REPAIRED: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

[jbeletti]

On every coach that I have hauled bikes on the back of we've had issued. With my current coach, I had a neighbor who's a welder/fabricator build me a receiver/hitch system that was pretty darned good. Here's a link to pics of that project.

Our bikes are long and heavy (2 semi-recumbents). Here's the story and some pics...

Yesterday, while doing one of my several "walk arounds" during our day of driving, I noticed that the bikes seemed to be drooping somewhat. Not a lot, but it seemed "off". I looked around, wiggled the bikes and the bike rack and could not put my finger on it.


Today, at a fuel stop, as I rounded the back of the coach, the bikes looked like they were drooping a bit more than yesterday. Again, the bike rack looked and felt solid. I looked under the RV and "there I saw it"!


I have a custom made bracket and receivers (2 ea) that are bolted to the I-beam frame. The plate bolted to the frame is good. The plate the receivers are welded to was good as well. The issue was where that plate was welded to the plate that is part of the frame bracket. The steel has torn from the weight and stress of 2 heavy bikes bouncing for up to 10,000 miles. I'm thinking we should have used an even heavier gauge of steel.


I spent about an hour removing the bikes, the bike rack and the brackets/receivers. Thank goodness for my Dewalt 1/2" impact driver


I've loaded the brackets/receivers into the bed of the truck on both sides of the 5th wheel hitch. In the morning we "somehow", plan to lay the bikes down on the bed and strap them into place.


Hoping to get it all welded up and reinstalled once we get to Wisconsin next week.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Sorry to here that Jim
Glad you caught it before you lost the bikes. I cant believe that big heavy double hitch failed. I also cant believe that Heartland put's on that small 1.25 hitch on there RV's. I have the rear camera watching mine and from what I can see there not moving. Hopefully they will stay that way.

 

[SNOKING]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

I have been wondering if anyone has had the guts to put brackets on the trailer rear wall and put links between the top of a bike rack to the wall? Seems that would remove a lot of the bounce in the bike rack. Chris

 

[Power247]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Wow!!! Great catch! Too bad too. Looks like a lot of effort went it making that setup

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[jbeletti]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

I have been wondering if anyone has had the guts to put brackets on the trailer rear wall and put links between the top of a bike rack to the wall? Seems that would remove a lot of the bounce in the bike rack. Chris

Chris - I was sure wishing I had some good spot to connect ratchet straps too when I needed to take pressure off the hitch for the last hour of yesterday's trip after I noticed the failure.

I had only one choice - the ladder. I added long ratchet straps under the bike rack at each end and tied both back to the ladder. Not ideal but it helped. Then I reduced my speed and watched the rear camera like a hawk that last hour.

Trouble with putting hooks etc in the rear cap is it's just thin fiberglass. You'd really want an amazing backer in there to be effective and not pull the cap off or hooks out.

 

[jbeletti]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Wow!!! Great catch! Too bad too. Looks like a lot of effort went it making that setup

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Thanks. Yes, my neighbor is quite the fabricator. I think his design is great but the gauge of steel used was not up to the task of the bouncing weight I put on it.

In my opinion, when adding a receiver hitch system to the back of a 5th wheel, there's no such thing as "over doing it". Over engineer it, over build it and have confidence it will be up to the task.

 

[Bones]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

This does make me wonder about putting a hitch on the back of mine with all the bouncing

 

[SNOKING]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Chris - I was sure wishing I had some good spot to connect ratchet straps too when I needed to take pressure off the hitch for the last hour of yesterday's trip after I noticed the failure.

I had only one choice - the ladder. I added long ratchet straps under the bike rack at each end and tied both back to the ladder. Not ideal but it helped. Then I reduced my speed and watched the rear camera like a hawk that last hour.

Trouble with putting hooks etc in the rear cap is it's just thin fiberglass. You'd really want an amazing backer in there to be effective and not pull the cap off or hooks out.

They would need to be through bolted hopefully at a aluminum stud. The actual rear wall appears to be 1.5 to 2" thick. In our RL floor plan, the stuff inside would be behind the couch. Chris

 

[TravelTiger]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

We haven't tried our current bikes on the back of the new rig. This has made me consider folding bikes for the future.

