Hitch & Bike Rack Recommendations for 2017 Forest River Flagstaff MAC206 LTD Pop-up Camper

Updated 07/15/2016 | Published 07/14/2016

Question:

I just purchased a 2017 Flagstaff MAC206 LTD pop up camper. I have a bike rack that I use on my SUV that I want to put on my back bumper of my camper. Can you please tell me what items I will need to purchase so I can use my existing bike rack? The bike rack holds up to three bikes. I appreciate your help.

asked by: Allan S

Expert Reply:

A hitch bike rack made for use on a standard passenger vehicle cannot be used on the back of a trailer. The reason is that the further away from the rear axle a hitch is located the more stresses, both vertical and horizontal, will be placed on anything installed in that hitch. It is a matter of leverage, like when you slip a cheater bar over the end of a lug wrench. A standard hitch rack would be likely to suffer damage if used on the back of a pop-up, not to mention what this could do to your bikes and liability insurance rates.

We do offer RV-rated hitch bike racks that can safely be used in a hitch that is installed on the rear of a pop-up camper trailer. All such RV-rated bike carriers are shown on the linked page. Please note these include not just hitch-mount racks like the Swagman Original 3 # S64152-2, which I own and consider to be a great rack value. The linked article will help you choose your best option.

I checked the Forest River website for specs on the Mac's bumper but none are provided. We do offer RV hitches for bumper-mounting and for frame-mounting. I suggest you check with Forest River, using the camper's VIN, for their advice on which type of hitch is a better fit on your specific camper.

expert reply by: Adam R