Landmark - Hitch Receiver.

Good Evening

I understand this topic has been bashed around alot regarding hitch receivers on Fifth Wheels, but hear me out.

Last week I put our childrens 2 bikes on our Allen bike rack and used the factory 1.5" mount. Our girls bikes weigh 37 and 41 pounds each - I never did try to mount the last 2 bikes as the light tube was so flimsy I dreaded adding anything else to it.

Today I fabricated a proper 2" receiver to hold our bike rack. It has 2 solid crossmembers and 3 angled supports. Much, much stronger. Our bike rack and 4 bikes weigh in at a total of 194 pounds and now I feel safe putting that relatively light load on the newly designed receiver.

Legalities and safety issues I understand so I get it why manufacturers are reluctant......while I NEVER intended to tow with the hitch it was a selling feature none the less. Bikes are a staple of our RV travels.
But the way I look at it, if you can't do it right - don't do it at all. If the current design can't be constructed as such to at least safely carry 2-4 bicycles I second the rumour to delete from future builds.

Next on the list...........fix the flimsy supports for the skirts and wheel wells, so I don't have to watch them flap in the wind while I'm driving. A bit of nice stainless flat stock and hardware and it will be fixed in no time.


Thanks for listening to my venting.
Adam,

I totally agree. On our new BH we paid $250 for that 1.25 inch reciever. It flexes terribly with just two bikes on it. We no longer will use it. In a factory tour we saw SOB use 3/4 aluminum welded structure to stabilize the skirting, worked great.

Thanks for the info about material to reinforce the skirting.

As far as the welding goes, it was not a tough project and I was able to use the initial design from Heartland to build upon. Again I have no intention of towing but we need to be able to carry 4 bikes safely.
I'm sure the original design could have lasted for awhile - but eventually all of the rocking back and forth would cause enough fatigue on the light tube for the welds to fail.

pics below.



Adam