Factory Hitch

I have a 2009 32QBBS with a factory installed hitch , rated at 250 lbs. I went on the maiden voyage to Tennesse from Miami with four bicycles, light wight, brand name bikes not exeeding the wight limit of hitch. The hitch is made of 1 1/4" square tubing seems very flimsy to hold 250 lbs, when I step on the hitch it bends whey to much for that limit, which is overated in the first place. The hitch gave way and I almost lost twenty five hundred dollars in bicycles. They really didn't put much thought into the hitch for the stresses that it will take during travel. The metal ripped at the edges, welds stayed intact (inferior metal) was used or poor design. Has anybody experienced such a warranty issue or know of a better design?New to forum "Love my Wildcat" but dislike dealing with warranty issue, Hi to everyone on here, great site.

Welcome Joe!

I'd try to get the dealer to remove the 1 1/4" hitch and install a worthy 2". I used a Hiddenhitch 82201. You could have them fabricate one from tube parts as well.

I bought a four bike carrier a couple weeks back and used it for the first time over the weekend. I could put my entire weight on it and they only thing that moved outside the carrier was the entire trailer. The hitch didn't flex at all. The whole trailer moved. It's just a cheap $99 four bike carrier I got at Walmart too. Nothing name brand.

I usually have my jetski trailer in tow, but we went mountain camping this trip and took the bikes.

I've got the small hitch on mine also, its been trouble free so far.

I've got a cannondale mt bike that i've had for years, I'm afraid to mount it on there, that would be the day it falls off, Then I'd die.
I don't mind putting the Specialized on there,,,, It would be a good excuse to go buy a new Cannondale if they fall off.

Follow jetskiers advise, get rid of the little hitch. Mine was attached very poorly; they welded it to the bumper extensions, not the frame. This is what I have now.

Thanks guys, I will look into that beefy Hidden Hitch.Hey Jetskier is that a bolt on or welded to frame? A DIY project, i'm pretty handy but no welding skills. Thanks again for the input , great site wealth of info.

It's both. The factory had a small tube spacer for the rear stabilizers that I removed and installed a longer and thicker section to bolt the hitch to. It's similar to what Scott did, but it allowed me to run the hitch to be flush with the rear bumper. To make more room for the bikes, I move the spare tire under the trailer (last photo)

Ditto. I welded and bolted mine. I decided not to add frame extensions like jetskier; the trade off is that my hitch is not flush with the rear bumper. I have a receiver extension that I put on; that brings it out to the rear bumper.

Also moved the spare up under the front of the cat.

we to are looking at adding the larger hitch. i'd like to know how solid the bikes are on the walmart rack. my concern would be the bouncing,from our "lovely" roads.

pollittax wrote:we to are looking at adding the larger hitch. i'd like to know how solid the bikes are on the walmart rack. my concern would be the bouncing,from our "lovely" roads.

We got crappy roads around here. The 4 bikes I put on the Walmart rack survived fine. I always add a bungee cord or two to built-in strapping for redundancy. The rack comes with a bolt that has a jamb collar on it to lock it tight to the receiver.

I use a tiedown between the bike rack and the ladder to take up the slack and prevent bounce.

I also have the factory installed hitch. I follwed the Manufactures recommendation to only use it for bikes. I purchased a Wally World 4 bike rack and the first time we used it coming home someone shouted at us that we were about to lose a bike. Sure enough one of the bikes had jumped off half of the rack. Talk about bad roads!!

What do you think about taking the trailer into a weld shop and having them add some steel to it. Still want to pull our boat behind the 5er. I will not until I do something with the existing hitch or get the Hidden Hitch. What do you think a wled shop would charge to beef this up? My 16.5' boat is very light (1300 lbs dry).

The dealer put mine on. It is a 2" receiver, with flat steel plates welded to the bumper and down the side of the frame rails. I have carried a hitch hauler with firewood and ice chests with no problem so far.

ezrider6298 wrote:The dealer put mine on. It is a 2" receiver, with flat steel plates welded to the bumper and down the side of the frame rails. I have carried a hitch hauler with firewood and ice chests with no problem so far.

Mine didn't come with a hitch at all. I am considdering putting one on to cary the grill on. I hate putting that greasy thing in the basement. I do not know how to weld, so I am considdering calling the local Iron works place and seeing what they can do. I think they would probably build a better unit than my dealer would give me. Not sure though.

Pedy6Pak wrote:I do not know how to weld.

I learned how to weld when I had my first trailer. I bought the 100A Lincoln welder at Home Depot 10 years ago for $300. I can't tell you how many times it's saved the day. Don't be afraid.

Me too. I got tired of paying an arm & leg just to have some simple thing welded. I bought a Millermatic 180 wire feed and have never looked back. My welds don't look as pretty as a pro (I work for a pipline company and we have some guys who are artists with a welder) but they are strong.

Buy yourself a welder, pick up some scrap metal and start practicing. An eon ago I took a cummunity college class in arc welding; using a wire feed is much easier to get good results; just practice.

Here's mine

Thanks, now to find the parts and a person to weld it up for me.

I emailed Forest River regarding the load limit on my Wildcat 25RL factory installed 2" receiver hitch and received the following response today (the 2" hitch on my previously owned Terry 5th was installed by a local shop and obviously was more heavy duty as it was rated for 400#).

However, I will be putting my 120# generator on the Wildcat 25RL as it is just barely over the 110# rating but it doesn't look like anyone should be thinking about anything heavier unless it is beefed up.

regards, Kim



[b]Hi Rod[/b]

There is a label that probably came off or has been painted over. The total weight of all bikes and rack should not exceed 110.00[size=9] lbs . Attached a scan of the label. [/size]

[b] [/b]

[b]Michael W. Locke[/b]

[b]Lippert Components, Inc. [/b]

How much does the spare weigh? Mine has bounced up and down for over 50,000 miles and seems to be holding just fine. So if I moved the spare underneath I should be able to have at least the weight of the spare available (thinking 70lb generator).

The spare weighs 65 lbs including the bracket that holds it.