Drill a hole in the extension and weld a nut on it and then use a built to tighten and take the play out. That’s what I did for mine and it worked like a charm.
An idea to help take out that play that I use on my bumper pull coachmen TT was to add an external hitch tightener to hitch both on truck and the bike rack receiver. Inexpensive and holds rack secure in the receiver. Unfortunately, even with cinch straps from rack to frame there is still too much flex strain on those 4” bumper welds. Get that fixed & off we go with no worries about loosing those expensive bikes!
I think the issue is the horizontal bar is much higher than necessary. There are racks where the horizontal bar is much closer to the ground. This prevents a lot of up and down movement as there is less leverage. You do not want 50 Lb bikes 3-4 feet off the ground creating a lot of bounce.
25,000 plus miles and here is the best answer. Don't carry bikes on the back of the trailer . My "Accessory reciever" attached to trailer bumper with squared U- bolts. The U-bolts broke at 70 miles an hour and two expensive bikes and the rack were destroyed. So, I built a better, more solid attachment and bike rack. The rack stayed very solid and the bikes got beat to hell on the rack at the back of trailer. The ride at the back of a trailer is brutal. Mount the bikes on a tongue rack or on the tow vehicle!!
Well, I can tell you I used this setup for several trips and never had any issues. I had some additions to my family so our bikers decreased for the next few years. So for our last few trips, I've just put my older son's bike in the storage compartment. However, bottom line is this setup up was strong enough to haul three bikes; I didn't like the bouncing, but it never broke or loosened.
I'm no expert, just wondering if it is possible to relocate the hitch-receiver to avoid using an extension, i.e. weld or bolt it onto the trailer frame to allow direct attachment of the bike rack which would be a tighter fit without the up/down motion from the extension piece. I've just bought the same bike rack and looking into buying a hitch receiver to bolt on to the frame of our RV, there are some adjustable models available from Curt.
Should just use a metal cut off wheel and take a half inch off the thule hitch so it slides all the way in. Also this should work. www.amazon.com/dp/B07JY7H4SZ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
go back to the roadmaster hitch extension and lop off a 1/2" off the thule and get the hitch binder from amazon . I would not chance driving five miles knowing you already dropped bikes all over the road once. Not to mention if you loose a bike in someone's windshield .
My search is still on for a good bike rack too. Hope you figure yours out soon! Also, I just started up a mastermind group for RVers who run TH-cam channels and would love to have you join us. If you’re intrigued you can check it out here: facebook.com/groups/rversonyoutube/
In addition to the anti-rattle you used, I would also use this one around both the reciever and extension and the extension and bike rack. www.bing.com/aclk?ld=e8OHEYAAS4iAt0dweGOeE2CTVUCUwEpz6pqj9HpYaTVAaEC8H5Gjpf5Puuv29bfy0jWai_yiwrkiwJ5GrPUuBEJwtRlZNbsBjKZfEK9uWsDFDQcBh7betaPcSKksB4nNjq-oSdaJIlrPWhfPdfnE9rfHmAUGFX4FX4Zs1uI298DfM03SP8Bot6rtHUWnsGnj9CC8D7Rw&u=aHR0cHMlM2ElMmYlMmZ3d3cuYW1hem9uLmNvbSUyZlRyaW1heC1USEMyMDAtU2lsdmVyLUFudGktUmF0dGxlLUNsYW1wJTJmZHAlMmZCMDdKUENWTTE0JTJmcmVmJTNkYXNjX2RmX0IwN0pQQ1ZNMTQlM2Z0YWclM2RiaW5nc2hvcHBpbmdhLTIwJTI2bGlua0NvZGUlM2RkZjAlMjZodmFkaWQlM2Q4MDUzOTI4MTk4NDY3MSUyNmh2bmV0dyUzZG8lMjZodnFtdCUzZGUlMjZodmJtdCUzZGJlJTI2aHZkZXYlM2RjJTI2aHZsb2NpbnQlM2QlMjZodmxvY3BoeSUzZCUyNmh2dGFyZ2lkJTNkcGxhLTQ1ODQxMzg4NzEyNTMwOTAlMjZwc2MlM2Qx&rlid=e9d247b301f31f7f55bd23e30de187a3&ntb=1
Drill a hole in the extension and weld a nut on it and then use a built to tighten and take the play out. That’s what I did for mine and it worked like a charm.
*I was expecting a lot of shortcuts to be taken at this price. I was wrong. Decent quality **Latest.Bike** raker . Easy on easy off.*
It’s the length of the lever that is of the issue here not whether or not, you can tighten the extensions or not
An idea to help take out that play that I use on my bumper pull coachmen TT was to add an external hitch tightener to hitch both on truck and the bike rack receiver. Inexpensive and holds rack secure in the receiver. Unfortunately, even with cinch straps from rack to frame there is still too much flex strain on those 4” bumper welds. Get that fixed & off we go with no worries about loosing those expensive bikes!
Great content and love that megaDually!
Have you tried one of these? Works great for me to eliminate rattles and shaking.
