Rear Hitch Receiver

FllyboyTR

FllyboyTR

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2019
Posts
235
Location
Mobile
I am considering building or buying a rear hitch receiver for our 3023. I have seen only one other TM with one. I can build/weld one...but am running short on time for our Thanksgiving trip (3 weeks). I am considering the purchase and install of one of the frame mount units listed on the eTrailer.com site (link below).

I want to add a storage box on the rear for additional "outside accessible" storage (when the camper is open or closed. Also looking at adding a truck toolbox to the tongue as well for storage of needed items such as blocks, chocks, etc.....stuff... :)

If you have used one of these type bolt on rear hitches please provide some feedback. Pictures would also be great.

I have also considered the addition of a swivel wheel trailer for the rear...but again...I need to look closely at the frame at the rear.

Let's not dive off into how much weight or too much weight on the rear. I am aware of the limitations. :) Thanks!

https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-RV_and_Camper_Hitch.aspx
 
I have a bolt-on 2" receiver on the back bumper of our TM. It was purchased in 2006. I used it to carry our 2 mountain bikes with a Swagman 2 bike carrier. Several years later I opted to install a front receiver on our TV to carry our bikes which alleviated the need to remove them before the TM could be opened.
Dick
 

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commodor47 said:
I have a bolt-on 2" receiver on the back bumper of our TM. It was purchased in 2006. I used it to carry our 2 mountain bikes with a Swagman 2 bike carrier. Several years later I opted to install a front receiver on our TV to carry our bikes which alleviated the need to remove them before the TM could be opened.
Dick
Click to expand...

Dick,
Thanks for the reply and pictures. My 2010 3023 does not have the bumper like yours. It appears that I am going to have to go with a frame mounted unit. We spent the day adjusting shells and torsion springs. While under there I did take a look at the rear. There is a large cutout in the frame member behind the stabilizer. It is where the rear shell torsion bars pass through.

So, I am going to have to do some serious study on this and determine If I can weld on bracing (to my satisfaction) for the frame mounted hitch to attach. LOL.....nothing is ever easy!
 
Better to weld to the frame anyway.

Lots on this site have welded a hear hitch for carrying bikes and stuff. I know in my town there is at least one shop that is capable of installing custom hitch receivers. I'm sure, if you are under a time crunch, you could find a shop near you.
 
Larryjb said:
Better to weld to the frame anyway.

Lots on this site have welded a hear hitch for carrying bikes and stuff. I know in my town there is at least one shop that is capable of installing custom hitch receivers. I'm sure, if you are under a time crunch, you could find a shop near you.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Larry. It may come down to that.
 
When the 3326 was being rebuilt at the factory I had them add a rear hitch. It’s bolted to the frame. I think they said it is rated for 350lbs. I will say that with three 26” bikes racked out back it does affect the handling of the rig… No sway but it does make the front end of the truck feel a bit squirrelly. I need to play with the WDH to come up with settings for with and without the bikes. I’ll try to get pics tonight or tomorrow.
 
Very interesting about the pic request,

as I did just that and they are attached.

Hitch is on a 2012 2720 but I don't know the history of the 2" receiver.

It is welded to the frame on each side, although one bead appears to
have a crack in the weld bead. There is only about 1/2" of clearance for
working room there, and the bead in that one area is not very thick.
Its partner bead is still intact and was done much better.

This area is difficult to view, and the small camera brought it to light.

I have carried 2 lightweight bikes on the carrier a few times, and don't
know about prior use.

I am not a welder, and would appreciate some insight about the crack.

Turns out to be a potential predicament that is good to know about...

:rolleyes:
 

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Clarification and apologies due...

this afternoon I did some scraping of the welds on the tabs of the receiver,
and I made a startling discovery.

The receiver has 2 vertical tabs that are apparently designed to be welded
to the frame. With ideal conditions and alignment, each tab could be welded
on their front and rear vertical ends. The tab on the street side was welded
on both the front and rear ends of the tab. However, the alignment of the
receiver to the frame members was not good enough to enable a weld on
both sides of the curb tab. A thick bead of weld was done on the frontward
side of the curb tab, but no weld was applied to the bumper side of the curb tab.
There was not enough room available, from overall improper alignment.
So, instead of having 4 welds done, there are 3 welds.

Some rust had formed on the curb bumper tab side, and that appeared to look
like a crack. :eek:

My explain may not be all clear, but all the welds are good. Apologies to the
welder, whoever did it. :)

"Uniqueness means things are not what you expect them to be."
 
This was on my Class A motorhome.

Welds must be done properly (these weren't) and inspected yearly.

