Adding a rear "bike carrier" receiver

Have recently bought a used '07 2720SL. It was a bit neglected, but we got it for a decent price and are getting it cleaned-up (not too difficult) and trying to find a ceiling leak to get it sealed (a bit more challenging).

Anyway, one feature that did not come with this unit that I would really be interested in pursuing is the rear receiver for a bike carrier or similar. Anyone familiar with these things? I took a look underneath the camper at the back end where the receiver would be, but see no part of the frame or anything where something like that would be attached. Do they sell the receiver assemblies for the units that can be added-on later, or is it something that really can only be installed at the factory (in other words, does the phrase "forget it, kid, you're out of luck" apply here)?

Advice welcome and appreciated.

[Bob&Joyce]

Congratulations on your TM find and welcome to the forum. I can partially answer your question, but think I can steer you in the right direction. I bought an '08 2720SL that did not have a factory installed bike carrier receiver from a dealer and part of the deal was that they install the carrier. They ordered the part from Trailmanor and bolted it in place to the steel frame members. The bolts are visible when you remove the rear storage bumper cover. Now, what I don't know is how they installed the carrier - whether they had to drill holes in the frame members, used bolts that were already there, or what; so I can't tell you the degreee of difficulty to do the installation. If you've not had any dealings with the folks at the Trailmanor factory, you are in for a pleasant surprise. They treat you like they really appreciate the folks who buy their products and have always bent over backwards to be helpful, at least that's been my experience. Call Trailmanor and ask to speak to Eddie in parts. Tell him what you have and what you want to do. I'll guarantee you he can tell you how the carrier is installed and supply you the needed parts. I've found the factory service and support to be one of the best parts of owning a TM. Give Eddie a call - he'll hook you up. Hope this helps.

JW
Become a member of this forum and you can do a search about bike carriers and find a ton of answers and info on this subject. As a trial member, you don't get to see everything. The cost is $12 for the year and worth its weight in gold!!
Welcome to the TM family!
Karen

[Barb&Tim]

Karen, he does have full access for 30 days on his trial membership and can search now --

JW, welcome to the board and try a search as Karen suggested, as there is a lot of info on this subject already posted. During your trial membership, look around the board and once you see the wealth of information about your Trailmanor you will want to become a site sponsor.

Try, -->bumper receiver<-- as a search term with "show posts selected" to get you started.

Tim

Thanks folks!
I did try some searches, but by far the vast majority of the posts that turned up had to do with how much weight the receiver can hold, how to distribute the weight of bikes and other things that would be too big or to heavy for the rear receiver to hold, and other issues for folks who have a camper that already has one of the receivers.

Mostly, I'm trying to get an idea of whether they even sell the receivers and mounting kits for these campers or if they can really only be installed by the factory, and if you CAN order them for a camper that didn't come with one, about how much should I expect to pay and how difficult is it to install?

It would seem like the kit (or whatever) to install the receiver would almost have to be something pretty major, since it doesn't look like there's any part of the frame back near where the receiver would sit.

[Barb&Tim]

Here is one, but not sure if it will work for you:

http://www.curtmfg.com/index.cfm?eve...&categoryid=65

Tim

[tgpmd1]

I'm not sure what your TV is, but have you consider putting your bikes on a roof rack? We have a Yakima rack on our Tahoe. We added 78" bars to add extra room. We can take our 17' Olde Town canoe, two bikes and a rocket box (storage unit) on a trip. If we are leaving the canoe home, we can take addt'l bikes and the rocket box. You only need about 10" of room to pack a bike on the rack. We haven't used our receiver bike carrier since we've completed this setup.

I bought an '08 2720SL that did not have a factory installed bike carrier receiver from a dealer and part of the deal was that they install the carrier. They ordered the part from Trailmanor and bolted it in place to the steel frame members. The bolts are visible when you remove the rear storage bumper cover. Now, what I don't know is how they installed the carrier - whether they had to drill holes in the frame members, used bolts that were already there, or what; so I can't tell you the degreee of difficulty to do the installation

I ordered one from trailmanor a couple of years ago by mail. The only work in installing it was to drill a couple of 1/2 or 5/8 holes in the C Channel frame of the trailmanor on each sides for the two bolts. I also had to make a small cut in the sheet metal sewer hose holder to allow a bigger gap for the new hitch plates and bolts to pass beside the sheet metal liner. As I remember this is something that any hitch shop that does welding could likely make for you. All it is is a square of about a one foot 2x2 inch hitchbar section receiver welded in the middle to about a 5 foot 2x2 inside dimension hitch section with the bottom of two thin 1/8 inch plates about 8x8 inch welded 90 degrees at the end of the 2x2 section. These plates are then bolted to the flat side of the trailmanor C-frame which is accessible in the sewer hose bumper container. What is different about this compared to standard hitches that are put on vehicles is that it was only rated for a 100 lb rating for bikes which is probably a bit conservative. The 2x2 inch hitch bars seemed quite strong. I believe it is the relatively thin 1/8 inch plate and the two smaller bolts each side which gives it the low load rating.

[Bill]

Since you don't really plan to install it yourself, I would go to U-Haul and at least see what they have to offer. I've rented a lot of U-Haul trailers and trucks, and I am definitely NOT a fan of those. But they do install a lot of hitches and I've heard only good reports in that direction.

Bill

[TREXHUNTERS]

You should be able to order it from the factory and install it yourself or have someone else do it for you. It is pretty straight forward. I did it on our 08 3124Kb. It is wise to re-tighten the bolts occasionally. We carry 2 bikes on the back of the TM and 2 between the TV and TM.

You will need to drill some holes in the frame from inside the bumper compartment but it's not too difficult.

First call the factory so they can walk you through the process for your specific model.

Good luck!