RE: Coleman Popup Question (rear Bumper)

[The Overmans]

 
Has anyone ever mounted a small (2 Bike) bike rack on the rear bumper?  What did you do if anything to strengthen the bumper where the rack is mounted.

[popupcop]

 The Overmans
I have not put a bike rack on the back of my PU.  Everything I have read on this board in the last two years says that bike racks on the back cause the PU balance to be off and cause a great deal of sway.

[Ab Diver]

 The Overmans
While some pop-ups may be able to handle a bike rack hanging off the back bumper due to their weight distribution, the 12  front-storage-box Coleman s just ain t set up for it. Too little tongue weight. You need all you can get up front.
 
 Plus a few other things: 1) The bumper is a joke, and could never support the weight. 2) Any support you build into the bumper is only going to add to the weight at the rear of the trailer. 3) Due to the design of most multiple bike carriers, the weight of the bikes would actually be centered BEHIND the bumper, so the leverage of the weight of the bikes/rack is greater than their weight alone.
 
 Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there are other options to pursue. This is the LAST one you should look at, right behind leaving the bikes at home.

[tlhdoc]

 The Overmans
I have to agree with the others.  If you add weight to the back of the PU you will take weight off of the tongue.  Less weight on the tongue and you have more of a chance of having sway.  The bumper is also not heavy enough to support a bike rack.  If you were going to attach anything to the back of the PU you would need to attach it to the main frame, no the bumper.  I don t know if you would mess up the warrenty by attaching anything to the frame or not.
 
 How about this, bungee cord a smaller bike up on the tongue of the trailer by the propane tank.

[don]

 The Overmans
I wouldn t give up on the idea yet. This site has just what your looking for.
 http://www.popapete.com/projects/projects1.htm
 Pete built nice rack and addressed the weak bumper issue. As far as reducing tongue weight, it is a concern not to be take lightly but if you want to do this just be aware of it and weigh the tongue. I think the bathroom scale method of doing that is right in coleman owners manual??? or you can certainly find it online.[]

[Tim5055]

 don

 

ORIGINAL:  don
 
 I wouldn t give up on the idea yet. This site has just what your looking for.
 http://www.popapete.com/projects/projects1.htm
 Pete built nice rack and addressed the weak bumper issue. As far as reducing tongue weight, it is a concern not to be take lightly but if you want to do this just be aware of it and weigh the tongue. I think the bathroom scale method of doing that is right in coleman owners manual??? or you can certainly find it online.[]
 

 
 I just want to point out that on Popapete s web site he states he secured it not only to the bumper, but also to the frame rails.
 
 As I ripped my back bumper off on our third trip with the Santa Fe, I have seen up close and personal how thin those Coleman bumpers are.  They are really nothing more than a few green bean cans folded over each other[]
 
 Be very careful if you mount anything to the bumper.
 
 Another rack I looked at last year was manufacturered by Top Line Sales.  It bolted directly to the pop up frame at the rear of the pop up.  [link=http://www.toplinemfg.com/camprack.html]Take A Look[/link].  I don t remember the cost, but it was expensive ($300+ IIRC)

[MattH]

 The Overmans
We have just recently purchased a  03 1/2 Utah w/ roof AC and an aft mounted Yakima Rack? Am I asking for trouble mounting 4 bikes to the roof mounted rack? I m assuming that I should try to mount as close to center as I can or perhaps even straddle the AC placing on crossbar each in front and behind the AC?
 
 Anyone out there with roof AC and the Yakima Rack with insights, please let us know. I ll be walking through with the dealer today and will ask them as well.
 
 
 Matt & Sherry
 2003 Grand Caravan eX
 2003 Utah
 

[Gone-Camping]

 The Overmans
If you really think you want to try this, then [link=http://www.toplinemfg.com/camprack.html]TOPLINE[/link] sells them, mighty pricey though.
 
 Would I recommend it? After reading everything here, I would probably recommend against it. I mounted a 2 bike rack to the rear of my old Starcraft, and didn t have any problems. I did have to shift things around inside the trailer to balance the additional weight in the rear so the tongue was heavier, but that wasn t difficult. I didn t experience any ill handling effects, but others here seem very intense against doing this, so that means you d be taking your chances.