How much weight on a sewer hose bumper

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Boat Addict

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I am just curious about how much have any of you guys put on a  2 " inch hitch receiver setup mounted to the sewer tube and carried across the road with success?  I have a decent quality add on receiver that many use for a rack and have actually reinforced the brackets that's bolted to the main frame    and under the entire tube out to the outside so that some of the load cam be transferred from the tube. 
 
I've done the same and carry 2 adult bikes on it, with a rather heavy 4 bike carrier.  My guess, 100# total?  I have not had any issues and the bumper has not even dropped to the aftermarket brackets I bolted to the frame.
 
Those 4x4 sewer hose carriers are thin sheet steel.  They are not designed to carry anything.  After a couple of years most of them are pretty much rotted out.  If you do attach something to them, dont expect it to be there after a days driving.  BT,DT, it aint pretty.
 
Two trailers that I have had came with the spare tire attached to it with a solid steel bracket

Jack L
 
JackL said:
Two trailers that I have had came with the spare tire attached to hit with a solid steel bracket

Jack L
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Yes but the tire was pretty much above the bumper but a couple of bikes would be setting high above the bumper and quite a bit to the rear so that the mechanical advantage would be much greater twisting the bumper especially when you go into a huge dip in the road. I wouldn?t attach a rack unless the bumper was structurally  reinforced
 
I would not suggest it without additional bracketing to the trialer body. and I'm not sure (dependin on the construction of the trailer) if that is such a good idea.
 
I do have the spare tire on the bumper now.  My plan was for a simple rack with my coolers. So there would not be much twisting taking place with anything high up in the air.I do know they do rot out. But its not rusted at this point.  I  added one inch channel iron to each side at the offsets and out to the underside and back end of the tube, running it inside of the main frame and fastened it with the fasteners that secure my jacks onto the beams. I will clamp the channels to the 4 inch tube. This does add some additional horizontal strength to the vertical two fasteners that bolt the tube to the frame. Thanks for reinforcing some of my reservations though. I will do a test with some weight on the rack to see how much flexing takes place.
 
Boat Addict said:
Thanks for reinforcing some of my reservations though.
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X2, I had an eyelet and attached a rope to the end of the bike rack on a previous class C.  I think I will do the same to my trailer, just as a backup.

Something like this, with extra large washer on the inside.  I'd hate the bikes and rack come down and cause an accident behind me.  Call the eyebolt insurance  ;)  https://www.amazon.com/Hillman-Group-517-Eyebolts-4-Inch/dp/B00HYK3HIG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=eyelet+bolt&qid=1587991343&sr=8-1
 
SpencerPJ said:
X2, I had an eyelet and attached a rope to the end of the bike rack on a previous class C.  I think I will do the same to my trailer, just as a backup.

Something like this, with extra large washer on the inside.  I'd hate the bikes and rack come down and cause an accident behind me.  Call the eyebolt insurance  ;)  https://www.amazon.com/Hillman-Group-517-Eyebolts-4-Inch/dp/B00HYK3HIG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=eyelet+bolt&qid=1587991343&sr=8-1
Click to expand...
Yes sir, my thought was something similar as a safety measure, I do not want to harm anyone behind me. I think I can deal with the small amount of weight as long as the tube does not constantly twist and possibly break in some form. Its the quality of metal that I am worried about more than just a failure at the connecting points of the tube to the main frame with just the additional add on at the offsets. Trouble is I don't really trust the entire camper. Luckily I noticed three of the vent tube caps on the roof were hanging by a stick up ear or two and would have also come off and possibly hit someone's windshield at interstate speeds. Its a never ending battle when it comes to safe towing.
 
I don't think there can be any generic answer except "be really cautious". Those hollow tube bumpers are rarely very sturdy and certainly not designed with weight-carrying in mind. Even calling them a "bumper" is rather optimistic and I doubt if any could pass the 5 mph impact safety test required for passenger vehicles.

The bumper tube on one trailer we owned began to twist on its mount merely with the weight of the spare tire torquing it and we had to reinforce both the brackets and the tube itself.  Another one was substantially stronger but I'd still be loathe to put more than 100# of weight on a bracket that has a couple feet of leverage to twist it.

Most any shop that does welding can reinforce both the bumper brackets and the tube itself and it typically isn't super-expensive.
 
