Bikes on Back?

Yes, you want things secure back there. Especially since you can't see what's going on while traveling.

I just double-checked the Elkmont's 2" bumper bar and unfortunately it's only welded onto the butt-end of each frame with 2 vertical 2" welds. No welds at the top. So I would definitely want it reinforced with a metal plate welded across the top from the frame to the bumper bar. Which would mean even more cutting and fitting of the bumper sheathing. Ugh.

The factory receiver may really be a lot easier and neater looking. And presumably it's mounted to the frame more solidly than the bumper bar is.

Or there's these two CURT Adjustable RV receivers #13701 and #13702. Just google them. Amazon has some good pictures. Installation diagrams can be downloaded from the Curt site.

They are a bar slung under from frame to frame and bolted on.

The attachment looks more solid than the bumper bar, and there's no cutting of the bumper sheathing. #13702 is constructed differently so it doesn't extend an extra 2" down but has the same specs as the #13701 (up to 500# tongue weight).

Thoughts? I'm thinking #13702 might be the way to go.

Well, the outside of the 2 Elkmont frames are 54" apart so those two adjustable Curt hitches will not work (max 51"). Ended up ordering the similar but wider Hidden Hitch #82201.

It's more expensive than the shorter Curts unfortunately. And a LOT more expensive than the bumper hitch receiver.

But at least it won't rip off the trailer's bumper and is available locally so I should be able to install it next week before our next trip. Will post photos.

Over Memorial weekend I had my TM bouncing enough at 5mph that the tires seemed like they were about to lift off of the ground.

IMO, that would not be good for a significant load on the rear hitch receiver.

But, you quite likely do not go, and never will go, where I go.

I wonder if this guy hung bikes off the bumper??

I dunno, the frame mount receivers look very solid to me. Remember, I've discarded the bumper mounted receiver idea as it would require too much/ugly reinforcement of the bumper bar.

And we're only talking about a 2-bike rack here.

I have tested the bike rack on the back of my Taco (to see what it's doing) over some pretty rough roads under construction. There was little or no vertical or front-to-back motion. The main movement seen was some side-to-side rocking. This was not due to any looseness in the mount but perhaps because I didn't center the bikes properly. You want them mounted so their centre of gravity is right at the hitch.

Anyway, we'll be able to tell you more after trying it out for a while. I do use the Taco's 4-wheel drive capabilities while hauling the Elkmont back in the bush. But some of the worst roads we've seen with respect to potholes have been paved highways.

Hi Brulaz,
Brand new here!
I have not been able to find the GVWR of the Elkmont, or the interior height.
All spec lists so far are very incomplete.
Do you know of a source for complete specs?
I do know that there is a nifty adapter made from 2in to 1.25in receivers.
Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Curt-Manufactu...299736&sr=8-10
Thanks,
PK

GVWR of our 24' Elkmont is 4230#.
GAWR is 3616#.

The factory specified dry weight, is pretty much useless. We tend to run 3700-4000# GVW and, with the WDH, 3200-3500# GAW. WithOUT the WDH, I usually have about 620# on the tongue.

The Swagman bike rack we purchased (see earlier post) comes with a 2" to 1.25" adapter so we're good there.

We're picking up the Hidden Hitch today and hope to get it on this week.

One more thing:
Because of the distance between the Elkmont's frame runners (54" outer), we had to go with the wider (upto 72") Hidden Hitch. As a result, the hitch's nominal tongue weight capacity dropped from 500# (for the 51" wide Curt hitch) to 350#. But since I'll not be using the full 72" width, just 54" of it, I suspect the tongue weight capacity of the mounted hitch will be closer to 500#.

And my bike rack and 2 bikes weigh about 100#. So I'm really not worried about this thing ripping off.

OK, it's on and here's some pics starting with:
Picassa Hitch Photos
and
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

First surprise, this hitch is way over-kill. The two side brackets and all steel plate reinforcements are 1/4" steel. The hitch's square cross tube is 3/16" steel, the bolts are half inch.

The Elkmont's frame rails (and probably the bumper bars) are only 1/8". And on the outer side of the frame where I needed to mount the hitch was a large cut-out, further weakening the frame.

Second surprise, the hitch's side brackets are ~5-6" deep. If I mounted the brackets under the frame rails, they would extend about 2-3" below the rub straps. To correct this I mounted the hitch brackets partly on the side of the frame instead. This also put more frame metal between the hitch's bracket bolts and the frame cut-out, a potential weakness if the bracket were mounted on the bottom of the frame.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink
The hitch's cross bar was then cut down to 49.8". Which means I probably could have used the cheaper Curt 51" RV hitch instead. Oh well... Actually, if I wasn't in such a hurry and if shipping stuff across the border wasn't so expensive and painful, the factory hitch would probably be easier.

The sides of the tin floor of the bumper storage area had to be trimmed a bit before re-installing, and it would be easier to re-install it before installing the hitch's cross bar, but I wanted that picture ...

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

I do have to twist the inner bike's handle bars so they don't hit the Elkmont.

Anyway, there it is. And if anything bends or breaks, it'll be the frame. But I doubt it.

We are in the middle of our shake down trip with our Elkmont 24. We have a trailmanor mounted 2" receiver on the back. The MAX weight that you can put on it is 100#. We had the typical bike mount that the bike cross bar mounts on and the wheels hang down. When we got to our second camp ground we checked the bikes and found that the receiver (2" with a 1 1/2" with an plastic adapter) had bounced around so much that we have about 10 dimples in the back wall of the trailer, from the ends of the handle bars. The rack had so much movement that even though the bikes were more than 16" away from the back of the trailer, the bounce drove them into the back of the trailer. I got a Thule T-2 to replace the cheep one. My suggestion to anyone who wants to put bikes on the back of their trailer is to get a mount that the wheels of the bikes mount in to keep the weight low. This was an expensive lesson.