Recommended Rear Hitch To Carry Bike Rack with COACHMEN RV APEX NANO 193BHS  

Question:

Expert Reply:

The best hitch will depend on the distance between the camper's frame members at the rear bumper area. If the camper is equipped with a bumper, you'll also need to be concerned with the drop that the hitch provides, which is the vertical distance between the underside of the frame member and the top of the hitch receiver tube. This ensures that the back bumper or fascia doesn't interfere with the hitch receiver tube.

The Curt # C13704 you had looked at is pretty versatile. It's compatible with frame spacing from 22-66 inches and has a drop of 2 inches. To measure for drop, measure straight downward from the bottom of the campers frame until you clear the lowest edge of the rear bumper or fascia. That distance is the drop. Curt also offers a # 13703 which fits frame member spacing from 22-72 inches, and features a 3 inch drop.

I've linked a video of an installation video showing a typical installation.

In just about every case, one or the other of these work for most applications.

You'll also want to make sure that your bike rack is designed to be used on a towed trailer. The suspensions on campers are more rudimentary than what's found on trailer vehicles, so the ride will be more rough. Also, most campers have a fairly long rear overhang, or distance between the trailer axle and the rear bumper. This makes for much more bouncing at the back of the trailer, kind of like riding in the back seat of the school bus and going over a big bump when you were a kid. A bike rack that isn't specifically designed for use on a towed camper can be shook to pieces pretty quickly, resulting in the loss of the bikes or the bikes as well of the racks while driving down the road. Which would be bad.

expert reply by: Mike L

0