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04-11-2015, 08:43 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: colorado springs
Posts: 22
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rear 2 inch receiver
we own a 2008 X-210WBS, and I want to put a 2 inch receiver on the back bumper to carry out tandem bicycle. Has anyone done this and do you have any photos. any help on this would be great. I don't know anywhere else to put it.
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04-12-2015, 02:45 PM
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#2
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Arizona
Posts: 1,287
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It can be done, but make sure you're bumper is sturdy enough to hold the bikes firmly without flexing. You may need to have the bumper reinforced to the trailer frame.
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2011 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab 4X4
2009 210 WBS
Prodigy P3
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04-13-2015, 04:44 AM
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#3
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Florida
Posts: 25
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Dennis I used this one It is very well built. I found it at e-trailer.
I agree with LJAZ don't overload the bumper.
image posting
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04-13-2015, 07:18 AM
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#4
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: colorado springs
Posts: 22
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Thanks guys, I do plan on having it beefed up. I have a good welder and will have him fix it up. I am putting a tandem bike on it so there will be about 60 pounds on it. I will post some photos when I have it done, but that is a couple of months out.
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04-13-2015, 10:45 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: North Georgia
Posts: 466
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We used a similar receiver from eTrailer for our Swagman bike rack for our two bikes on our 8,300 mile trip last summer. The bikes and rack totalled 90 lbs and the bumper made it roughly half way before it started to collapse in on itself , tearing the thin box structure of the bumper itself. Mind you, this wasn't a Fun Finder at the time and although the bumper was an industry standard (thin wall 4 inch box section), the method of attachment was critical. Our bumper was welded to two rectangular pieces extending out the back of the chassis. They were roughly 2 inches tall and 1 inch wide so the actual purchase area of attachment was way too small for the load.
Our 214WSD bumper is welded to the frame channel that extends out and is attached along the entire width of the 4 inch bumper. It's much much stronger than our previous trailer but I wouldn't think about putting a rack on it without reinforcing it. Simply welding a length of angle to the bumper would double the purchase area and probably be plenty strong enough.
Make sure you have enough space for the 1/2 inch bolts to go between the bumper and cabin body.
It had to be mounted to the underside of the bumper for obvious reasons
Note: I have since built a custom rack that slides in and out of the back of the truck which is enclosed so it works well. Total cost (wood, hardware, paint and tie downs) $48
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Ex Owners of a 2015 Fun Finder 214 WSD
2016 Ram 2500HD with 6.4L Hemi
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04-15-2015, 10:39 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Southern California
Posts: 206
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Before we picked up our new FF back in 2012, I had the dealer weld a class three 2" receiver to the back of our 189 FBS (which does not come from the factory with the typical 4" box "bumper" like your TT and many others do) Although we paid about $350 to have such a sturdy hitch receiver welded firmly between the two I beam frame units, we have never regretted the cost. We regularly just plug in our normal Thule two-bike carrier into the receiver and have no worries about strength. On our January trip to Quartzsite, AZ we took our washtub fire pit and about 150# of firewood loaded on one of those expanded metal, 5' wide carriers which you can buy to plug into a 2" receiver. Again, no worries about weight.
With our former 2006 FF, we almost lost two bikes off the back of the TT (and who knows what terrible injury it might have caused) because we had cheaped out on how we had affixed the bike rack. The bouncing torque on weak parts and welds were just too much.
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Fun Finder 2006 X189FD sold
Fun Finder 2012 X189FBS sold
2020 Lance model 2075
2016 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel 4x4
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04-16-2015, 11:18 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: North Georgia
Posts: 466
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jbfunfinder
The bouncing torque on weak parts and welds were just too much.
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It's amazing what kind of pounding these trailers endure with the roads in such bad condition. I'm always amazed ar how rough the roads are no matter where I am whether it be Interstates or highways. There's no way a bike rack/and bikes would survive unless the receiver was welded directly to the frame as you did or at least gusseted heavily.
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Ex Owners of a 2015 Fun Finder 214 WSD
2016 Ram 2500HD with 6.4L Hemi
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04-16-2015, 08:24 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: TN
Posts: 414
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Learned the Hard Way
Well - speaking from experience - I first tried the SURCO BT300 Spare Tire Rack. It mounted to the FunFinder's spare tire. Put two Cannondales on it. The rack itself was fine, but when I had a car pull up beside me and keep pointing to the back - I pulled over to check. The extra weight of the bikes actually pulled and tore the metal of the spare tire mount! One of the bikes was actually touching the road and had worn through the tire.
I repaired the tire mount by beefing it up and welding it to the bumper. Also beefed up the welds that hold the bumper to the frame.
I replaced the bike rack with a Swagman 2-Bike RV Bumper Rack. I uses big "U" bolts to go around the bumper and mount a separate "shelf" for the front tires and one for the back.
Haven't had problems since!
