Reinforce bumper?

[M&T_campers]

Hi All. I want to install a bumper mount receiver hitch on the rear of my 2017 North Trail 20FBS so I can carry 2 bikes with my existing bike rack. But Heartland only recommends 150lbs of "stuff" mounted on the back bumper, including the spare tire that's already on there. Have any of you reinforced your rear bumper to carry extra weight? I'm thinking about having some gussets made and welded on (wish I knew how to weld). If anyone has photos, please send....thanks!

BTW, I know how things can go bad with too much weight on the back bumper. A few years ago my relatives put their 2 bikes on the bumper of their travel trailer and drove 600 miles. When they arrived at their destination, the bumper was mostly ripped off and twisted down far enough that the bikes were almost touching the road! So I'm a little paranoid about the same thing happening to me.....

 

[hoefler]

Any weight placed on the rear of the trailer will reduce tongue/pin weight. You can build or beef up the rear bumper, but will the frame support it?

 

[09Busaman]

Do an internet search, lots of reinforcement kits available, not sure if I can post links. Keep in mind, anything tied to that bumper will get bounced around quite a bit.

 

[david-steph2018]

How about looking at the other end:

The Bike Bunk

The Bike Bunk - Stromberg Carlson CC-275 - Bike Racks

www.campingworld.com

But you will need to consider how much added weight it adds on the tow vehicle for the tongue weight.

 

[Dahillbilly]

some carry theirs on front of the truck

 

[M&T_campers]

Thanks everyone for your input. I can't use a bike bunk on the front of the trailer because my TV is an SUV, not a truck. I need to be able to open the hatch on the back of the SUV, and it swings up over the propane tanks on the tongue, right into the space where the bikes would be.

Keep the comments coming, please......

 

[sengli]

I installed a curt receiver on the front of my RAM 3500, thats where I carry our bikes. I had bad luck with the bike racks surviving on the back of the RV, cause there was a "bounce" affect happening when going down the road... causing the racks to come apart dropping the bikes couple of different times. Also no matter who makes the bike racks, read the fine print...all of them I saw stated if mounted on the back of an RV, the warranty was void.

 

[M&T_campers]

Thanks sengli, that's an interesting idea that I'll need to consider.

 

[OAD]

I installed a frame class 4 receiver hitch. it bolts to both main frame rails found at etailers

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camper-Hitch/Draw-Tite/82201.html

actual one I bought https://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camper-Hitch/Draw-Tite/82201.html