Me back again to make several points:
I  don't know what kind of el cheapo trailers those posters had that had their square rear bumpers rotting out, but on the two trailers I had they never showed any signs of rusting
Also on one of them, I made up a heavy duty rack to carry my blue boy gray water tank and it sat on the rack for many thousands of miles.
As long as you have your rack secured and braced properly I don't think you'll have any problem except what your carrying will collect a lot of crud in rainy weather

Jack L
 
Something else.  I've noticed when I carry the bikes, the bumper must twist and contort a bit more, because I almost lose my rubber end caps all the time.  I rigged bungy cords over them last summer when towing, and I plan to drill a hole all the may through at both ends and slide a 5" long bolt or something through the whole mess to keep my rubber ends in tact.  They sell better ends but people still have problems sometimes.  Even a handmade 5" long by 3/16" round piece of rod with 90 degree bend on top would work.
 
I  don't know what kind of el cheapo trailers those posters had that had their square rear bumpers rotting out,
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Right, but "el cheapo" is common, especially in the size & type of trailer that typically sports that kind of bumper.  It's one of the many places where a manufacturer can skimp on quality to hold the price down and few buyers will notice until something goes wrong.
 
Scanning the undercarriage of the camper and the frame's thickness ,  I also casually looked at the thickness of the sewer hose tubing. Hum I said to myself that the two competing parts appeared to be the same thickness. SO of course I got my trusty micrometer out and yes sir the thickness for both parts are identical. I also went to the front end and measured the A-frame section's thickness and that two used the same thickness metal. Whether its the same grade I don't know. But by that deduction I would think that the weakest link would be the two fasteners at the offset and the short distance from the holes to the end of the offset that's joined to the frame. that area may wallow up if for some reason that's loose. Of course the welds? who knows. But I don't think you are any worse for wear if you keep your loads low on the add on receiver and up close to the sewer bumper and don't attempt to carry  an automobile in your rack.. ;).
 
Well for better or for worse this is my solution. Hopefully this will work more than a day. I am still waiting for the 2 inch tube to come so that I can support my homemade tray in the two receivers. I added a one inch channel between the bumper bottom and the main frame, fastening it with the fasteners used for my jacks.  The channel extends in about a foot. My thoughts are that I have transferred some of the load to the main frame .  But in addition to this setup I am mounting the tray next to the bumper and down at the bottom. With this setup there should not be any twisting going on, which is one of the main issues when normal racks are hanging way back and away from the bumper.  The second smaller receiver straddles the offset for the bumper.
 

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Well just a few more bits to complete, paint the spacers and 2 inch tubing and fasten the pieces together.  And by the way I was listening to a fellow Winnie owner that's just acquired a new TT and he says that they are adding a sticker to the bumper that says bumper add ons should not exceed 100 lbs. or be at risk of voiding the warranty. I got a big chuckle out of that one for a reason unrelated to my particular setup though. And if someone wonders about why I do not have any holes for water to run out, well I left the end slots for that until I figure out how it will drain or how water may lay in the tray as it relates to the position of my loads. I made it larger than my generator or the length of my coolers. But I also plan on sliding my load to the end towards the curb side so that my heater can vent out, which is at the middle of the back side.
And with this setup, the forces of the load should only be downward without twisting the bumper. And with the additional support from the channel and connected to the mainframe, what so you smart guys think about my thoughts on this arrangement.
 

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Looks good.  You WILL have torque on the bumper.  By definition, you have a load supported on only one side by the bumper / hitch assembly with NO support on the other side.  Thus - torque.  Downward force rotating around the bumper.

The question is if the bumper is well enough supported to handle the torque.  My guess is yes.

If you want to hedge your bet, load up the rack with unwanted stuff to 20% above your expected max capacity and go for a drive.  Have someone behind to see how much bounce there is in the rack.
 
grashley said:
Looks good.  You WILL have torque on the bumper.  By definition, you have a load supported on only one side by the bumper / hitch assembly with NO support on the other side.  Thus - torque.  Downward force rotating around the bumper.

The question is if the bumper is well enough supported to handle the torque.  My guess is yes.

If you want to hedge your bet, load up the rack with unwanted stuff to 20% above your expected max capacity and go for a drive.  Have someone behind to see how much bounce there is in the rack.
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I did load the rack up and its pretty solid when applying weight at the outer edge. But I am actually adding an additional expansion bar overhead and will extend out and be bridled to each end on the outside edge. On the back of the camper I have  a solid upright in the area of the middle part of the rack. So I can thru bolt the bar to a solid area and will assist in carrying the load on the outside edge.  I am not taking any chances as my plans have changed a bit. I am actually loading the rack to about 130 to 140 lbs max.  But those production racks extend out at the minimum of 8 inches to 16 for the fold up racks. So those would not work at all. The further out the rack the more twisting takes place. I think this is where some people have had their biggest problems.
 
The last hurrah,, When loaded I will bridle the end of the shaft to eyebolts at the corner of the rack. Hopefully this backyard engineering  project will be a success long term. Mission accomplished for this project, 
 

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