22RBE shortcomings

[christo1963]

We purchased our first trailer back in March 2024 and have been almost around North America now and I must first say we love our choice in trailers BUT, there are two shortfalls in the design and would like to know if anyone has a solution. What we purchased is a 2020 22RBE trailer with the dinette option.

The first shortcoming is, it does not come with a receiver hitch unless you buy the newer model. I took it to a welding shop and said i wanted it to be rated for 300 LBS since I would be installing 2 e-bikes totaling probably 140 LBS. It is a no go with getting a hitch welded on they told me. Now I have gone thru 20 purchases of belly tape/gorilla tape, duct tape, thread and needle, and rubbing alcohol and I still can`t get the belly sealed but that is for another post.

The second shortcoming is a head scratcher. Whoever designed the seating placed the slide of the wall to only extend to the middle of the table so when you sit at the table you don't have back support. We don't have anybody who will sleep in the short slide so I was thinking about moving the table further into the slide.

The only thing I can think of doing is exchanging the 2020 model for a 2023/4 model so we can have a receiver and pay somebody to renovate the table location-if I can even find a dinette model. We could buy the lounge chair model but I don't know if there is enough room to get to the washroom with the slide in.

Perhaps we will find 22RBE owners in Quartzite AZ in February who will allow us to view their setup. In the meantime I look forward in hearing what others have to reply.

Thanks
Chris

 

[BigSwick]

Etrailer sells a bolt on hitch that may work for you. I used one on a past trailer to haul a 300 pound scooter.

 

[Bungy]

The first shortcoming is, it does not come with a receiver hitch unless you buy the newer model. I took it to a welding shop and said i wanted it to be rated for 300 LBS since I would be installing 2 e-bikes totaling probably 140 LBS. It is a no go with getting a hitch welded on they told me.

Why is it a “no go” getting a hitch installed? As long as the frame is exposed, any good welder should be able to fab something up.

 

[Riverbug]

For future reference, just buy some black silicone caulk at your local big box store. It pretty much matches the stuff they use under the belly. Not the expanding foam, but the rubbery caulk. You can use it to fill gaps as well as run it along cracks and smooth it out as a thick layer. No need to try taping it or a variety of other options. Just caulk.

 

[christo1963]

Why is it a “no go” getting a hitch installed? As long as the frame is exposed, any good welder should be able to fab something up.

It would appear the frame is not exposed, just two fins that hang down.

 

[christo1963]

Etrailer sells a bolt on hitch that may work for you. I used one on a past trailer to haul a 300 pound scooter.

Did you get this bolt on hitch to work with a RBE model trailer?

 

[christo1963]

For future reference, just buy some black silicone caulk at your local big box store. It pretty much matches the stuff they use under the belly. Not the expanding foam, but the rubbery caulk. You can use it to fill gaps as well as run it along cracks and smooth it out as a thick layer. No need to try taping it or a variety of other options. Just caulk.

The end piece of the belly material (cardboard?) is about 16" long and runs the width of the trailer. It is to attach to the material that covers the remaining length of the trailer. You think silicone caulk will get two pieces of the belly material to stick together? I'' upload a picture once I'm up and at it.

 

[Bungy]

It would appear the frame is not exposed, just two fins that hang down.

It may be possible to cut the underbelly to expose the frame.

 

[Riverbug]

The end piece of the belly material (cardboard?) is about 16" long and runs the width of the trailer. It is to attach to the material that covers the remaining length of the trailer. You think silicone caulk will get two pieces of the belly material to stick together? I'' upload a picture once I'm up and at it.

It's called Coroplast - corrugated plastic. If you ever need a piece you can usually buy 4x4 or 8x8 sheets at a big box store but it's usually white. Get a one-step primer/paint in flat black and it works pretty good.

If you expose the frame so that you can have a hitch welded on, you can just refit the coroplast as needed once the hitch is in place. It's easy enough to pull down the back quarter and roll it forward underneath to get it out of the way for the welding.

For that piece that you need to fit together, you can use pieces of tape to hold it in place, then caulk the untaped areas, let it cure, then remove the tape and caulk those sections. It'll hold until you need to remove it. It will come off usually without damaging the coroplast if you are careful, and you can re-caulk over it again when you are ready to put thing back together.

Or, you can get a new piece from the store that is longer so it can overlap the existing coroplast. Then sandwich caulk in between the overlapping sections and let it cure. You'll need to pressure fit a 2x4 or something to hold them together until the caulk cures. Hope that helps!

 

[Chaps2018]

This sealant is the black elastic type that you see on the hidden parts of your trailer. It is very elastic and is very effective at sticking to most materials. https://a.co/d/dUDivQi

Re: bolt on receiver--I tried one from Amazon on my bumper and while it worked well to hold my bike rack it squeezed my bumper tube making the sewer hose difficult to get in and out. I reinstalled it 90deg and retightened it to fix that problem then removed it.

Re: welder fab a hitch--I have lots of I-beam frame exposed on my 5er. I tried to get three fab shops in Houston to put a receiver on for my bikes and none of them would do it. They would only warrant it for 150# max (includes rack + bikes) which is a no-go for me.

They would warrant it for 500# tongue weight for a trailer or boat but not for a bike rack. It has to do with the distance behind the axles and the bike rack being an oscillating load.

 

[BigSwick]

This sealant is the black elastic type that you see on the hidden parts of your trailer. It is very elastic and is very effective at sticking to most materials. Amazon.com

Re: bolt on receiver--I tried one from Amazon on my bumper and while it worked well to hold my bike rack it squeezed my bumper tube making the sewer hose difficult to get in and out. I reinstalled it 90deg and retightened it to fix that problem then removed it.

Re: welder fab a hitch--I have lots of I-beam frame exposed on my 5er. I tried to get three fab shops in Houston to put a receiver on for my bikes and none of them would do it. They would only warrant it for 150# max (includes rack + bikes) which is a no-go for me.

They would warrant it for 500# tongue weight for a trailer or boat but not for a bike rack. It has to do with the distance behind the axles and the bike rack being an oscillating load.

The trailer hitch I referred to above bolts to the frame. 350 pounds tongue weight capacity.

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camper-Hitch/CURT/13703.html

 

[CedarCreekWoody]

Here is a repair tape made specially for repair. It might work for your repair.

Amazon.com

 

[Riverbug]

Here is a repair tape made specially for repair. It might work for your repair.

Amazon.com

This sealant is the black elastic type that you see on the hidden parts of your trailer. It is very elastic and is very effective at sticking to most materials. Amazon.com

You can buy the tape or buy the Sikaflex Polyurethane, or for half the price or less buy plain 'ol black silicone caulk. I started out doing the same thing. But Dap or other brands of black silicone caulk is cheap, it sticks to the belly, it's easy to cut through or pull off the beads when you need to get back into the belly, and it blends in well. I would never use silicon caulk anywhere else on an RV, but it works perfectly underneath. Because it's cheap, I don't mind using extra to seal all the way around the edge where coraplast is screwed to the framing. And when I have to go back into the belly for one reason or another each year, it's a cheap easy way to seal it up again. Give it a try sometime.

 

[M&Lcamping]

The trailer hitch I referred to above bolts to the frame. 350 pounds tongue weight capacity.

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-and-Camper-Hitch/CURT/13703.html

We have something similar to this hitch from camping world but had it welded to the frame. I've carried up to 500lbs in the attached Curt cargo basket we have without issue for thousands of miles over the last 4 plus years. Imagine 2250RK