Bike rack for back

[pitweval]

Wondering if anyone has any experience putting a bike rack on the back of a Voltage. It does not have one of the small receiving hitches (like my old travel trailer did) and from the looks of the bumper it's not going to be really easy to add one...

[dsol]

No easy way on mine. You could go to a trailer place and have them weld a receiver to your frame but it will need to be below to ramp door which will make it susceptible to dragging even more than the already low rear end.

[jjrider]

I have been wanting to put a receiver hitch on the back of my Voltage, I don't think it will be that low.

[persistent]

I am not a Voltage owner, but I follow a lot of post about them. So, here is a dumb question. Why don't you put the bicycles inside?

[dsol]

@persistent, I bet the OP is not using it to haul toys but as a permanently set up living area—or maybe he already has a full garage. The other problem with a bike rack on a Voltage is if you are able to get a receiver mounted in such a way that it, or the bikes themselves don’t drag on driveways, etc., you will have to completely remove the bikes and rack itself any time you want to open the rear loading door. I know my license plate on the original mount hung below the trailer and it got bent and ripped off on my first trip out and I had to reinstall the bracket upside down so the license was flare against the frame and not hanging below. This is why I would be concerned about having anything attached there. The angle of approach with a bike rack can result in the tires on a bike catching or dragging the ground even when the rack doesn’t in some cases so it can be tricky.

[pitweval]

All valid points, I hadn't thought about the angle when you come off a driveway, that is a valid concern as it's pertty low as is, in fact I will probably need to move the plate holder so thanks for pointing that out.

Yeah, this model Voltage has an 11 foot garage, which holds my Harley and two bicycles plus all our other crap pretty well. But it would be nice to be able to hang the bikes out side.

I have also seen a different toy hauler that had some extra gear welded onto the ramp, in that case it was to make it less steep (owner was in a wheel chair) so he had short little legs attached to the ramp, and a second fold out ramp to make getting in and out easier. I looked at that and though maybe I could weld on a couple of rails that I could then hook the bikes to (similar to the rack you see on top of cars).

Not really necessary, but I am notorious for always wanting to modify stuff.

[jeffwelsh]

Here is a link to a hitch that I saved.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0033WNJ...v_ov_lig_dp_it

May do this to my Voltage some day. The original post is here:
https://www.dutchmenowners.org/forum...tage-6967.html

[pitweval]

Thanks.

[Squirrel Chaser]

I have installed a small 2" receiver that simply bolts onto the rear bumper. If you install it on top of the bumper, it will give you more ground clearance an less chance of the bike rack dragging on steep inclines. It is designed for up to 200lbs so it is perfect for a small storage rack or bike rack.

[dsol]

Originally Posted by Squirrel Chaser

I have installed a small 2" receiver that simply bolts onto the rear bumper. If you install it on top of the bumper, it will give you more ground clearance an less chance of the bike rack dragging on steep inclines. It is designed for up to 200lbs so it is perfect for a small storage rack or bike rack.

Voltages don’t have rear bumpers. That is the challenge. Metal trailer frame then a hinge and then the cargo door. You pretty much have to bolt or weld onto the frame which will put the receiver below the door as far as I can tell. In my case the bottom of my door frame, especially the corners scrape from time to time ( much less since replacing suspension but still once in a while ) so I would not feel comfortable having a hitch receiver some two to three inches lower than what I have already. Others don’t seem to mind though.

I am just suggesting the OP take a good look at the underside of the door frame and make sure there are no signs of scrapes or bends before he installs something that is lower. The good news is the center of the of the back end and not a corner so much less likely to scrape but still a chance IMO.

[pitweval]

Originally Posted by dsol

Voltages don’t have rear bumpers. That is the challenge. Metal trailer frame then a hinge and then the cargo door. You pretty much have to bolt or weld onto the frame which will put the receiver below the door as far as I can tell. In my case the bottom of my door frame, especially the corners scrape from time to time ( much less since replacing suspension but still once in a while ) so I would not feel comfortable having a hitch receiver some two to three inches lower than what I have already. Others don’t seem to mind though.

I am just suggesting the OP take a good look at the underside of the door frame and make sure there are no signs of scrapes or bends before he installs something that is lower. The good news is the center of the of the back end and not a corner so much less likely to scrape but still a chance IMO.

Agreed, after looking at it I don’t think it’s good idea to hang something off the bottom, so we will look at other options.

[Glamper]

Mounted a Thule two place bike rack six years ago, works great. Drill through end gate four .25 x 4 carriage head bolts backed with 2 inch fender washers, caulked. couple and lock nut althread to fur out with 4x4 wood of your choice. the wood must be plated at least to the bike rack, so wood does not split. the Thule rack was made to mount to a spare tire, throw that mount away. if this is too complex, get a front receiver for the pickup.

[barrymerle]

Usually, if you weld or especially add a receiver to your RV, you void the warranty. We actually
had to tow our fifth wheel to Elkart from NY, to have Lippert do the welding, so as to not void the warranty. No Rv shop around here would touch the welding of a receiver. Thanks to the people that double tow in the west, and try towing car trailers and big boats behind the fifth wheel, ultimately tweaking the frame.