Rear bumper weight capacity?

[CaptainHooligan]

Hey guys I have a 10kw Military generator and it weighs about 1500 lbs. It's kinda big, but kinda not It's 61" wide and 36" tall, diesel, and whisper quiet.

If I were to build a mount for it on the rear of a skoolie (future TC2000 owner, I'm still looking), do you think it would be ok, or would it be too much for the rear of the bus?

 

[turf]

imo, I dont think you can put enough weight on the rear axle. my bus is oversprung and some extra weight would help the ride.

my rear axle is rated at 19,000lbs.

towing a trailer, my rear axle weighed 11,200 at the scale. thats on a finished, loaded conversion bus. i think i could add 2-3K pounds on the back axle without the axle knowing it.


http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/weight-and-towing-14296.html#post154040

 

[SDR76]

My TC2000 (30-ish foot Handibus with wheelchair lift) without seats, me in it and full fuel: weight on the scale is exactly 16,102lbs. IIRC, the Front was 9k and change, and the rear was 7k and change. In my opinion, throw that sucker on! I need more weight on the rear of mine to offset the overly heavy front. I would mount to the frame, not the bumper though. I built an extendable bumper/rack that used tow-hitch tubing bolted to the frame on an Overland-Suburban project. It slid in tight, or pulled out for a 3foot extension rack; just an idea.....

 

[milkmania]

My TC2000 (30-ish foot Handibus with wheelchair lift) without seats, me in it and full fuel: weight on the scale is exactly 16,102lbs. IIRC, the Front was 9k and change, and the rear was 7k and change. In my opinion, throw that sucker on! I need more weight on the rear of mine to offset the overly heavy front. I would mount to the frame, not the bumper though. I built an extendable bumper/rack that used tow-hitch tubing bolted to the frame on an Overland-Suburban project. It slid in tight, or pulled out for a 3foot extension rack; just an idea.....

Agreed, although my rear bumper is heavily built... I'd still cut two vertical slots through the bumper and bolt/weld plate steel directly to the frame horns.

But, that's just me:wink:

If you bolt anything directly to the bumper, I think it would have additional downward force on the bolts connecting bumper to frame, the further you get from the bumper, the more leverage force... And you're talking about adding 1500#! That's a lot of weight, applying force without gussets.

I'd keep it close & tight, and that'll negate your back door if mounted crossways

CaptainHooligan, what's the depth dimension?
You gave width & height already.

 

[SDR76]

Agreed, although my rear bumper is heavily built... I'd still cut two vertical slots through the bumper and bolt/weld plate steel directly to the frame horns.

Dually agreed. I would not weld to the frame if possible. I have way more faith in good bolts than I do welds. Its not the welding that is the issue, its the carbon content of the steel in the frame. Ive seen way more frames crack from welds, than i have seen broken bolts. Also, I agree on the keeping it tight to the bus, keep it tight, less leverage.

 

[Carytowncat]

Agreed, although my rear bumper is heavily built... I'd still cut two vertical slots through the bumper and bolt/weld plate steel directly to the frame horns.

Dually agreed. I would not weld to the frame if possible. I have way more faith in good bolts than I do welds. Its not the welding that is the issue, its the carbon content of the steel in the frame. Ive seen way more frames crack from welds, than i have seen broken bolts. Also, I agree on the keeping it tight to the bus, keep it tight, less leverage.

This is helpful information because i too am planning a nice 3' patio and planned to BOLT it to the frame, and even found a guy locally from a Craigslist wanted post, who will plasma cut two square holes in the bumper, so i can slide two 3" square steel tubes back through and bolt to the frame.

Letting good man time decide when that project unfolds. Right now no hurry because i have nowhere else that i want to be :Thanx:

 

[jazty]

It should sit great on a front-engine TC2000! You'd need some real ingenuity to reach the engine access panel on a rear-engine TC2000 with a big generator back there, though
While bus bumpers are wonderfully stout (mine are 1/4" steel bumpers bolted right to the frame ends), I would go a step further and bolt 6' lengths of thick angle or HSS directly to the frame and have that steel pop out of holes blasted into the bumper. Bolt the genny to that and it won't go anywhere!

EDIT: Ah! It seems while I was writing this post a couple others chimed in with similar ideas. Great minds?

 

[Carytowncat]

Indeed they do

 

[dredman]

2/3 ton genset?
10kw?

What are you planning on doing? Running a radar installation?
A small city?

Or hooking up the entire village up at SkooliePoalooza? :biggrin:

 

[CaptainHooligan]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm from Louisiana, live in NC now. Being from Louisiana, other than owning a crawfish pot, you own at least 2 generators and 10 gas cans. You know, hurricanes and stuff and you don't want something stupid as a hurricane messing up the party you're having.

Now, I have no use for it. The Cajun in me won't let me sell it. But it's a 10kw military generator. Super quiet. And if you hook it up to an auxiliary tank, it fills the regular tank up on its own.

IF I decided to mount it, I would still need to have access to both sides of the generator, so I'll have to figure that one out.

Just looking at the weight side of it. I can weld/fabricate anything, so I have a few ideas.

Also I was meaning extending the frame, not using the actual bumper as the mounting point.

 

[turf]

without pics, its hard to say, but my 12kw gen hangs between the axles on the driver's side. maybe there is room for yours as well.

 

[CaptainHooligan]

The generator is 36" tall, 62" long and 31" wide

 

[CaptainHooligan]

without pics, its hard to say, but my 12kw gen hangs between the axles on the driver's side. maybe there is room for yours as well.

You have it under a skoolie?

 

[milkmania]

Just trailer it:wink:

Military MEP 004A 15KW 50 60 Hz Diesel Electric Portable Trailer Generator | eBay

 

[heimlich]

I have the same idea.

My generator is the smaller 5kw.

How did you mount your generator under the bus?