Bumper Upgrade Question

[Riverbug]

I plan to have the OEM bumper removed on my travel trailer and have a new one of heavier gauge steel welded onto the frame. I'll ask the shop for recommendations when I go in but wanted to see if anyone has an idea of what gauge steel the new bumper should be? I will have the spare tire mounted on it (as it is now). In addition, I plan to purchase those custom generator boxes for a Honda 2000i and 6 gallon horizontal style gas tank. So, approximately 150lbs additional. Appreciate any advice if you've done this upgrade.

[Ynot4me2]

Check out post #5 from @Paul & Deb https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...s-on-xls-22mle
DW just actually hinted at us getting ebikes. If we do, this is the mod I'll be doing. @Paul & Deb how's it working out.

[Riverbug]

Check out post #5 from @Paul & Deb https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...s-on-xls-22mle
DW just actually hinted at us getting ebikes. If we do, this is the mod I'll be doing. @Paul & Deb how's it working out.

Thanks for sharing. Think you might be right about going the receiver hitch route instead of the bumper. I was thinking the bumper solution would keep it higher off the ground but it would only be a matter of inches I think when all is said and done. Will ponder that option for sure.

[Paul & Deb]

It's been working as expected. I've towed with the bikes over 15K miles and no issues at all. I have a rearview camera and I can see the bikes and they ride solid.

[bjlakatos]

Watching this thread.

I have taken my trailer to three shops in the Houston area to get a receiver put on so I can carry bikes or a tray.

I currently have a LCI fold down tray on my rear bumper that has 450# capacity.

The plan was to remove that and put a simple receiver. One of the three would do it BUT would only warrant it for 110# max.

He said a towing a boat was perfectly fine but the oscillating action of the bikes behind the rear axle was more then the IBEAMs/bracing would handle.

The other two guys would not install it.

[kb0zke]

"One of the three would do it BUT would only warrant it for 110# max.

He said a towing a boat was perfectly fine but the oscillating action of the bikes behind the rear axle was more then the IBEAMs/bracing would handle.

The other two guys would not install it. "

That ought to tell you quite a bit. I'm now rethinking one of my ideas. I don't have bikes, but I would like to put the water softener back there. I'm pretty sure that I'll never come close to the 300 pounds the receiver claims, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be over the 110 pounds your guy mentioned.

[Riverbug]

Watching this thread.

I have taken my trailer to three shops in the Houston area to get a receiver put on so I can carry bikes or a tray.

I currently have a LCI fold down tray on my rear bumper that has 450# capacity.

The plan was to remove that and put a simple receiver. One of the three would do it BUT would only warrant it for 110# max.

He said a towing a boat was perfectly fine but the oscillating action of the bikes behind the rear axle was more then the IBEAMs/bracing would handle.

The other two guys would not install it.

Interesting, so they say the frame won't even handle it? That's surprising. Finally arrived back home so I'll have to call the welders around here and see what they say about it.

[xrated]

I put a Class III hitch on the back of my Momentum a few years back. Granted, the Momentum has 12" "H" beams for the main frame rails and is obviously a lot heavier trailer, so there is that. So what I did in order to facilitate being able to mount the full size class III hitch.....

I purchased two pieces of 4" channel iron and cut them to fit in between and lay on the bottom flanges (inside) of the main frame beams. I hired a certified welder (mobile unit) to come to my house where the trailer was and go under the trailer and weld the 4" channel to the main frame bottom flanges and then vertically to the webbing of the beams. They were welded in place like a "U" with the solid/flat area facing down towards the ground. They were also spaced accordingly to be able to be drilled with 4 holes per side and the class III hitch was bolted up with eight grade 8 bolts/nuts. I fabricated and layed out and drilled everything before he got there and laid the 4" channel in place, bolted up the hitch to the channel iron, and made sure it was positioned exactly where I wanted it to be, as far as how much of the receiver tube stuck out the back of the trailer. It was probably a bit overkill, but we too have ebikes and mine weighs in at 60+ lbs and hers is around 48 lbs. Combine that, with being on the back of a trailer and being subjected to bouncing around, I wanted Heavy Duty. The reason I did that is because, even though we have a toy hauler, when I loaded my Can Am Spyder in the garage area, there just wasn't really enough room, along with the other stuff we take, to put the bike inside the trailer....so they have a bike rack to go into, on the back of the trailer if needed. Sorry, I don't have any pics of the install, but if you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask on here.

[Ynot4me2]

[QUOTE=Ynot4me2;499265]Check out post #5 from @Paul & Deb https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...s-on-xls-22mle
DW just actually hinted at us getting ebikes. If we do, this is the mod I'll be doing. @Paul & Deb how's it working out.[/QUOTE @Riverbug @Paul & Deb Well, that didn't take her long. Got 25% off on 2 ebikes yesterday. Just ordered a new rack, Swagman E-Spec and have to hire a welder. LOL

[Paul & Deb]

[QUOTE=Ynot4me2;501388]

Check out post #5 from @Paul & Deb https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...s-on-xls-22mle
DW just actually hinted at us getting ebikes. If we do, this is the mod I'll be doing. @Paul & Deb how's it working out.[/QUOTE @Riverbug @Paul & Deb Well, that didn't take her long. Got 25% off on 2 ebikes yesterday. Just ordered a new rack, Swagman E-Spec and have to hire a welder. LOL

We just returned from a 8,000 + miles trip and the bikes sat back there fine.