MaxxTow Anti-Rattle Clamp for 2" Trailer Hitch Receivers - 2 Bolt
Just added these and everything is solid as a rock. Just waiting for the Thule to arrive. I’ll add a clamp there also.
I think the issue is the horizontal bar is much higher than necessary. There are racks where the horizontal bar is much closer to the ground. This prevents a lot of up and down movement as there is less leverage. You do not want 50 Lb bikes 3-4 feet off the ground creating a lot of bounce.
25,000 plus miles and here is the best answer. Don't carry bikes on the back of the trailer . My "Accessory reciever" attached to trailer bumper with squared U- bolts. The U-bolts broke at 70 miles an hour and two expensive bikes and the rack were destroyed. So, I built a better, more solid attachment and bike rack. The rack stayed very solid and the bikes got beat to hell on the rack at the back of trailer. The ride at the back of a trailer is brutal. Mount the bikes on a tongue rack or on the tow vehicle!!
You posted this 2 years ago. Curious what rack you ended up with for your fifth wheel.
Well, I can tell you I used this setup for several trips and never had any issues. I had some additions to my family so our bikers decreased for the next few years. So for our last few trips, I've just put my older son's bike in the storage compartment. However, bottom line is this setup up was strong enough to haul three bikes; I didn't like the bouncing, but it never broke or loosened.
You can trim some of the bike rack tube with a band saw so it will slide in farther so the holes will line up.
Give it a shot
Looks like maybe 1/2 inch is all that needs trimmed off.
I'm no expert, just wondering if it is possible to relocate the hitch-receiver to avoid using an extension, i.e. weld or bolt it onto the trailer frame to allow direct attachment of the bike rack which would be a tighter fit without the up/down motion from the extension piece. I've just bought the same bike rack and looking into buying a hitch receiver to bolt on to the frame of our RV, there are some adjustable models available from Curt.
Amazon has heavy duty anti-rattle hitch tightener stabilizer tow clamp for $10-$12.
Nope!... Don't trust those types of racks. Get yourself a Hitch tightener and the Thule T2 Pro XT 2-Bike Hitch Rack.
Should just use a metal cut off wheel and take a half inch off the thule hitch so it slides all the way in. Also this should work.
www.amazon.com/dp/B07JY7H4SZ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
What about a rack on the tongue? I was thinking of welding a 2 " receiver on the 5th wheel tongue.
I have a short bed truck so there's not much room up there for me.
By looking at your house and property? You have the money to Do it right ? spend the $1,500 .. do it correctly
Use the road master extender cut about a half inch off the bike rack insertion tube
check out the hollywood rv bike rack...this is what i useand it is very strong and well built..designed for 5th wheel and carries 2 ebikes
Can you shim it with metal shims
go back to the roadmaster hitch extension and lop off a 1/2" off the thule and get the hitch binder from amazon . I would not chance driving five miles knowing you already dropped bikes all over the road once. Not to mention if you loose a bike in someone's windshield .
how about a ladder bike rack mount instead?
I'll do some research. I am not sure how many bikes they can hold.
Try using a hitch clamp where the extension goes into the trailer rv and where the bike rack goes into the extension. amzn.to/2PHecy0
My search is still on for a good bike rack too. Hope you figure yours out soon! Also, I just started up a mastermind group for RVers who run TH-cam channels and would love to have you join us. If you’re intrigued you can check it out here: facebook.com/groups/rversonyoutube/
It will work
In addition to the anti-rattle you used, I would also use this one around both the reciever and extension and the extension and bike rack. www.bing.com/aclk?ld=e8OHEYAAS4iAt0dweGOeE2CTVUCUwEpz6pqj9HpYaTVAaEC8H5Gjpf5Puuv29bfy0jWai_yiwrkiwJ5GrPUuBEJwtRlZNbsBjKZfEK9uWsDFDQcBh7betaPcSKksB4nNjq-oSdaJIlrPWhfPdfnE9rfHmAUGFX4FX4Zs1uI298DfM03SP8Bot6rtHUWnsGnj9CC8D7Rw&u=aHR0cHMlM2ElMmYlMmZ3d3cuYW1hem9uLmNvbSUyZlRyaW1heC1USEMyMDAtU2lsdmVyLUFudGktUmF0dGxlLUNsYW1wJTJmZHAlMmZCMDdKUENWTTE0JTJmcmVmJTNkYXNjX2RmX0IwN0pQQ1ZNMTQlM2Z0YWclM2RiaW5nc2hvcHBpbmdhLTIwJTI2bGlua0NvZGUlM2RkZjAlMjZodmFkaWQlM2Q4MDUzOTI4MTk4NDY3MSUyNmh2bmV0dyUzZG8lMjZodnFtdCUzZGUlMjZodmJtdCUzZGJlJTI2aHZkZXYlM2RjJTI2aHZsb2NpbnQlM2QlMjZodmxvY3BoeSUzZCUyNmh2dGFyZ2lkJTNkcGxhLTQ1ODQxMzg4NzEyNTMwOTAlMjZwc2MlM2Qx&rlid=e9d247b301f31f7f55bd23e30de187a3&ntb=1