Rear bumper weight capacity - Montana Owners Club

kroerden · 02-24-2019, 06:02 AM

I am trying to determine the weight capacity of the rear bumper on my 2014 343RL Montana High Country. I contacted Keystone and they would not provide any information, other than they do not recommend adding any additional weight to this bumper. Any advice and experience appreciated. Thank you.

K0LCB · 02-24-2019, 07:00 AM

They are not very stout.

MidMOTraveler · 02-24-2019, 07:06 AM

If you are going to put something back there build from the frame.
Don’t rely on the square tube for support.

MidMOTraveler · 02-24-2019, 07:07 AM

Oh and welcome to the forum!

**AZ Traveler** · 02-24-2019, 07:35 AM

Welcome to the forum!

You would be able to attached a bicycle rack and a couple of bikes but I would not recommend more without beefing up the bumper and attachments.

Theunz · 02-24-2019, 07:50 AM

Keep in mind that anything you attach to it is going to "bounce" when going down the road, thus exerting much more stress on the bumper than the weight alone.

Loneoak · 02-24-2019, 08:13 AM

Are we talking about the rack that is attached to the rear of the trailer? If so, I am also interested in how much weight we can put on there, only my concern is only when we are parked.

Here's the issue. We are parked for the winter in a park in Florida. We have a small freezer outside, which is in contravention of the park rules. It has been against the rules since we brought it here 9 years ago. They have never said anything. Apparently this year, they are talking about clamping down on outside appliances. A lot of people have fridges and freezers outside.

If they come down on us about it, DH wants to put it on the back rack. Not only would it not be visible from the road, but he figures then it will be part of the trailer.

This explains my wondering about the weight we can put on the rack. Not only would the freezer weigh a certain amount, but I would have to climb onto the rack to access the freezer, which would add my weight to the mix.

**DQDick** · 02-24-2019, 09:09 AM

I wouldn't mount anything on a Montana bumper, I'd have a new frame welded on to support whatever I had back there. Don't know about the Montana racks that they put on for a while, but a friend with a Columbus who has a rack like that says it's a 250# max and carries a small dirt bike back there.

TLightning · 02-25-2019, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kroerden

....they do not recommend adding any additional weight to this bumper....

You might not like their answer...but they gave it to you above.

unclesam · 02-26-2019, 06:05 AM

Depending upon your type of bumper, anywhere from 150 lbs. to 300 lbs. tongue weight. If I did my camper magic correctly, I'm attaching/inserting a Lippert weight rating sheet tat my customer service guru from my dealer gave me.

Dave W · 02-26-2019, 06:41 AM

W-e-e-l-l-l !! FWIW, I was told by Keystone in 2014 that I should NOT put the tire and bracket on our '14 343RLs back bumper. After looking at it, have to agree even though it is welded pretty well to the frame. That tube wall thickness is too thin and the bumper is about 3/4th recessed under the rear panel. The spare now resides in the truck bed after several encounters with high crown roads and gas station tank fills (I also upgraded the springs, and added a 1" spacer to raise the 'beast')

kroerden · 02-26-2019, 02:07 PM

Thank you for the information.

banks732 · 03-03-2019, 03:21 PM

Zip, zero unless you want a bent and twisted bumper. We made one trip with our bikes on a number carrier and ruined the bumper; it has since been replaced.

kroerden · 03-03-2019, 03:29 PM

Thank you for the information.

Maury · 03-04-2019, 12:57 AM

First, you need to know I am not a mechanic; everything I have learned came from fellow campers. When I asked (15 years ago) I was told adding weight of any kind to rear bumper and/or rear frame will throw off the wgt. distribution of the trailer. I was also told doing this may affect warranty as well as insurance. Seemed logical to me and I followed their advice. During our years of full time RV-ing, I have observed many, many trailers with bikes, motorcycles, motorized chairs, generators, storage boxes, etc. being carried in the rear. I have never asked them about the caution I was given as I figured they know more about their rigs than I do or weight-carrying/distribution issues have been changed.

kroerden · 03-04-2019, 05:33 AM

Thanks Maury.

Mtncrash1 · 03-04-2019, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loneoak

Are we talking about the rack that is attached to the rear of the trailer? If so, I am also interested in how much weight we can put on there, only my concern is only when we are parked.

Here's the issue. We are parked for the winter in a park in Florida. We have a small freezer outside, which is in contravention of the park rules. It has been against the rules since we brought it here 9 years ago. They have never said anything. Apparently this year, they are talking about clamping down on outside appliances. A lot of people have fridges and freezers outside.

If they come down on us about it, DH wants to put it on the back rack. Not only would it not be visible from the road, but he figures then it will be part of the trailer.

This explains my wondering about the weight we can put on the rack. Not only would the freezer weigh a certain amount, but I would have to climb onto the rack to access the freezer, which would add my weight to the mix.

On. My 17. 345rl the max I can put on the rack is 250lbs. A small loaded freezer and you will probably be more than that. I would suggest you put a couple of jacks under the back corners to help support the weight and, also not to transport the freezer there.

DebNJim B · 03-04-2019, 07:17 AM

I know Keystone and everyone else says not to add weight to the rear bumper but,

When I first got my 3731FL I was used to having the spare in the basement on my old FW. I drove through a dip leaving my private site and got hung up on the spare. Due to wet ground I couldn't move with the tv and called a tow service. They came and we attached their tow bar to the rear bumper and lifted the weight off the spare and pulled the rig and tv back up to higher ground w/o any damage to the fiver. I doubt it had all the weight of the FW lifted, but it had quite a bit. We basically just looked and it appeared the bumper was welded to the frame so we tried it. There was no other place to hook on. Maybe just dumb luck for a newbe. Looking back and hearing all the posts about weak bumpers I just scratch my head now.

Oh, and I'm looking for diffent tire mount and thinking my bumper should hold it.

Loneoak · 03-04-2019, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mtncrash1

On. My 17. 345rl the max I can put on the rack is 250lbs. A small loaded freezer and you will probably be more than that. I would suggest you put a couple of jacks under the back corners to help support the weight and, also not to transport the freezer there.

Thanks. We have looked at all the options, and have decided that the spot the freezer now occupies, beside the door, is the optimum place for it. We are going to build a table over the summer and bring it to Florida with us. This table will cover the freezer and have lattice on three sides, enabling air flow to the vent. We can just pull the table out to access it, and move it back to hide it.

I was not too thrilled about DH's idea of putting it on the rack, partly due to difficult access, but mainly because that side faces south. All day Florida sun on it does not thrill me.

Mtncrash1 · 03-04-2019, 10:46 AM

Great idea. I’ve seen a few people have built enclosures around things to hide them.

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