Hitch Mount Cargo Carrier

[ButchW]

I really like that Ironmax with the fold down ramp. It would allow me to carry my gen which weighs 140lbs and roll it off when I need it. At 140lbs it's just a little too heavy and awkward for me to lift in and out of the truck bed by myself.
The receiver hitch on the back of the 5er says 300lbs max. Seems like it would be ok.

I stored my gen set on one of these, then just rolled it up to truck bed, jacked up, and slid it on to the tailgate... No more lifting...

500 lb. Capacity Hydraulic Table Cart

Amazing deals on this 500Lb Hydraulic Table Cart at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

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Butch

 

[Gr8bawana]

Perhaps one of you could post some pics or factual info about one of these receiver hitches failing when NOT overloaded. Have any of you EVER seen first-hand one of these hitches failing and dumping its load all over the highway? I'm betting you have not.
What you "feel" or "think" might happen is irrelevant as opposed to facts.

 

[ButchW]

I have no facts either way... But, what I "feel" and "think" is relevant to me... Thus, I never put my gennie on the back of my 5er... You do as you wish, and I hope it all works out for the best...
Butch
PS... Don't get upset over some of the replys.. Everyone is just giving what they think is good advice, and trying to help... It's usually pretty friendly here...

 

[Cameodon]

Perhaps one of you could post some pics or factual info about one of these receiver hitches failing when NOT overloaded. Have any of you EVER seen first-hand one of these hitches failing and dumping its load all over the highway? I'm betting you have not.
What you "feel" or "think" might happen is irrelevant as opposed to facts.

Love your signature!!

 

[1stimerver]

Search for "RV rear bumper failures" in any of the forums and you should be able to see lots of pics. The alternative would be to check with your RV mfgr and get their recommendation as to how much load their bumpers can handle.

 

[1stimerver]

Here is one pic that pretty much shows the failure mode for a typical rv overloaded bumper. Really not much material there to support a cantilevered load. When you consider added load due the bouncing that occurs going down the road, metal fatigue is inevitable over time. Its just like you can bend a paperclip a number of times without breaking it.
However, If you repeatedly bend it the clip will break.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Here is one pic that pretty much shows the failure mode for a typical rv overloaded bumper. Really not much material there to support a cantilevered load. When you consider added load due the bouncing that occurs going down the road, metal fatigue is inevitable over time. Its just like you can bend a paperclip a number of times without breaking it.
However, If you repeatedly bend it the clip will break.

Man there looks to be like zero penetration on the tubing butt joint.

As my dad said on my first weld, "Looks like a bird crapped on a log..."

My engineer brain says the transverse channel should have been hogged out from the bottom and "cradled" over the longitudinal rails. Then you have virgin metal supporting the load, not the welds and you can do seam welds not butt welds.

That's pretty terrible in my view.

 

[Cameodon]

Why is everyone running on about bumpers....he doesn't have one.

 

[1stimerver]

OOPS ! I thought he had a bumper!!
how else would he mount a hitch??

 

[Gr8bawana]

Here is one pic that pretty much shows the failure mode for a typical rv overloaded bumper. Really not much material there to support a cantilevered load. When you consider added load due the bouncing that occurs going down the road, metal fatigue is inevitable over time. Its just like you can bend a paperclip a number of times without breaking it.
However, If you repeatedly bend it the clip will break.

There is no bumper! I have a receiver hitch that is welded to the frame of my 5th wheel.

 

[1stimerver]

I thought that it was aneura that asked the original question.. And I assumed that he was referring to a rear bumper on his rv.. Don't know how Gr8bawana's welded on bumper got into the mix.....

 

[Groo]

Man there looks to be like zero penetration on the tubing butt joint.

As my dad said on my first weld, "Looks like a bird crapped on a log..."

My engineer brain says the transverse channel should have been hogged out from the bottom and "cradled" over the longitudinal rails. Then you have virgin metal supporting the load, not the welds and you can do seam welds not butt welds.

That's pretty terrible in my view.

The metal tore. Those bird crap welds were stronger than the base metal.

Slotting the tube, while plenty stronger, would require drastically more time to implement. The RV industry is all about cutting corners and slapping it together as fast as possible.

 

[Ex-Calif]

The weld almost never fails. You can see there is zero penetration on the bumper tube. Also the far side you can see that there is a bit of angle - it looks to me as if the welder was 1/16-1/8 inch aimed at the rear tube and missed the bumper tube almost entirely. It looks like the only place the two tubes were bonded was at the top where you can see the hole torn.

I agree 100% about the manufacturing costs and shortcuts taken.

 

[Groo]

The weld almost never fails. You can see there is zero penetration on the bumper tube. Also the far side you can see that there is a bit of angle - it looks to me as if the welder was 1/16-1/8 inch aimed at the rear tube and missed the bumper tube almost entirely. It looks like the only place the two tubes were bonded was at the top where you can see the hole torn.

I agree 100% about the manufacturing costs and shortcuts taken.

View attachment 156768

the light rust color at the end of the longitudinal tube is the inside of the transverse bumper tube. The tear is pretty much full height on the near tube. All 4 vertical tear edges (where the longitudinal hit the transverse) have and angle. To me, it looks like the near side let go first. It probably started at the bird-poop. From the looks of it, the gap between the two blobs created a weak spot for the crack to start. It then spread across the top, then it kept ripping straight down until 1 of 2 things happened, 1) the other side started to let go and the deformation was spread across both failure sites. or 2) more likely, the whatever was on the hitch, hit the ground, so the forces started pulling instead of twisting.