Bike Rack made for Scamps?

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We want to mount a bike rack on the back of our Scamp 5th wheel. Does anyone know which one would work the best -- most solid?

Nancy

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Nancy - I'm curious about how I'm going to handle my bikes, as well. I know Scamp used to sell a hitch receiver for the back bumper, that you could put a bike rack on, but I read this morning on the Scamp Owners site that they've discontinued it, due to damage to the trailer and bikes. I'm gonna call them in about an hour, and get the word straight from them. Paul

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I just spoke with Scamp. Steve said the bike rack they were selling got recalled, forcing Scamp to have a recall. They are no longer selling a bike rack. They will, however, still install a 2" receiver on the back, and let you do with it what you will. Basically, they weld an additional 1-1/2" x 3" box tube between the frame rails, and then weld a 12" receiver extension to that tube, the existing frame, and the bumper, for three points of contact. They envision this supporting 2 bikes. Steve was clearly hesitant about my mention of 3 bikes, especially on the 13 footer, as the weight of 3 bikes could really throw off the trailer balance and cause swaying. He's right, of course.

I'm wondering about the type that goes between the tow vehicle and the camper, mounting to the hitch. They reduce weight capacity to 2000lbs, but that should still be ok for my 13. For the 5th wheel, you don't have the sway issue to nearly the same extent, so you'd probably be ok with the rear receiver mount.

[Legacy Posts]

Camping World has one for $80 that mounts on bumper around spare tire. Looks pretty neat. Holds two bicycles. They have several in case this isn't what you're looking for.

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/in...07&skunum=14623

[Legacy Posts]

Just remember that when you add weight to the back bumper of anything, you are generally doing the worst thing you could in terms of inducing sway, as the lever arm is longest there both for side-to-side and for affecting tongue weight. Consider putting the spare tire on the tongue, or better, devise a tongue-mounted rack (saw such a thing on a Scamp 13, where the owner had installed a second, longer, tongue under the original to make room for a bike rack ).

Saw a monster 5W the other day with an ATV mounted in back on a receiver rack -- just barely cleared the ground on level pavement and you could see the frame moving. Wouldn't want to be the next owner of that rig, assuming it lasts long enuf to sell it in one piece...

Pete and Rats

[Legacy Posts]

We have a roof-mount bike rack that I think we are going to try mounting behind our extended cab. If it will fit between there and the hitch then that will probably be our best bet. If that doesn't work, then we will probably see if we can rig up something so that the bikes sit in the same place but down in the bed of the truck. After listening to you all and thinking about it more, I don't think I want to throw off the weight of my trailer or attach anything to it. Thanks for the help.

Nancy

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I tow with a Dakota ex cab and V8, I have towed my 17' casita
with the fresh water empty and I have towed it full and it didn't
make any difference at all. If you tow with a big enough vehicle
and don't over load and load properly you won't have any trouble.
When you tow with a vehicle that is maxed out than you can get in to trouble. That is why a Toyota Tundra, Dodge Dakota , Astro van
or a 1/2 ton rated vehicle make better tow vehicles when towing a
17' or one of the heaver trailers. I can carry all my stuff and have room and not be over weight and it handles great too.
I also get 13 to 14 mpg at 55 to 60 mph. Jay

[Legacy Posts]

>>Just remember that when you add weight to the back bumper of anything, you are generally doing the worst thing you could in terms of inducing sway, as the lever arm is longest there both for side-to-side and for affecting tongue weight. Consider putting the spare tire on the tongue, or better, devise a tongue-mounted rack

Pete, I couldn't agree with you more. Wasn't sure how that effected a 5er though. Also, didn't know if there would be enough room on a truck receiver hitch with a Scamp 5ver.

On mine, it is a super sensitive issue. I'd know if a mosquito tried to hitch a ride on my bumper. I not only have a spare on the back, I have a rear window A/C. I carry extra water, etc, in the bathroom just to increase my tongue weight. I only have room for a small one, but I'm going to build a small tool box to go in front of my two propane tanks.

[Legacy Posts]

I like bikes, but.......

Bike racks on the back of a trailer is like smoking and lung cancer.

Do it if ya must, but eventually, it's gonna be troublesome.

.....where's a soapbox smilie.....:)

[Legacy Posts]

Hi
We have a receiver on the back of our Trillium with a bike rack. With the two bikes on the back we found the trailer to be a bit unstable after going over bumps. It wasn't a lack of tongue weight as we more than compensated for the bikes but those bikes regardless of how well they were bungied to the rack and bumper they still moved alot.

We also had the Trills bumper thoroughly checked out before adding the receiver. We had been severely warned that many RV bumpers will not handle the weight of bikes and the extra stress and leverage they add to the bumper.

When we still had our Tent trailer we made a bike rack on the tongue of the trailer. Very solid and those bikes did not move at all.

Anyone who has read the Camping World catalogues for the last 7 or so years will notice that they now sell very few bumper mount bike racks compared to what they used to.
Nancy

[Legacy Posts]

Have you thought about having the bikes on the front of your tow vehicle. Many pickups and vans can now have 2 inch receivers mounted in front.