Bumper, bike rack, rear view camera, monitor and more

[hellspcangel911]

Thought I would share some of my recent modifications withyou guys, hopefully help other members.

The RV didn't come with a hitch and I've been thinking ofways to transport 2 bikes. Simplicity lead me to installing a hitch on the rearso I could buy a standard bike rack. Shopping for bike racks, I found nothingthat would work well for both dual suspension mountain bikes, road bikes..anddifferent sizes. Even the $400 ones are full of plastic parts and  rock side to side on the highway (witnessedthat first hand), not a shortcoming of the manufacturer but  a problem with the hitch.

I found this well done, simple hitch setup and decided thatwould be best (cheapest as well): SoCal Riders Forum

 

Then I moved on to the hitch issue. The best way to do it isoff the frame and not the extensions, seeing that I wont ever be towinganything or hauling a lot of weight (4cyl) I decided to go off the extensions.Seeing how low the back of the RV is already, I wanted the bike rack to be alittle higher so dropping the hitch to clear the grey water tank wasnt a goodidea.

 

I decided to buy 2" tubing, 18" long and weld that to thebottom of the extensions, reinforced it to the original bumper supports, itsticks out 4".

I lopped off the original bumper, and have two 40" x1.5"steel tubing that insert into the 2" welded tubing, secured by two SS bolts.

 

This sets me up for a nice platform with two beams, 4 feetapart, rather than just one center one – much more stable.

 

To lighten up the rear and make more space for thebikes  I've decided to mount the sparetire underneath, between the rear axle and the grey tank by running a c-channelbetween the frame rails. There will be two lugs welded to it to secure thewheel in place as well as a post that comes through the center of the wheel andpin to hold the wheel in place so you can secure it with the lugs. That shouldmake it easy enough for one person to mount and unmount, roadside.

 

Excuse the welds, did it with my old arch welder which I haven'tused it in a while, by the end I started getting back in the groove of things.I cleaned up the welds, sprayed everything with RustBlast from RBS Coatings(similar to POR15 but better) then painted everything with Satin BlackRustSeal. It holds up to UV, Salt, water, wont flake or chip, good stuff andgoes on easy with a brush.

 

For the final bumper (not pictured) I used a galvanizedpiece of steel that I had lying around, welded nuts to the back of the 1.5"tubing. I purchased 18" strips of reflective tape at Walmart, cleans up thelook and is a must so no one rear-ends you.

Will post pictures tomorrow of the final product, still need to make wheel chucks as the stabilizerfork holds the rear wheel, a bungee or tie down will secure the bike but I neeeda chuck to prevent it from rolling off.

 

I noticed the fiberglass was coming off the wood in therear, so I purchased a 2" 8' L-angle in aluminium, to secure it to the wood,attached with silicone and 7 SS bolts. Clean look.

 

I also started installing the rear view camera. I bought ascreen and cmos 170 degree camera off ebay, so far its great. I decided tomount it instead of the center red ceiling light on the rear, above the window.I took the red lens off, removed the bulb and socket, cut a piece of 2" Laluminium to fit inside the light housing, bolts up using two original screws,lines run inside and hopefully make their way to the cab- work in progress.

The monitor simply snaps on to the original one,  it turns on whenever the car is in R. I havethree switches in the cockpit:  1 thatlets you power the radio and cig lighter and supplies power to 2 and 3. 2 turnson the FM modulator if you want to play a dvd or hook up the ipod 3 turns onthe monitor/camera If switch 1 is off, so is everything else. If you leave thekey in the ON position so the radio works it actually still causes the ignitioncoil to induce.. overtime it will burn it out.. not to mention it drains thebattery.

 

With this stuff out of the way, the roof patched, I caninstall the BOSAL exhaust that just arrived, the VDO trans temp gauge andcooler.  

 

  

  

  

 

 

Edited October 14, 2010 by hellspcangel911

[wetboy]

Nice work! I intend to install a back-up camera too, so this is handy.

I converted my old rusty 4 in tube into a Motorcycle carrier for my 425# KLR 650. Made my own rack and welded it to the frame rails with 4 inch, 1/8 in thick C-Channel. lt has worked great for 1000 miles+.

The only thing I would have suggested if I'd seen this early enough is to raise up your rack, so you don't bottom out coming out sloped driveways. I still have this problem, and have to be careful. With Bikes though, you have alot more freedom on how high you can place them. (Mine just hangs of my ladder along with my beach chair).

