2018 Reflection 337RLS Rear Bumper and Spare Tire?

[fam5mel]

I have a couple questions about our 337RLS. Hoping you guys can answer. I noticed on our 337RLS that it does not have a rear bumper. This is the first RV we've owned that doesn't have one. I never noticed this when we purchased it. So are all the Reflections without a rear bumper? I miss the bumper for storing the sewer lines and piece of mind of a little protection should I misjudge distance and bump into something. The sewer storage underneath unit is only long enough for one hose. I always carry two. You never know if you need another one. I called the factory and was told there is no bumper because of rear wall construction. Still looks like one could have been installed. My thoughts are it was left out for weight and cost. They also said adding one will void warranty.
My next question is about the spare tire under unit. It's mounted with the valve stem facing upward toward floor. You cant access it to check pressure without removing tire. I think I can reverse it but this will make tire hang lower to the ground. Has anyone done this? Thanks for any info!

[Gold Country Livin']

Regarding extra sewer hose, many have done this and there are many posts on parts needed to do it here on the GD forum. Search sewer hose




I believe none of Reflections have a bumper, but could be mistaken. Most have 2" receiver hitch.

[Barbara & Dave]

Our 2015 337RLS has a bumper, I don't know when they went bumperless.

Dave


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[Canyonlight]

I have a couple questions about our 337RLS. Hoping you guys can answer. I noticed on our 337RLS that it does not have a rear bumper. This is the first RV we've owned that doesn't have one. I never noticed this when we purchased it. So are all the Reflections without a rear bumper? I miss the bumper for storing the sewer lines and piece of mind of a little protection should I misjudge distance and bump into something. The sewer storage underneath unit is only long enough for one hose. I always carry two. You never know if you need another one. I called the factory and was told there is no bumper because of rear wall construction. Still looks like one could have been installed. My thoughts are it was left out for weight and cost. They also said adding one will void warranty.
My next question is about the spare tire under unit. It's mounted with the valve stem facing upward toward floor. You cant access it to check pressure without removing tire. I think I can reverse it but this will make tire hang lower to the ground. Has anyone done this? Thanks for any info!

Bumpers on Reflections were discontinued in production late 2014 (11/2014 production or maybe a little sooner as I recall) for the 2015 models in lieu of the 2" receiver hitches (mainly for bike usage.) Many of us have turned the spare over for the very reason you cite to enable tire pressure checking w/o having to crank down the spare. Since the wheel does not protrude from the tire, the tire will not hang any lower or higher. We also have a spare tire cover on ours to keep the spare cleaner and prevent "flying" road debris from potentially hitting the valve stem.

Dan

[theclarks]

Regarding extra sewer hose, many have done this and there are many posts on parts needed to do it here on the GD forum. Search sewer hose

I believe none of Reflections have a bumper, but could be mistaken. Most have 2" receiver hitch.

I just got done adding 3 tubes, 2 for extra sewer hose and 1 for a flag pole and a campfire tripod, carry bikes on the back with the 2" receiver, much better than a Bumper mount rack. . . . the tire cover is a good idea in "toes in the water" post. . . .

[G-Dad47]

I keep two lengths of sewer hose in that storage tube. Not sure what lengths they are.

[Summit1]

We looked at a 315RLTS yesterday and immediately (also) noticed the lack of a rear bumper. While mounting the spare tire underneath the chassis is more of an issue than a problem, my wife and I wondered why there is no (visible) bumper. Does the rearmost lateral frame rail beneath the body panel serve as a bumper? Such would require some expensive bodywork following a rear impact, but I noticed most motor homes also lack a visible rear bumper. Granted, the "slinky" is stored in its own included tube beneath the chassis, but what is the deal with the lack of a bumper? Considering there is a 2" receiver mounted to the frame, has anybody used a protective device (i.e., https://www.weathertech.com/bumpstepxl/) to create a bit of a buffer?

Maybe I am just too accustomed to our current (Forest River V-Lite)...

[jkwilson]

The thing on the back isn't a bumper. It's a sewage hose storage container. It might serve as a bumper if you were struck by a bicycle, but not much else.

[Bamaman]

Truthfully, when they did have bumpers, they were really just very light 4" square steel tubing. They were not very structurally sound. I would think cost was the real reason they quit adding rear bumpers. (My Reflection 323 was one of the last with the bumper.)

If you chose to have a heavier bumper fabricated, there should be no reason that it would void any factory warranty.

I like having the bumper as I've been known to lightly tap objects when blindly backing into campsites--like trees.

[JeffD68]

I'm not too concerned with backing into something...that's why I added the auxiliary camera to the rear of my 303. In the event of a rear end collision, bumper or no bumper isn't going to make much of a difference. As for sewer hose storage, I purchased this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and it appears to be of decent quality. It probably would have cost more than $50 in materials to rig one up myself. I store my primary hose and fittings in this one and I have an extension in the shorter one that came on the trailer.