Rear Bumper & Tire Mount Accident Repair

[Rokrover]

My wife is stuck in jury duty so I have time on my hands to whittle down my "to do" list. Next was to straighten my bent bumper and spare tire mount.

Without a backup cam it was inevitable I caught the rear left bumper on a low rock at a campground. It got bent and twisted several inches, being thin steel, but the main issue was the spare tire mount also got moved down on the 3 back bolts to the frame. I was nervous the latch mightn’t hold with the heavy tire leaning out so decided a functional fix was in order.

First I explored the high dollar option of a new bumper from ASAP in Yakima. I wasn’t naive to think they’d have an extra 15-year old custom part still in stock but assumed they surely would have the original blueprint to whip one up faster than a local shop. I called and was told to take pictures with dimensions of the original and send for a quote. I put this option on hold since if I was going to remove the old bumper for pictures I might as well try to fix it myself.

The steel is flimsy 3/32” stock so the bumper serves more as an audible curb (or rock) feeler than functional rear end protection. However, being thin it was also amenable to my shade-tree techniques with a large G clamp and 6’ wooden beam lever against a suitable fulcrum. Voila - straight in no time, allowing for the inevitable spring back after a cold bend.

Unfortunately a crease remained that hammering only made worse. Function, not form, was my goal so I left this alone as yet another honorable war wound. Lastly the spare tire assembly mounting bracket needed upwards realignment on the frame. Hydraulic floor jack to the rescue - I loosened the three 19mm back bolts and jacked the entire rear end up contacting the bracket only and tightened everything up while still under compressive tension.

A third option was to call the mobile Bumper Man franchise but DIY is always more satisfactory and gives confidence of better knowing your rig. Now back to my list that seems to obey a natural law of expanding to fill my available time. Nature abhors a vacuum.

[Colorider]

Sounds like a backup cam is in order. I got a cheap one from Amazon for $30 and works like a charm. Instead of wiring it to the reverse lights, I wired it to its own power and gave it a switch. I can monitor my dirt bike trailer while I'm on the move and I use it as my rear view mirror on the highway when changing lanes.

good work on the bumper.

[Blue~Go]

I did a little repair to the right hand side of that same bumper (presuming you mean the "flattish" chromed steel one, not the later one that looks more like a car bumper). Mine was much easier as it was the right hand side under the ladder so no involvement of the spare tire/bracket. It was the previous owner who needed the backup cam in that case (Not that I would mind one!)

[Rokrover]

Yes, our damage was to the flat steel 'half' bumper that’s fixed at two points - to the step side and more firmly clamped by the tire mount to the bracket back to the frame. I have concluded this frame bracket is prone to sagging down of its own accord leveraged by the weighty spare tire and repeated bumps on (or more particularly off) the road.

There are three 19mm bolts to the frame that need a lot of torque to hold the fixture upright and there’s not much room to work underneath there with hand tools. Finally I got enough swing on my wheel lug nut breaker bar to do the job. Point is, if your spare tire tilting outwards concerns you, loosen the frame bolts and use the hydraulic jack technique mentioned above. The bolt holes are slotted with a bit of slack. While I was at it I pulled and greased the tire mount pivot pin and shimmed out the sideways wobble there with a couple of 1/2” SS flat washers against the nylon bushings.

My son gifted me a backup cam but I became fatigued by the wiring instructions so it languishes in my inbox. I like the idea someone posted here about a simple on/off switch rather than tapping into the reverse lights. Maybe there’s a wireless model but for now my wife serves even if we don’t conform to standard aircraft marshalling hand signals. Enough banter - happy Memorial Day camping, folks.

[Blue~Go]

That tire/bracket does have a lot of leverage.

I've written about this elsewhere on the site, but I moved my spare to the front (this involves mounting a front hitch and then plugging in a pre-made spare tire holder). This may or may not be a good solution - there are some potential downsides. One is that it makes the rig a foot or so longer (may be critical if you take certain ferries, have a specific storage spot, etc.), two is that you then can't easily use the front hitch for bikes or etc., and three is that you may have to remove it for more involved mechanical work (it's not hard, but it's still something extra). It's also possible that it might be in one's field of vision (not mine, but I'm not tall).

On the other hand, it's great to have all the extra elbow room going in and out the rear door, and access to the "tire locker" is a snap. There is then also the option of some sort of small shelf or counter back there by the door.

I did save my original rear bracket, in case I ever want to carry something else on the front hitch.

I haven't done a backup cam yet either. I still do "the kangaroo." (Hop out, run around to the back, hop back in, move, hop out, run around to the back..... etc.) Keeps me nimble, I guess

[Scott]

My son gifted me a backup cam but I became fatigued by the wiring instructions so it languishes in my inbox. I like the idea someone posted here about a simple on/off switch rather than tapping into the reverse lights. Maybe there’s a wireless model but for now my wife serves even if we don’t conform to standard aircraft marshalling hand signals. Enough banter - happy Memorial Day camping, folks.

I bought one of the $13 monitors and a $9 camera from Amazon. I bought a wireless transmitter but never installed it. I just ran wire along the frame rail. The monitor is mounted to the dash below the gauges to the left of the steering column, so it is totally out of the way. It's wired to a toggle switch, which is much better than to the reverse lead, mostly because I can use it whenever I want, and if I'm backing up to a trailer or a tight spot, and I have to move forward and reverse a few times, it just stays on. But other than hitching, I have a lot more faith in my mirrors (or an assistant) and probably wouldn't install a camera in hindsight.

[Blue~Go]

It's wired to a toggle switch, which is much better than to the reverse lead, mostly because I can use it whenever I want, and if I'm backing up to a trailer or a tight spot, and I have to move forward and reverse a few times, it just stays on. But other than hitching...

I drove a friend's car quite a few times last fall towing a trailer (friend hates to tow). It has a backup camera built in. I can completely agree with both of these things. On the one hand, it made it really slick to hitch up. Almost like cheating as I could clearly see both the ball and the coupler on the screen. On the other hand it was SO ANNOYING, when every time I needed to make a forward adjustment during this process (or even parallel parking), the camera went off and I had to then shift into reverse and wait for it to come back up. UGH.

It's still way down on my list, but yeah, I'd never hook it up to the reverse wire. (Also would be nice to be able to monitor whatever I'm towing while driving.)

[caconcourse]

It's wired to a toggle switch, which is much better than to the reverse lead, mostly because I can use it whenever I want, and if I'm backing up to a trailer or a tight spot, and I have to move forward and reverse a few times, it just stays on. But other than hitching...

...

It's still way down on my list, but yeah, I'd never hook it up to the reverse wire. (Also would be nice to be able to monitor whatever I'm towing while driving.)

I replaced my Chinook OEM radio with a head unit with a display that accepts a rear view camera input. I used the back-up light power to connect to the head unit, so the camera comes on in reverse automatically. The head unit has a separate video auxiliary input that can be selected for a full-time display. I put a video splitter in the backup camera wire and connected to both the designated camera input and the Aux display input. That way, I get the camera when in reverse, and I can select the aux display to view the camera full-time if desired.

I also learned a painful lesson, that having a backup camera display doesn't help if you don't pay attention to it while backing up. On our first outing with the new camera installed, I casually backed the ladder into the side of a parked car in a parking lot. My instinct told me it was clear, but the vehicle was certainly visible in the camera display if I had been paying attention.

Clay