Looks like you could easily raise that up still. Just weld an upside down L bracket right after the rails come out from under the coach, and raise everything up a foot or so. I guess you know your clearance better than I can tell through the pics. Everything else looks welded on there good enough to carry a moose!

[hellspcangel911]

 thanks for the response and kind words, nice rack for a nice bike. I was quite content to have it this high, thought i agree, the higher the better. going straight back from the frame was the easiest but  i also had to go a few inches further from the RV so the handle bars would clear the back of the RV as they came in right where the back pitched out, if it was higher it would have cleared. Hindsight. 

As for the camera, in the dolphin anyway, if you go through that rear light housing you can snake the wires in the compartment, down along side the vent stack, drill one whole through the bottom behind the lp tank bin, then follow the lighting wires to the fuel pump/sender wires along the passenger side frame rail all the way to the front and theres a unused rubber grommet under the passenger seat you can poke through. I didnt want to deal with the wireless ones, batteries and interference. Plus, this way you can tap right into the reverse light thats in the back there. I ran one wire utilizing a diode to tap the backup light, so when i put it in R the camera and screen turn on, (the diode allows the power to transfer through, powering the camera and switching the monitor). When I press the button to check on the bikes and while on the road, the diode prevents the back up light from turning on thoguh the system is powered. 

[wetboy]

Hmmm...I think I'll try a manual setup so I can just go down the road with the thing on all the time...give me a better view of what's behind me anyway. Do you see a problem with that? I'm assuming the cam and monitor are rated for continuous duty. I'll wire it to my huge coach pack, and just remember to shut it off. I travel alot at night, so how is the night vision?

I have the same issue with handlebars hitting right at the "bulge", after I drove it onto the rack. Had to extend my rack out a few extra inches so the bike would *just* lean against the coach while I got the straps to tie it down. I designed it so the straps pull the bike down and into the coach, so eventually, the left handlebar dug into the aluminum... so I glued a hardwood plank back there after making it look pretty with some scrolling and polyurethane. Looks like it belongs there and keeps everything tight going down the road

Since you don't have to roll your bikes onto the rack, do you think you could just weld in another set of wheel chocks like the front one onto each end..., and then DROP the bikes into the groove so created? . That should keep everything from moving around front to back, and left to right...especially if the wheel fit is snug. Alternately, a simple strap through the bike frame pulling the bike into the front wheel chock while compressing the suspension would work too.

I learned the hard way, the only way to keep those bikes secure is to compress the suspension. I watched in horror in my rear view, as my BRAND NEW KLR took a dive after being 4-way strapped to a trailer...all because I didn't compress the suspension enough, and the rear tire slid out! Never again! (I'm still going to therapy for that trauma)....

[hellspcangel911]

Certainly need the manual switch option, but since the whole setup was already designed for R-switching, it was worth the extra few minutes to connect it, just backing it into the front yard to load it up, having it kick in for a few seconds here and there to help guide you, its nice. 

As for night use, thats where it gets tricky. You want one that is rated to a low LUX, mine is .1 with autoswitching (small photometer that turns on and off the infrared bulbs that surround the camera). With just moon light you can see enough to satisfy your curiosity of if the bikes are tied down well enough, if there is an animal back there..etc. It gets interesting when you turn on the parking or reverse lights because it provides light to the rear area but the sensor still sees it as dark, so then the picture is really washed out. I would almost suggest not getting an infrared enabled camera and rely on your tail lights/parking lights and the headlights of the traffic behind you. 

Nice solution for the handlebar rub issue, I  was going to mount something to the spare tire mount that holds the handlebars as another securing point, but for two bikes I thought it was overkill at this time. I have two wheel chucks welded up with two mounted bolts that attach with wing nuts (I will post pictures soon, just finishing painting the chucks). You are right about dropping them in but with the hump in the rear and I made the platform as short as possible, being able to roll the bikes on allows me to still fit the spare tire on the back, and remove the inside bike with the outside bike on the rack... and I can always leave the chucks attached... plus more adjustability for different sized bikes. 

YES! you cant have too many straps, I lost my KDX on the highway, fell off the trailer, luckily 1980s dirtbikes were so bulletproof that a few scratches later it was still ripping up trails. I will clamp down both wheels to the rack, then a few tiedowns against the suspension, but I don't feel comfortable keeping the fork compressed for 6 hours.. WHen i used to tow my track bmw, I had the suspension compressed down through the chassis and still wheel nets.. i have to say the suspension suffered...