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2012 FunFinder X 210UDS
4-68 watt flexible panels; 1-215 glass panel/4 Battle Born LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Batteries
2014 Ford F350 6.7 Liter PowerStroke V-8 Diesel longbed, SRW
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04-22-2015, 01:49 PM
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#9
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Calgary, Canada
Posts: 99
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My hitch
reposted from a previous post here:
I also played this game as I need to carry a couple of mountain bikes or my generator behind the trailer. My 2010 189FDS is quite nose heavy( I would suspect 600lbs+ with battery and propane) so adding weight to the rear isn't a big issue. I contacted Cruiser last fall about their hitch and I think it came to around $350 plus shipping to a local dealer.
There are two plates welded to the inside of the I-beam frame rails (crawl under and feel inside for them, as the grey/black tanks are tucked right in there). These plates each have 4 holes in them to bolt up the Cruiser designed hitch. I think you still need to cut holes in the rear cross panel to insert the hitch through to the welded plates.
After some checking, I decided that the two plates are really not as strong as you might expect as they are shaped like C-channel and the ends of the C are welded to the I-beam frames so you have a place behind the plate to put the nuts when you are bolting on the frame. It must be strong enough for a couple of bikes, but probably not much more.
After doing some hunting, I found a curt hitch that, with some modifications to the mounting brackets, would work:
http://www.etrailer.com/Specialty-Tr...urt/13703.html
I cut the mounting plates to be just 5.5" high, 12" long steel plates and mounted them to the I-beams directly with 4 bolts. I still had to cut two vertical slots in the rear cross panel to slide the plates through, but I would have had to do that anyway with the cruiser hitch. I now have the hitch attached directly to the frame rails and the receiver sticks out behind the spare tire. Some pics here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/tompreusser/NewTrailer#
I would assume a decent hitch shop could do something similar for well under the $650 someone has been quoted. It requires a bit of cutting and drilling, but no welding required.
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04-27-2015, 08:57 AM
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#10
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Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 28
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rear bike hitch
In our 210uds we put our oil cloth for the picnic table across the bed and place both bikes on the bed. Never had a problem.
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05-06-2015, 02:21 PM
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#11
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 5
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With all I have read on this subject...bumpers are spot welded at best, rough and bumpy rides, bikes falling off on the highways, etc... I even bought the swagman but the camper body was too close to the bumper and was unable to bolt it down. So I just gave up on the idea of trying to figure out a way to carry my mountain bikes in or on the camper. I just purchased a "front mounted 2" hitch" from Draw-Tite for the front (redundant, I know) of my truck. This will alleviate the not knowing if $2K in bikes made the entire trip! I feel I got a great price, shopped the internet a lot, and can do the install in about an hour myself. Putting it on this weekend. By the way, these are made specific to your truck brand and model.
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05-08-2015, 09:09 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Texas
Posts: 498
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Travels with Yoly
Note: I have since built a custom rack that slides in and out of the back of the truck which is enclosed so it works well. Total cost (wood, hardware, paint and tie downs) $48
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Do you have the process you used to build this rack anywhere online? I would like to make one.
Thanks,
Liz
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2008 189FBR & 2014 FORD F150 Now Full-Time
Tons of Inexpensive Camper Mods WackyPup.com
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05-29-2015, 02:35 PM
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#13
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: colorado springs
Posts: 22
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bought one
After looking at the bumper it is well built and I think strong enough to hole the bolt on hitch from E trailer. I will install it and then go visit a welder and see if they think the bumper connection points should be beefed up. The bumper itself looks strong enough. I bought a bike carrier from 1upusa They were really the only company that built a nice tandem bike rack. We are only going to carry the one bike so the weight will only be around 40 pounds. I will for sure monitor it when I start using it.
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06-11-2015, 06:25 PM
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#14
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Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 28
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Struggling with the same issue. Let's just say that the "old bikes" met their fate while attached to the rear tire on an old trailer (a Bantam Flier).
Bought the Curt attachment but to this point we haul the bikes inside the FunFinder itself and store the bikes on the back hitch only after we reach our destination. Looking at either getting a proper hitch installed (quoted $700 CAD locally) or reinforcing the welds and using the Curt attachment.
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2010 4Runner loaded
EQ hitch
2011 FFX215 loaded
Mini Schnauzer Bogey
kayaks, mountain bikes, golf clubs, wine fridge
LIFE IS GOOD
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08-06-2015, 06:24 PM
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#15
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 4
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Toy Hauler rear hitch
This worked for my toy hauler which has no rear bumper.
Adjustable Width Trailer Hitch Receiver for RVs, 22" to 72" Wide by CURT MFG.
http://www.etrailer.com/Specialty-Tr...urt/13703.html
I am told that it works with units that have the 4" bumper. The unit is a good starting point but in my opinion do as I did and add a brace where needed.
Hope it helps.
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