Solitude Receiver Hitch

[fmartinmn]

Can the OEM receiver hitch be trusted to carry a 100#+ generator plus about another 100# for a carrier platform. I know GD claims 300# capacity but,...... can that really be trusted?? Thanks for your input. Frank.

 

[FlyStar]

I have two 56 lb e-bikes and a 50 pound rack. Rock solid so far. 5000 miles.

 

[Dutchman2]

I have two 56 lb e-bikes and a 50 pound rack. Rock solid so far. 5000 miles.

Ditto,
No issues to date with (2) E-bikes and 50 lbs. rack. I do install an anti-rattle hitch clamp to eliminate any shock transfer from the clearance in the receiver hitch. Rock solid connection once installed.

Dutchman 2

 

[TMitt70]

Can the OEM receiver hitch be trusted to carry a 100#+ generator plus about another 100# for a carrier platform. I know GD claims 300# capacity but,...... can that really be trusted?? Thanks for your input. Frank.

Tow a 3K trailer (with 425 lbs of tongue weight) over 3,000 miles. I inspect the hitch and all the attach/weld points every day when towing. No problems. I also vertically reinforced the hitch with a couple of grade 5 5/16” through bolts just on either side of the receiver.

 

[fmartinmn]

Thanks [MENTION=36993]TMitt70[/MENTION], any chance of getting a photo of the mod?

 

[TMitt70]

Thanks [MENTION=36993]TMitt70[/MENTION], any chance of getting a photo of the mod?

We have a 380FL with rear basement storage so what I did was drill a hole through the steel plate corner braces adjacent to the receiver, the 1X2” steel frame member above it and through the floor of the rear storage compartment. I inserted the 3.5” 5/16” bolt (from the bottom) and put a 2X6” aluminum backing plate over the threaded ends of the bolts (inside the rear compartment with associated hardware. The intention is to add stability and strength to the center of the hitch span (adjacent to the receiver). Some quick calcs say that should substantially beef the limits Grand Design publishes for vertical load (tongue weight).

Sorry, Coach not currently at the house… had to use some old photos.

BTW, the two nuts (on top of the hitch corner braces) serve only as spacers… the clamping hardware is inside the compartment (not visible in these photos).

 

[fmartinmn]

Thanks again [MENTION=36993]TMitt70[/MENTION], I got it.

 

[geotex1]

Frank, you can do this but let me say you have no need for a hitch platform that weighs 100# on its own!! A competent platform if 50#, and if you go with structured aluminum you can get down to about 30#. My biggest cautionary tale for you is that after our DECADES of RVing, the last 3 years we have been overwhelmed by the folks we know and folks we meet who have had bikes, ebikes, bike racks and generators stolen right off the rear hitch. I kid you not, sitting here typing this I can rattle off 17 couples and families, 2 of which were robbed twice!

If you have the capacities and room around your other mods, my recommendation is to put your generator up in the front storage. This is where our twin Champions live (each are 100#), and I made a segmented ramp to a deck flush to the door opening to push them up/pull them out without struggle. It's not that it is more secure, but it takes the visual temptation off the table. Nothing is safe these days when battery powered grinders make quick work of high strength chain and cable!

 

[fmartinmn]

Frank, you can do this but let me say you have no need for a hitch platform that weighs 100# on its own!! A competent platform if 50#, and if you go with structured aluminum you can get down to about 30#. My biggest cautionary tale for you is that after our DECADES of RVing, the last 3 years we have been overwhelmed by the folks we know and folks we meet who have had bikes, ebikes, bike racks and generators stolen right off the rear hitch. I kid you not, sitting here typing this I can rattle off 17 couples and families, 2 of which were robbed twice!

If you have the capacities and room around your other mods, my recommendation is to put your generator up in the front storage. This is where our twin Champions live (each are 100#), and I made a segmented ramp to a deck flush to the door opening to push them up/pull them out without struggle. It's not that it is more secure, but it takes the visual temptation off the table. Nothing is safe these days when battery powered grinders make quick work of high strength chain and cable!

Thanks Rob, I know that is a risk I will need to mitigate.

