Cargo carrier?

[Nunyadamn]

I just e-mailed Lippert and asked them what receiver would fit my trailer. They have one that will mount to my trailer perfectly and is only $168 + shipping. They said it is not on their website, but they sent me a PDF with the dimensions. I think it is going to work perfectly. It mounts on the frame and curves out 13 inches to below the bumper. I think that is a great price and I will be calling them Monday to get a few more details.

[caissiel]

If it's a 1 1/4 " receiver it's not worth installing. You require min 2" receiver to hold anything on the back of a trailer. I have seen to many failed attempt at carrying generators on the back of trailers. Even a simple bike rack has caused failures on the lippert 1 1/4" receivers.

[FastEagle]

I went to the Greenville, SC RV show this past weekend. It has grown each year I have attended and is the largest its ever been this year.

I took a lot of pictures and will be posting them in forums I’m a member of.

The following two pictures are of a Keystone Cougar High Country with a factory installed carrier attached to the rear frame. When not in use it can be manually retracted. It has pin locking holes for both positions.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=27407
http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=27406

FastEagle

[TDI-Minnie]

I would not like the spare tire sticking out like that. The Surveyors have a nice cargo rack that folds up when not in use. One of the better designs I have seen.

[lynnmor]

Originally Posted by FastEagle

I went to the Greenville, SC RV show this past weekend. It has grown each year I have attended and is the largest its ever been this year.

I took a lot of pictures and will be posting them in forums I’m a member of.

The following two pictures are of a Keystone Cougar High Country with a factory installed carrier attached to the rear frame. When not in use it can be manually retracted. It has pin locking holes for both positions.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=27407
http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=27406

FastEagle

I believe that is a fifth wheel with leveling jacks. Probably a much heavier frame than what the OP has on his travel trailer.

That low hanging spare tire is an accident waiting to happen.

[TDI-Minnie]

I've been exploring the idea of a front hitch receiver on my Ram. Seems like an easy bolt-to-frame design and could certainly handle bikes or a cargo rack. A little concerned about aerodynamics and airflow to radiator(s). Might even make it easier to park my trailers.
Thoughts?

Obviously I am aware of the issues with hitting something.

[kenn_chan]

I do not have a front hitch (yet) but I use a strap on bike rack to hold our MTB's (total weight over 130 lbs) 2 freeride full sus frames and two child front only sus frames. with no issues. I have seen several members on the expedition portal who have their gensets mounted on a reciver hitch on the front (though it is unnown to me if they are modded to accept the weight of a a genset or not) seems to me on the front end that a properly prepareed hitch reciever can cary a lot of weight without going over the front axles weights limit.

think snow plow on a truck, obviously they have uprated springs and what not, but it obviously can be done.

ken

[kenn_chan]

Originally Posted by TDI-Minnie

I've been exploring the idea of a front hitch receiver on my Ram. Seems like an easy bolt-to-frame design and could certainly handle bikes or a cargo rack. A little concerned about aerodynamics and airflow to radiator(s). Might even make it easier to park my trailers.
Thoughts?

Obviously I am aware of the issues with hitting something.

well you do drive a ram, so you must be blind to the real world "who knows"

all jokes of ocurse

Ken

[Nunyadamn]

Got my new hitch put on today. I think it is going to make bringing the bikes so much easier. I am going to swap out the current bike carrier I have with the one on this link ( 2-in-1 Cargo Carrier with 4-Bike Rack — 500Lb. Capacity | www.kotulas.com | Free Shipping
Now the pictures of the new hitch. They basically took the existing 2x4 piece that was from Jayco, then welded a the cross bar for the receiver to that, and added a angled piece to the 2x4 piece just because. They also welded the receiver to the stock bumper to make everything tie together. I will have to relocate the rear-view camera I had to a different spot, but that is the easy part.

[bookemdanno]

Originally Posted by Nunyadamn

Got my new hitch put on today. I think it is going to make bringing the bikes so much easier. I am going to swap out the current bike carrier I have with the one on this link ( 2-in-1 Cargo Carrier with 4-Bike Rack — 500Lb. Capacity | www.kotulas.com | Free Shipping
Now the pictures of the new hitch. They basically took the existing 2x4 piece that was from Jayco, then welded a the cross bar for the receiver to that, and added a angled piece to the 2x4 piece just because. They also welded the receiver to the stock bumper to make everything tie together. I will have to relocate the rear-view camera I had to a different spot, but that is the easy part.

Where did you relocate the spare tire to? My Jay Swift has the spare mounted on the rear bumper. Thanks in advance! Dan

[Nunyadamn]

Originally Posted by bookemdanno

Where did you relocate the spare tire to? My Jay Swift has the spare mounted on the rear bumper. Thanks in advance! Dan

Mine came mounted under the trailer. It was never on the bumper. It is about 5 feet in front of my bumper on the bottom of the trailer.

[Nunyadamn]

Got my cargo/bike rack last weekend. It is really heavy. Probably close to the same weight as all four of my bikes. I think it is going to work out great. I have my rear camera pointing just under it so I can keep an eye on everything. I had my wife follow me and went over some railroad tracks. She said she couldn't really see it moving much. The bikes do move side to side pretty good, but they can only move one way until the wheel holder stops them. No way they can fall off, but I will probably wrap the really long strap that comes with the rack around each bike frame. I will be traveling from Phoenix AZ to San Diego Ca in a few weeks so if anything changes with my opinion, I will update this thread.

[TDI-Minnie]

That looks like a good setup. Any concerns about the reduced hitch/tongue weight?
Since you say the rack is as heavy as the 4 bikes, I'm guessing you have 200lbs.+ back there, which comes right off the tongue weight.
That could mess the the balance and stability.

[Nunyadamn]

I am going to get everything loaded up and weigh my setup before my next trip. I may move some stuff around if needed. The scale will tell me what needs to happen