hot rolled steel I-beam frames.
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Old 11-25-2018, 01:52 PM   #11
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I purchased the safety struts, curt bolt on receiver and cargo carrier from harbor freight about 160 all together. Went from Pittsburgh to Dallas to Phoenix with my generator and water softener on it with no problems.
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Old 11-25-2018, 02:21 PM   #12
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Jtesta1 - Can you post pics of your setup?

I am very interested in your setup. I am thinking of doing the same thing.
What would you say the weight of what you added to the trailer is (brackets, cargo carrier, clamp on receiver)? Also what is the weight of what you are placing on the cargo carrier?
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Old 11-25-2018, 04:13 PM   #13
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Generator mounted on rear bumper.

I attached a metal box containing two Honda Inverter generators to my rear bumper. The box has a automotive 12V fan in front to draw cooling air in and two exhaust ports in rear for generator exhaust and hot air to escape. The box came with a factory locking mechanism that locks both ends of lid. I have the bumper supported with the 1/4 inch thick steel plates.
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Old 11-25-2018, 08:22 PM   #14
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I have one on my 2600 Tracer with a Champion 3400 generator on it. I have driven about 6000 miles with it, and it has performed perfectly. I will say that the Tracer has a heavy duty frame, and drilling through it for the mounting bolts took some time. I use a heavy cable to secure it from thieves.
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Old 11-25-2018, 10:54 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanMike View Post

As for being tempted to steal it, I think the large security cable with HD security padlock on it might give them a hint that stealing it would be a day-long job. Even if successful (which I too doubt) that's another reason I carry insurance.



Security cables are only meant to keep honest people honest.


I once forgot the keys to my padlock for the "security cable" for my kayak. A pair of side cutters got me on the water fairly quickly and that cable was about a half inch thick.
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Old 11-26-2018, 12:06 AM   #16
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I have one and I carry a honda 3000 on it. For the most part I like it fine, but I have noticed that the struts that go from in front of the bumper to behind the bumper have sagged about a half inch. Having the weight of the genny bouncing around all the way in the back is what I chalked it up to. I also have the support struts bolted to the frame so I am not worried about it coming off.
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Old 11-26-2018, 01:46 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billhale View Post
I have one of these installed on the back of my Mini-Lite 1905, and it works great. I have the small aluminum tray with 100lb capacity. I would not feel comfortable putting any more weight than that on my particular bumper. The only thing I put on it is my Honda 2200i generator, so it's nowhere near capacity. Those TT bumpers are just not meant to carry anything very heavy. I also make sure to place the generator as far forward as possible to avoid adding extra torque. And finally, I got a Master Lock cable lock, drilled a small hole in the pan, and routed the cable under the pan, around the bumper, and thru the generator's handle, under the generator's cover so it's mostly out of sight. Should dissuade all but the most persistent thieves.
Scary from my vantage point to put weight out there where every bump is magnified by the (wait for it, a pilot's weight and balance term I have not used in years) MOMENT. Or in other words the distance from axle to bumper means that two inch bump from a pot hole at the axle slings the back bumper six or eight inches in the air. One of our balloon group was carrying an eighty or one hundred pound inflation fan on a similar rack when the lashings (one inch ratcheting cargo straps) gave way and the fan was not missed until 100 miles later at arrival. Fortunately the truck behind them was another balloon pilot who saw it and picked up enough pieces to rebuild the $1800 fan.

Me not a fan of bouncing things back there except as a last resort.

Good luck.
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Old 11-26-2018, 08:17 AM   #18
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One other thing about stuff hanging out behind the back of an RV.

Go down one dirt road in the rain and everything on that shelf will be covered in mud!

Or covered in ice if driving in winter conditions.

I had the slide-out rear bumper rack on my previous TT and pretty much quit using it for most trips because of these and other issues.
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Old 11-26-2018, 09:00 AM   #19
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One other thing about stuff hanging out behind the back of an RV.

Go down one dirt road in the rain and everything on that shelf will be covered in mud!

Or covered in ice if driving in winter conditions.

I had the slide-out rear bumper rack on my previous TT and pretty much quit using it for most trips because of these and other issues.
Cover them.
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Old 11-26-2018, 09:50 AM   #20
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This hitch also uses 3 bolts and is much more solid https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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