 

[wjpatter]

Can the OEM receiver hitch be trusted to carry a 100#+ generator plus about another 100# for a carrier platform. I know GD claims 300# capacity but,...... can that really be trusted?? Thanks for your input. Frank.

I had a lot of concern carrying my generator back there on my Reflection, so I did a lot of research. The load amplification is tremendous. My refrigerator is located directly on the rear wall, and I have had shelved in the refrigerator loaded with milk, break lose. So, trust me, load amplification is real. Having said that, when I inspected the weld points, I found the hitch was better attached than the wheels. I have more welded metal holding the hitch on than the axials. When I saw that, I felt better.

 

[fmartinmn]

I had a lot of concern carrying my generator back there on my Reflection, so I did a lot of research. The load amplification is tremendous. My refrigerator is located directly on the rear wall, and I have had shelved in the refrigerator loaded with milk, break lose. So, trust me, load amplification is real. Having said that, when I inspected the weld points, I found the hitch was better attached than the wheels. I have more welded metal holding the hitch on than the axials. When I saw that, I felt better.

Thanks for the response. I take it, you do carry the generator back there. Any other issues or concerns I should consider? Thanks again, Frank.

 

[wjpatter]

Thanks for the response. I take it, you do carry the generator back there. Any other issues or concerns I should consider? Thanks again, Frank.

No issues. I purchased an aluminum, 500 lbs, carrier that I reenforced the plastic corners with bar stock. I had seen several carriers on the back of trailers have steel cables flared out to the frame to reduce sway and was something that I had started working. A farmer friend put me onto an anti-rattle device that worked really well. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KZ25Y26/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I watched the carrier with the backup camera for a while until I got comfortable. As mentioned before, inspect the welds often. You can see that I had space for two propane bottles, but I only used that when stationary. 80 more pounds wasn't a risk I wanted to take given I could carry those in the bed of the truck.
.

 

[geotex1]

Frank,

Our nomad truck camper friends came to spend New Year's Eve with us and I noticed a new addition to their rig since we saw them last. They've bought a Champion dual fuel and it rides in this off their front-mouny hitch receiver:

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Cargo-Carrier/TorkLift/TLA7752.html

Spendy, but I like the design with the security crossbar.

 

[fmartinmn]

Thanks Rob, I looked at that, but, like you, I thought it is spendy. I continue to think through this. My motivation is two fold. 1) we are becoming "most timers" stating in Sep and will need to carry more stuff. Currently, fully loaded for a couple of weeks, my axles are only carrying 11,500#. As you know, the design of the 3350 has most of the usable storage in front of the axles, street side. 2) My igen 4500 will not run in the bed of the truck, even with the tonneau cover fully open. The carbon monoxide sensor shuts it down. I have to move it to the tailgate to run it. Not, very conducive in foul weather. The space I have left in the front compartment of the trailer is on the street side which is already 500# heavier than the curb side. Re-doing all my wiring in the front storage unit would still leave me with unusable CCC behind the axles. By adding a large storage ottoman between the tri fold sofa and the island and re-enforcing the the storage above the trifold and adding a hitch hauler, I think I can use up some of that unusable CCC.

 

[geotex1]

Thanks Rob, I looked at that, but, like you, I thought it is spendy. I continue to think through this. My motivation is two fold. 1) we are becoming "most timers" stating in Sep and will need to carry more stuff. Currently, fully loaded for a couple of weeks, my axles are only carrying 11,500#. As you know, the design of the 3350 has most of the usable storage in front of the axles, street side. 2) My igen 4500 will not run in the bed of the truck, even with the tonneau cover fully open. The carbon monoxide sensor shuts it down. I have to move it to the tailgate to run it. Not, very conducive in foul weather. The space I have left in the front compartment of the trailer is on the street side which is already 500# heavier than the curb side. Re-doing all my wiring in the front storage unit would still leave me with unusable CCC behind the axles. By adding a large storage ottoman between the tri fold sofa and the island and re-enforcing the the storage above the trifold and adding a hitch hauler, I think I can use up some of that unusable CCC.

