mountaineer bike rack problem

[eltuna]

hello to all long time viewer first time post
lately i`ve read about different views on the bike racks i use mine not for bikes but with a aluminum toolbox bolted to it for all my cooking gear in one place love the idea but the way they made the brackets lacks quality for sure. my right side broke after one season took it back to dealer with this problem and a slide unit problem,they welded new one on and fixed everything under warranty. when i got it home i stood on bumper and it broke, bad welding job. i would not take these brackets for granted and why do they put 1/2 pin in a 5/8 hole, way too much bounce at the tail end. i know there is a weight limit, so me and a friend stick welded new brackets to frame for better structual support and also bolted brackets to bumper square stock for no side to side movement.hope this helps somebody love this forum thanks cya going camping!

[Cyrus]

I have not used the one on my unit but pulled it out once to see how I could use it. I felt it would do what it was designed for, bikes. A friend & I are talking about carring generators with us for a backup which would be within the, think it's 200 lb limit but I question using it for that.

[rvfirefighter]

Personally I would not transport anything on the rear of these units. The up and down movement is bad and can be severe. I know two people and myself that have had problems with broken welds on hitches put on the rear and my ladder was broken carrying bikes on the ladder.

[old turbo]

I would take these Mountaineer racks to a certified welder and have some angle steel welded at the stress points. I think some bolts and nuts added would also help. So called welders at rv dealers are just wanna be welders. You have to know which rod is for what job. They have to surface grind the metal throughly to get all the metal clean. The proper weld amperage is important also. The bolts and nuts should be added after properly cleaning of the metal. This will get your welding spots tight with no large gaps. I could go on but a certfied welder will no all.

[SlickWillie]

I tried sliding ours out and sitting the satellite dish there, but there is too much slop. Why should have I been surprised considering the workmanship in the rest of the unit? Of course it's not just Keystone. There was a KZ Sportsman in our park a month or so ago, and his whole bumper had fallen off with his bicycles on it. Only thing that keep him from losing it was one of the straps.

[Emmel]

You might want to be cautious about doing some welding on your frame anywhere. Keystone has done a very good job standing behind the cracked welds, but if there is evidence of someone else welding on the frame, they have every right to tell you to fix it yourself from now on! They have taken care of a lot of us after our warrantys have expired!

[richfaa]

We are having a bike rack installed on the rear of our 3400. We have done the Ladder rack route and after @5K miles on the road it is going to the flea market sale. The certified wielder in Ohio who will make the hitch for me said he would rather bolt the hitch to the frame rather than wield it. I did not ask him to explain why..He is the expert and we will take his advise.

[Craig A]

My understanding is that if any welding is done on the frame of the trailer it will void the warranty on the frame. Bolting is the preferred method.