 

[plshilo]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Jim,
Glad you didn't lose the bikes.....we have a bumper on thr back of our BC and a New bolt-on hitch for bikes. We haven't tryed it yet, but plan to soon also have the rear camera to keep an eye on everything back there. I do plan to post pics after we get everything setup. Hope you can build a better rack for yours.....maybe we can talk about it at a rally?????

 

[TravelTiger]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Jim,
Glad you didn't lose the bikes.....we have a bumper on thr back of our BC and a New bolt-on hitch for bikes. We haven't tryed it yet, but plan to soon also have the rear camera to keep an eye on everything back there. I do plan to post pics after we get everything setup. Hope you can build a better rack for yours.....maybe we can talk about it at a rally?????

We probably have the same bolt on hitch, We used it successfully on our 37' ElkRidge. However, yours and my new Big Country rigs are much longer, and I believe the back-end bounce is more pronounced, based on the things that move around inside my coach when we travel. That's why I'm steering away from trying the bumper-mount on the BC.

 

[jbeletti]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

They would need to be through bolted hopefully at a aluminum stud. The actual rear wall appears to be 1.5 to 2" thick. In our RL floor plan, the stuff inside would be behind the couch. Chris

Chris - the rear walls are generally 2x2 wood studs. When one has a molded fiberglass rear cap, it gets even more complicated with an air space / gap between the cap and the stud wall.

 

[jbeletti]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Jim,
Glad you didn't lose the bikes.....we have a bumper on thr back of our BC and a New bolt-on hitch for bikes. We haven't tryed it yet, but plan to soon also have the rear camera to keep an eye on everything back there. I do plan to post pics after we get everything setup. Hope you can build a better rack for yours.....maybe we can talk about it at a rally?????

Phil - the brother of our WI chapter leader is rewelding my brackets while we're here at the I rally. He's adding some gussets to one side of the brackets. I'm confident his repair will get us home, back to Colorado. I have a backup camera and do keep an eye on the bikes but looking down at the bikes, it's really impossible to know that they were beginning to tip downward due to the brackets beginning to tear. Now, If they were dragging on the pavement or were gone - I would have seen that with the camera.

 

[SNOKING]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Chris - the rear walls are generally 2x2 wood studs. When one has a molded fiberglass rear cap, it gets even more complicated with an air space / gap between the cap and the stud wall.

I would think the vertical area right below the Bighorn decal is pretty tight against the rear wall? Chris

 

[porthole]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Having followed one or two of the campers with bikes on that rear hitch, my suggestion would be have someone follow you over some bad roads and taking video.

Jim B is no stranger to bike racks failing and following Kieth and Carol out of Goshen with bikes on the back was enough for me not to consider any factory setup.

 

[Bones]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

I would think the vertical area right below the Bighorn decal is pretty tight against the rear wall? Chris

Here are some pictures showing how the rear wall is constructed on the Landmark side of the factory. I don't remember if this was a landmark or Bighorn or BigCountry

 

[jbeletti]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Great pic Dave - thanks.

Phil - I think you're right that below the window - the cap is likely tight against the studs. Just got to hit them on-center with your through bolting. That said, unsure what would happen to the wall and window if the bikes became disconnected.

 

[Bones]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

Great pic Dave - thanks.

Phil - I think you're right that below the window - the cap is likely tight against the studs. Just got to hit them on-center with your through bolting. That said, unsure what would happen to the wall and window if the bikes became disconnected.

No problem. I'm glad to help.

 

[JohnD]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

I'm surprised that the RV manufacturers don't offer a good bike rack solution (not counting the slide out bumper rack - what a major PITA to use) as an option.

I'd bet that at least half (if not more) RV purchasers would add this as an option.

Anyone here know anyone here with an inside ear at Heartland???

 

[CarterKraft]

Re: Another failed Bike Receiver/Hitch System

No way I would bolt through the wall to attach anything to the rack/hitch. That is asking for a catastrophic failure of the wall/cap.

The only solution is what I believe Jesstalkn did. https://heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/54076-Project-LM-365?p=439083&viewfull=1#post439083

I would even upsize the cross tube to 3" 3/16 square tubing.

Jim, the same holds true for your hitch extension. The smaller tube does not have enough cross section or wall thickness. The weld fails at the HAZ (heat affected zone). A 2"X1/4" flat strap on top of the adapter would beef it up considerably and would remove the stress from the HAZ as the welds would be inline with the force instead of across it.