You guys think this will be ok?

[jcrevs]

Not sure where else to mount the spare but i dont want to leave it

[robo44]

Is tire any reinforcement n the bumper or is your tire just mounted to the square tube with those U-bolts?

without any reinforcement, i would think over time when you travel, the weight of the tire will act like a springboard and rip your bumper off or fail.

Can you put the tire on one of your racks to the left or right? that would appear to be more secure.
Regarding the racks too
Do you have some reinforcement brackets to the frame on the bumper.. not designed to carry a lot of weight. given the 2 racks and tire

[jeff64]

Originally Posted by robo44

Is tire any reinforcement n the bumper or is your tire just mounted to the square tube with those U-bolts?

without any reinforcement, i would think over time when you travel, the weight of the tire will act like a springboard and rip your bumper off or fail.

Can you put the tire on one of your racks to the left or right? that would appear to be more secure.
Regarding the racks too
Do you have some reinforcement brackets to the frame on the bumper.. not designed to carry a lot of weight. given the 2 racks and tire

X2
and might not take that long!

[kenandterry]

Every time I see racks and items attached, extending out from whatever vehicle, especially rear bumpers on RV trailers, I ask the owner.....

So in your case......

Hold the spare tire close to your chest, while jumping up and down just 3-4 inches, for 30 seconds.

Now, hold the tire out at arm’s length for the same time and jump.

How’s that working for ya?

[jcrevs]

well, we are talking about 1/4” steel and welds vs your muscles so not a very good comparison - i was more worried about the 3/8” u-bolts stretching

hopefully it was a competent welder - which seems to be the case.

whens the last time you saw a bumper laying on the side of the highway?

[jcrevs]

Originally Posted by robo44

Is tire any reinforcement n the bumper or is your tire just mounted to the square tube with those U-bolts?

without any reinforcement, i would think over time when you travel, the weight of the tire will act like a springboard and rip your bumper off or fail.

Can you put the tire on one of your racks to the left or right? that would appear to be more secure.
Regarding the racks too
Do you have some reinforcement brackets to the frame on the bumper.. not designed to carry a lot of weight. given the 2 racks and tire

it would block the taillight. im going to mount it under the tongue up front.

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by jcrevs

well, we are talking about 1/4” steel and welds vs your muscles so not a very good comparison - i was more worried about the 3/8” u-bolts stretching.

For that reason, the comparison of the tire held at arms length vs. tight to the chest is a very good comparison. Mount the tire vertically so the center of gravity is only a couple inches out from the u-bolts vs. mount the tire horizontally so the center of gravity is 4x or 5x times the distance out from the u-bolts. Which do you think has a greater chance of stretching or breaking the u-bolts?

[robo44]

If you mount it under your tongue which is an option just take that tire an mount in to your calculations with your total tongue weight may not be a big deal with the vehicle you tow with just wanted you to be safe.

[D W]

Originally Posted by jcrevs

well, we are talking about 1/4” steel and welds vs your muscles so not a very good comparison - i was more worried about the 3/8” u-bolts stretching

hopefully it was a competent welder - which seems to be the case.

whens the last time you saw a bumper laying on the side of the highway?

I would be more worried about the stress on the 4" bumper tube going down the road. There's already a lot of weigh on the tube and the racks aren't even loaded yet.

I'm intrigued though. You post the finished mod and caption it with "You guys think this will be ok?"

You'd be surprised at how many of those bumpers you see along the roads with busted-up bicycle racks, scattered firewood and camping supplies.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Emmmmm.......NO!

As others have said, unless there is a weld to the frame that we can't see, you shouldn't be carrying anything attached to the bumper. Those bumpers are not meant to carry any weight.

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Emmmmm.......NO!

As others have said, unless there is a weld to the frame that we can't see, you shouldn't be carrying anything attached to the bumper. Those bumpers are not meant to carry any weight.

The OP already made the mod, and is now asking for people to endorse his design. His posting is titled “you guys think this will be ok?”

8 replies so far suggest no, but.......

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by kenandterry

The OP already made the mod, and is now asking for people to endorse his design. His posting is titled “you guys think this will be ok?”

8 replies so far suggest no, but.......

You are correct. He says he's moving the tire, but attaching anything to that bumper is pretty sketchy.

[REL]

Nope

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by jcrevs

well, we are talking about 1/4” steel and welds vs your muscles so not a very good comparison - i was more worried about the 3/8” u-bolts stretching

hopefully it was a competent welder - which seems to be the case.

whens the last time you saw a bumper laying on the side of the highway?

Unless you had a custom made tube done up those 4" square tubes do not have 1/4" steel walls. Out of curiosity I just measured my factory tube bumper and the thickness is 0.078 on all four sides each end. So, the walls of the tube is only 5/64" (5/64 equals 0.078125 decimal). That said, it's usually the square tube that cracks or rips out because it can not handle the twisting motion induced by the weight hanging out that far.

[jcrevs]

I made a call to a fab shop earlier today to weld supports to the bumper and a custom tire carrier underneath

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by jcrevs

I made a call to a fab shop earlier today to weld supports to the bumper and a custom tire carrier underneath

Good idea.... EXCEPT we don't know anything about your rig. Some people have reported that they couldn't weld anything to their frame without voiding the warranty...... Just something to think about.

[Theo]

You're really asking for trouble with the torque load on that bumper! At a minimum you will want to reinforce the area where the bumper attaches to the chassis I-beams. A number of folks have used these and they can be installed with determination (some folks have used two struts on either side of the I-beams):

Mount-n-Lock SafetyStruts

[Theo]

Also, regarding the Mount-n-Lock SafetyStruts, your weak point will still be the relatively thin-walled construction of the rear bumper. Considering your storage intentions, you may want to replace the bumper with THIS. Not an inexpensive solution, but cheaper than pulling over to retrieve your generator a half-mile back down the road!

[rsdata]

well, we are talking about 1/4” steel

Really???... do you know for sure that the bumper is 1/4" steel cause the factory don't make them that way...

ALSO ENDORSE Mount and Lock safety struts to help keep the bumper from ripping the welds to the frame...

some people have doubled up on them one on each side of the frame, 4 total

I have a bike carrier on the bumper and a second aluminum carrier that I might have 50# and the struts have worked for me for 5 years. The bike carrier is not the "hanging bike" type, but rather holds the bike up by the tires and only hangs about 5 inches to the rear of the bumper. Very little torque on the thin bumper walls and thin weld to the frame.

[jcrevs]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Good idea.... EXCEPT we don't know anything about your rig. Some people have reported that they couldn't weld anything to their frame without voiding the warranty...... Just something to think about.

tough crowd.......

anyways - i have to carry 4 bikes no if/ands about it. dont know any other way. so its either weld the frame or not