Yep, Understood. Between swapping the lousy trifold for a way more comfortable European sleeper after modifying the end tables (now have storage too) and reinforcing our upper cabinets it's about 225# added at the end of the cantilever. We also went the route of a storage ottoman that stows in that space.

Hear you on the generator for bad weather. Gentle rain is easy to overcome - our two Champs fit under the 6' folding picnic table we carry, and if I put the legs in the low height position for folding it's perfect. Driven rain and wind more problematic. We were in it pretty bad in August where we were staying, and I used the table and a 6x9 tarp I carry in the truck, draping it over the table, and tent spikes through the grommets to ground. Two twist in ground anchors and rope lashing the table to ground. Weathered the storm and 31mph gusts fine and good ventilation, but did have me thinking about what could I contrive to do it better!

 

[Steven@147]

Thanks Rob, I looked at that, but, like you, I thought it is spendy. I continue to think through this. My motivation is two fold. 1) we are becoming "most timers" stating in Sep and will need to carry more stuff. Currently, fully loaded for a couple of weeks, my axles are only carrying 11,500#. As you know, the design of the 3350 has most of the usable storage in front of the axles, street side. 2) My igen 4500 will not run in the bed of the truck, even with the tonneau cover fully open. The carbon monoxide sensor shuts it down. I have to move it to the tailgate to run it. Not, very conducive in foul weather. The space I have left in the front compartment of the trailer is on the street side which is already 500# heavier than the curb side. Re-doing all my wiring in the front storage unit would still leave me with unusable CCC behind the axles. By adding a large storage ottoman between the tri fold sofa and the island and re-enforcing the the storage above the trifold and adding a hitch hauler, I think I can use up some of that unusable CCC.

Frank, I understand what you are going through and thinking ahead of when you go "most timers", we had been fulltiming now for 2.6 years in our 3350. I know what you are saying about storage space behind the axles. Under the sofa or above the sofa in the cabinets is stuff we intermittently need or use. Our smaller ottoman storage chest (29.5" length) that sets in front of the sofa also has "stuff" we don't always use. We have utilized a small portion of the space under the table next to the slide wall by using plastic totes. Its just Tami and I so we very rarely have 4 people setting at the table.

Otherwise our main storage compartment is full to the floor above and the front storage is also pretty full, and if I upgrade the battery to batteries, I'll have to move things around up front. There is a little room left under the bed storage but we just had an incident where shoes fell down in the bed storage slide gap and got crushed when the bedroom slide was opened and resulting damage to the under bed storage box. We are now very careful what we put under the bed.
As you say all this kind of storage is forward of the axles. Last time we weighed in Oct 2020 our pin weight was 3550#. It's probably still around that number but pretty sure it's below 3600#. Total trailer weight was then 15,500# and running only 1/3 fresh water.

There's not much storage room left for new stuff, so Tami and I have had to adopt a strict rule for bigger or heavier "stuff", if something new goes in the RV, something old has to come out and hopefully the same size or weight.

And just yesterday DANG we found new evidence of water leak in the main storage compartment. I wasn't saying DANG either! Tracked it down and It's coming from one of the bathroom faucets flex hose to pex T connection on the hot water line and running down the hose and ending up in the storage compartment. So guess what, all of the stuff comes out of the main storage to clean up, most stuff ended up in the truck. More than likely I'll have to install pex to replace all the flex hose leading from the bathroom down into the storage compartment and behind the wall. Once you mess with the flex hose you end up doing a lot of replacing. Also all the drawers have to come out in the bathroom cabinet to get back in there to fix the leak. It isn't going to be easy getting back in there!

My point here is all the stuff has to go somewhere while fixing things. The truck is now full! CRAP!

 

[geotex1]

Frank, I understand what you are going through and thinking ahead of when you go "most timers", we had been fulltiming now for 2.6 years in our 3350. I know what you are saying about storage space behind the axles. Under the sofa or above the sofa in the cabinets is stuff we intermittently need or use. Our smaller ottoman storage chest (29.5" length) that sets in front of the sofa also has "stuff" we don't always use. We have utilized a small portion of the space under the table next to the slide wall by using plastic totes. Its just Tami and I so we very rarely have 4 people setting at the table.

