Need a new bumper

[MountainTime]

Greetings all. I've recently joined the, "put too much weight on my trailer bumper and it tore off" club. It was an unpleasant experience that I'd rather not repeat. Anyway, I'm looking at two options for replacing the factor 4-inch bumper which will be holding the spare tire and maybe another bike rack with two bikes. Option 1: buy another 4x4 steel bumper that matches the factory one. With this option I'd have to take it somewhere to get it welded to the frame. This would be a little bit of a pain. I'd also add some Mount-n-Lock safety struts myself after it's welded on. Option 2: buy the Mount-n-Lock HEAVY-HAUL'R aluminium bumper and bolt the thing on myself. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these aluminum bumpers. According to the marketing they can support 500 pound feet of cargo but I'm wondering how well they'd function as a bumper.

[bikendan]

Can you elaborate on what happened because we have many that poopoo this kind of thing happening. Pics would be great.
As an avid cyclist, i personally would NEVER put my bikes on the back of the trailer.
1. I've read too many stories about bumpers failing on ultralight frames, when loaded.
2. My bikes cost too much to risk them there.
If i couldn't put them in my truck, I'd only consider an A-frame mount system, like the Bike Bunk.

[MountainTime]

Sure. We were packing for one of the longest camping trips I've taken in years. We had more supplies than normal and we also decided to take 4 bikes instead of two. Normally I'd put the bikes in the camper or in the truck bed but that wasn't going to work this trip. I decided to put two bikes over the hitch and two on the rear bumper. The Jack-It double bike carrier over the hitch worked wonderfully but I'd had issues with the rear bumper carrier right away because of the spare tire mounted to the bumper. I'd read about bumper failures with bike racks so I inspected the bumper and it looked fine. I had confidence in the welds. That was a mistake. At about mile 430 of our 435 mile trip the welds started to rip. When I pulled over I saw the bottom part of the weld was still in place but the top and sides had separated. I was able to break the whole thing off by bending the bumper up and down until the remaining metal broke. The camper is 10 years old. I was fortunate that nobody was hurt and one bike and the spare tire managed to survive. The metal is rusty but it it sat out in the rain for several days.




I plan to take an angle grinder to those support struts and clean them up. After that, I'm welding or bolting a new bumper on. I may never put bikes back there again but I still want to build it better and stronger than before.

This is the Mount-N-Lock bumper I was looking at.

https://mount-n-lock.com/put-more-ge...ent-bumper-kit

[Flybob]

It appears you have a manufactured I-Beam frame. If you beef up the bumper and connection to the frame, the frame may become the weak point. Many people discourage bike racks on TT with manufactured frames.

[EddieL]

Originally Posted by Flybob

It appears you have a manufactured I-Beam frame. If you beef up the bumper and connection to the frame, the frame may become the weak point. Many people discourage bike racks on TT with manufactured frames.

I have to ask. What's a manufactured frame? Seems to me that all frames are manufactured.

[Black]

Originally Posted by EddieL

I have to ask. What's a manufactured frame? Seems to me that all frames are manufactured.

It is 3 pieces of metal welded together to form an I beam.
Rather than a true 1 piece metal I beam.
Less weight and also less strong.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by MountainTime

Greetings all. I've recently joined the, "put too much weight on my trailer bumper and it tore off" club. It was an unpleasant experience that I'd rather not repeat. Anyway, I'm looking at two options for replacing the factor 4-inch bumper which will be holding the spare tire and maybe another bike rack with two bikes. Option 1: buy another 4x4 steel bumper that matches the factory one. With this option I'd have to take it somewhere to get it welded to the frame. This would be a little bit of a pain. I'd also add some Mount-n-Lock safety struts myself after it's welded on. Option 2: buy the Mount-n-Lock HEAVY-HAUL'R aluminium bumper and bolt the thing on myself. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these aluminum bumpers. According to the marketing they can support 500 pound feet of cargo but I'm wondering how well they'd function as a bumper.

Nothing really works as a "bumper" on the back of a travel trailer. Unlike cars there are no energy absorbing struts and if someone runs into the back of a trailer damage will be done. Even if a nice heavy piece or railroad rail was welded to the back of the frame. Only difference is that the damage will be to the frame and body, not the bumper.

The company that makes the Mount-n-Lock products tests their product well. I have their Safe-T-Struts and a generator platform. Thousands of miles carrying a spare tire and generator on my back bumper with absolutely no sign of failure. The struts provide enough support from the bottom of the bumper to prevent welds from being torn loose at the top. It's not the weld failing, it's the metal at the weld tearing because of lack of support.

[Chuck324]

Welcome to the club. Based on the pics you are in a unique position as your original box tube (very thin) bumper is completely off. You can see exactly what you have to work with. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. pun intended.
If you are NOT going to carry your drain hose in the bumper then there is nothing that says it has to be a square box tube. Make it how it will work for what you need. If you ARE going to carry your drain hose in the bumper then there is an option you did not mention. Go with a 5 inch box tube with a 1/4" wall or something similar and have it welded on by a shop if you are not able to do it. The shop can add what ever support that is needed between frame rails.
I came up with a way to put a cargo rack on my TT (2604bs) that I can easily and safely carry 500# or more leaving the original box tube. The weight is not supported on the tube. Not that I will ever need to carry that much.
We are blessed with people that can come up with solutions to most anything. Good luck and hope to see you on the highway.

[Thurman]

JMO: It appears that what you have is a piece of rectangular tubing added to your TT's frame. Note that in post #3 to the right of the broken weld area is where it appears to be the rectangular piece welded to the TT frame, and a bubble gum weld at that. The factory would add that rectangular piece to the frame, which is made off-site of the factory, depending on which TT they are building. IF you decide to add another type of "bumper" to the rectangular piece that you have cleaned up the broken welds then where the rectangular piece is added to the frame will become the new weak point. I would highly suggest that you find a good weld/fabrication shop that can remove that rectangular piece then design/build a piece to add directly to the TT frame that will accommodate your new bumper, , ,

[Chuck324]

Good call Thurman. I agree