There is a lot of stress on trailer rear hitches. I was following a travel trailer one time and it had 3-bikes on one of those hitches. As we wen down the freeway, those bikes were bouncing like crazy and suddenly, the hitch broke off, just after I changed lanes to pass him.
 

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mickmanor said:
this afternoon I did some scraping of the welds on the tabs of the receiver,
and I made a startling discovery.

The receiver has 2 vertical tabs that are apparently designed to be welded
to the frame. With ideal conditions and alignment, each tab could be welded
on their front and rear vertical ends. The tab on the street side was welded
on both the front and rear ends of the tab. However, the alignment of the
receiver to the frame members was not good enough to enable a weld on
both sides of the curb tab. A thick bead of weld was done on the frontward
side of the curb tab, but no weld was applied to the bumper side of the curb tab.
There was not enough room available, from overall improper alignment.
So, instead of having 4 welds done, there are 3 welds.

Some rust had formed on the curb bumper tab side, and that appeared to look
like a crack. :eek:

My explain may not be all clear, but all the welds are good. Apologies to the
welder, whoever did it. :)

"Uniqueness means things are not what you expect them to be."
Click to expand...

There is not much room to weld there. I'm glad you took time to scrape and look. At least you know! But, a fourth weld would have been much stronger.
 
Wavery said:
This was on my Class A motorhome.

Welds must be done properly (these weren't) and inspected yearly.

There is a lot of stress on trailer rear hitches. I was following a travel trailer one time and it had 3-bikes on one of those hitches. As we wen down the freeway, those bikes were bouncing like crazy and suddenly, the hitch broke off, just after I changed lanes to pass him.
Click to expand...

Wavery,
Oh my! That is scary stuff! Did the white car run into the trailer? Who was the manufacturer of the hitch? I'm glad to know there was no injury or additional damage.
 
It’s pretty scary how much the bike rack bounces around. We have a rearview camera on the TM and it is really unnerving to see the bikes moving as much as they do. I keep telling myself as long as they are all moving together they are ok.
 
FlyboyTR said:
Wavery,
Oh my! That is scary stuff! Did the white car run into the trailer? Who was the manufacturer of the hitch? I'm glad to know there was no injury or additional damage.
Click to expand...

Actually, the trailer rolled back into the car. I was sitting at a stoplight. When the light turned green I started moving forward and the trailer hitch just broke off.

That was the last straw for the MH, trailer and RZR. I lost a lot of sleep thinking about how someone could have been killed if that car wasn't there and the trailer picked up momentum, rolling down that hill.:eek:

Lesson for others......... do not attach safety chains to your trailer hitch unless you have absolutely no other option. Also, find a solid place under the tow vehicle to attach your brake emergency cable. NEVER attach the emergency brake cable to the trailer hitch.
 
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Bill said:
Wavery -

Your hitch was installed as an aftermarket item, right? Would you feel that a factory-installed hitch would have the same problem, and should not be used as an attachment for the safety chains?

Bill
Click to expand...
This was the trailer hitch that comes standard on all "Fleetwood" "Southwind" class A motorhomes. As I learned, it was welded together at the Fleetwood assembly plant. Whoever welded this one, missed the most important weld on the hitch.... The top weld that attached the receiver to the crossbar.

GM used to have a similar problem (for years in the 1980s and 90s) with the receiver separating from the crossbar on their hitches.

We commonly see owners posting that they are towing their TrailManors at or above the limit of the vehicles trailer hitch. My caution is simply to be sure that your safety chains and (especially) your trailer emergency brake switch lanyard are secured to the tow vehicle and not the trailer hitch, if at all possible.

Brake away trailers have caused horrific car accidents and even fatalities.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...Hfn9BOIQjJkEegQIHxAC&biw=1280&bih=601&dpr=1.5
 
Bill- As for factory installed hitches, there has been a pretty big issue with the hitch breaking on GM half ton trucks and full size SUVs. I wanna say this was an issue for early- to mid-00s model years.
 
I’ve been in a similar situation where I needed more storage for trips and decided to go the bolt-on rear hitch route. I didn’t have the time to build one, so I opted for a frame-mounted hitch from eTrailer, and it worked out great. The installation was straightforward, and it gave me the flexibility to add a storage box for extra gear. I’ve found it really helpful for keeping things like wheel chocks and blocks easily accessible when setting up camp.

For the toolbox on the tongue, I’ve used one similar to what you’re considering, and it’s been fantastic for stashing tools and other essentials. As for the swivel wheel trailer, that’s something I thought about, too, but I needed a more permanent solution for the extra gear.
 
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