Otherwise our main storage compartment is full to the floor above and the front storage is also pretty full, and if I upgrade the battery to batteries, I'll have to move things around up front. There is a little room left under the bed storage but we just had an incident where shoes fell down in the bed storage slide gap and got crushed when the bedroom slide was opened and resulting damage to the under bed storage box. We are now very careful what we put under the bed.
As you say all this kind of storage is forward of the axles. Last time we weighed in Oct 2020 our pin weight was 3550#. It's probably still around that number but pretty sure it's below 3600#. Total trailer weight was then 15,500# and running only 1/3 fresh water.

There's not much storage room left for new stuff, so Tami and I have had to adopt a strict rule for bigger or heavier "stuff", if something new goes in the RV, something old has to come out and hopefully the same size or weight.

And just yesterday DANG we found new evidence of water leak in the main storage compartment. I wasn't saying DANG either! Tracked it down and It's coming from one of the bathroom faucets flex hose to pex T connection on the hot water line and running down the hose and ending up in the storage compartment. So guess what, all of the stuff comes out of the main storage to clean up, most stuff ended up in the truck. More than likely I'll have to install pex to replace all the flex hose leading from the bathroom down into the storage compartment and behind the wall. Once you mess with the flex hose you end up doing a lot of replacing. Also all the drawers have to come out in the bathroom cabinet to get back in there to fix the leak. It isn't going to be easy getting back in there!

My point here is all the stuff has to go somewhere while fixing things. The truck is now full! CRAP!

Steve, feel for you! I had to do this repair myself, and decided to upgrade to residential faucets when I did. It was the vacuum breaker in the linen closet wall next to the shower that got me last...

A great mod for the under bed storage is to rebuild the bed box a bit and install drawers. This is what I did after upgrading to the Purple Hybrid mattress which made it too difficult for Nikki to lift even after I changed the struts. Deep drawers were the ticket and work great because of how much room there is between the bed box and dresser! Was quite the project, but totally work the results!

If you do need to upgrade to more batteries, putting them behind the bulkhead is a great spot and space saver and an easy mod with sealed batteries.

 

[Cyclone Tom]

I added a receiver hitch to my 2015369RL and carried two Honda 3000’s at times. 4Bikes on a hanging rack for one long trip too. That thing had a huge weld and cross member bracing job done to it. My dealer did it and I told them to make it beefy. Never had an issue.

I now have a 2020 382WB and have looked underneath at how it was installed and welded. I’m very comfortable with it. Have carried a rack with a Onan i4500 generator when I was having issues with my onboard one. Have racked bikes as well on a Yakima tray style rack that is not light weight. Plan to buy a new bike rack that is approved to handle two e-bikes back there and am comfortable it will hold up. Of course I’m a little bit of an “overchecker” on stuff so inspections will happen often.

I bought an aluminum tray rated for 500# at Menards. Added an aluminum diamond plate as a base to it with rivets. Always use an anti rattle hitch bolt as well. Not having an anti rattle of some sort (or maybe both types even?) would be a very bad idea and could cause even the best welded hitch to fail IMO.

You should be fine just be diligent in your inspection and maintenance.

Safe travels and enjoy life - it’s very short!!

 

[Malco1]

Can the OEM receiver hitch be trusted to carry a 100#+ generator plus about another 100# for a carrier platform. I know GD claims 300# capacity but,...... can that really be trusted?? Thanks for your input. Frank.

I was using this setup on my Reflection for 2 yrs and now on my Solitude for 1/12 yrs with no problem. The generator weights about 100#
I don't know why one image came upside down and other right side up. There is also a heavy duty lock and chain to the frame to discourage crooks.
One regular you tuber had his generator stolen while waiting for a traffic light, but I am guessing it wasn't chained down.

 

[fmartinmn]

Thanks Malco1, based on the input I am receiving, it appears the hitch is up to the task. So now, I need to select a carrier and security device.