Tow hitch for Bike Carrier?

[Carol H]

Jeremy if your at all concerned about taking to much weight off the Scamps tongue by putting the bikes on the rear (how much will depend on how much your bikes & rack you use weigh) and still want to be able to get in and out of the trailer while on the road putting the bikes on the roof of the tow vehicle is an option well worth considering.

[Kenny Strong]

Jeremy
I bought a receiver hitch doubler. it has the std. 2" tube that goes into the tow vehicle. welded on top of this insert is another 2" tube it is 4"s higher than the tube below. the bottom tube becomes a new receiver for the hitch with the ball on it for the trailer. the top tube I put my Tulle (sic ?) bike rack hitch into. The two bikes are between the tow and the trailer. The Tulle rack pivots, and leans back toward the trailer. the "doubler receiver hitch" adds about 16"s to the common spacing that one gets with just a "regular receiver hitch",so you now have two receiver hitches coupled together. I bought this at Harbor Freight, bring it up on the web, to see what it looks like. One has to buy the tulle bike rack; or some other rack that may not pivot out of the way, of the tow rear door. YMMV

Later Kenny

[mary and bob]

[QUOTE=Donna D.;301595]Of course Jeremy! But, think about a couple of things. You can't weld a tube reserver to the rear bumper and hope everything stays there.

This is certain!! My brother-in-law had a "professional" welder put a receiver on the rear bumper of his popup camper. He just butt welded it to the bumper! Somewhere out on the interstate it broke off resulting in the bikes being dragged down the road. This topic has come up several times here and on another forum. The important thing to realize is that bikes on a rear rack will bounce a lot and put quite a bit of strain on the rack and receiver. A hang type rack will be worse because of leverage. I've made a few rear receivers on trailers, and made them so they attach to the bumper and two frame crossmembers. I have also reinforced the cross members with extra pieces of angle iron. I have also made a couple tongue mounted bike racks, and the bikes ride much better there. We just completed a 2500 mile trip with two bikes on the rear of our Uhaul. I am using the type rack where the bike wheels set into loops and arms with clamps hold them by the top frame tube. Half way into the trip I found that the part of the rack where the support arms attach was starting to bend back, so I had to go to Home Depot and get some angle & clamps to reinforce it temporarily to get home. This is one item that has to be well built. I think I read somewhere that some racks specify that they are not to be used on the rear of a trailer, and I just installed a hitch on that same brother-in-laws new car, and the directions said it is not to be used with a bike rack. Bob

[Tim Wood]

Sorry Floyd for coming in here late, and thanks for the kind words. Yes it can be done right, just a little thought behind the idea is all you need. I did cut out the bumper and welded in and around the receiver, then took some square stock and welded it to the end of the receiver and to both sides of the frame. I'm sure it would handle plenty of weight, and bikes were no problem for me. Never had any problems with sway either, but did have double tanks on the tongue.

[john warren]

Originally Posted by NW Scamp

I have a 1997 13' Scamp and would like to get a tow hitch welded on the rear bumper to support a bike carrier. Has anyone done this or any suggestions? Thank you and Happy Scamping!

i had the factory installed receiver put on mine. i assume they don't put a different bumper on depending on if your having one installed at the factory. which means,,,,any good welder could hook you up. but to be sure,,, a phone call to scamp will tell you if what i speak is prime bologna. or only discount bologna.

[Kltschida]

Has anyone used this type of spare tire rack on a 13'?

[Donna D.]

Katey, too many https in your link. This is it: Amazon.com: Force Rax 2 Bike Spare Tire Car Rack: Sports & Outdoors

[GreenHorn]

We make a bolt on version with grade 8 bolts if you don't want to weld....

Amazon.com: Casita Hitch Receiver: Sports & Outdoors

We can make them for a scamp.

[Joy A]

There is no way that a receiver should be just welded or bolted to the rear bumper.

I have a 2001 13 Scamp with a factory mounted rear receiver. Scamp adds an additional cross member to the frame. They weld the receiver to the new cross member and to the bumper. The receiver sits below the bumper.

Unlike Floyds comment about "not the best idea on a 13 footer", I've had no problems for nearly 12 years of carrying my mountain bike and a folding chair on the rear of my 13 footer. I have had only had one or two occasions where the receiver did drag going in and out of a driveway. I could tell that the driveway was a little deep so I just took a little slower.

I rarely if ever pull my Scamp without the bike on the back. In fact, I think my only time was when I went to Alaska as I knew I wouldn't be using my bike. Having it on the back would add length and the ferry systems charge by total length so I saved quite a bit of money leaving the rack and bike home.

[Joy A]

Here's a couple of pictures of my bike:

[GreenHorn]

Originally Posted by Joy A

There is no way that a receiver should be just welded or bolted to the rear bumper.

I have a 2001 13 Scamp with a factory mounted rear receiver. Scamp adds an additional cross member to the frame. They weld the receiver to the new cross member and to the bumper. The receiver sits below the bumper.

Unlike Floyds comment about "not the best idea on a 13 footer", I've had no problems for nearly 12 years of carrying my mountain bike and a folding chair on the rear of my 13 footer. I have had only had one or two occasions where the receiver did drag going in and out of a driveway. I could tell that the driveway was a little deep so I just took a little slower.

I rarely if ever pull my Scamp without the bike on the back. In fact, I think my only time was when I went to Alaska as I knew I wouldn't be using my bike. Having it on the back would add length and the ferry systems charge by total length so I saved quite a bit of money leaving the rack and bike home.

I apologize for not detailing how our hitch attaches to the camper. Two cross members bolt to the frame rails forward of the bumper, not the bumper itself.