Good evening,I'm posting this for information gathering. My mom who travels often with her 5th wheel for dog shows across the northeast broke down tonight. The hitch on the 5th wheel camper appears to be ripping off the camper itself. Seemingly a structural failure. I have a link below with the photos which also include an internal photo showing how the closets are affected. Luckily no accident occurred and all are safe!Has ANYONE seen this before? It just seems so impossible. I tried googling a similar failure and came up with nothing.The camper is a 2009 41' Heartland Cyclone Toy Hauler. She does not have it overloaded. She carries dogs, not toys. I'm looking for any advice, information, etc. She was traveling a longer distance than usual today. From NY to MO and broke down in Indiana after a 12 hour drive.https://adobe.ly/2HyIH4tAny info will be VERY helpful....Moderator edit to insert pictures

My 28rk '97 5th wheel trailers structure around the pin box broke around three years old. Fix was to drop the under cover on the overhang and replace and beef up the structure that broke. No big deal to fix for a custom steel fab shop or big rig trailer repair shop. One of my area rv dealers has a shop that does this type of work.

Do a Google search on Lippert frame failures. Betting that's what your mom is dealing with.

Looks like the often referred to frame failure. Meaning welds have broken where the pin box frame is welded to the trailer frame. Will require a good frame shop go in and reinforce and reweld it all. Not safe to tow as is.

BB_TX wrote:Looks like the often referred to frame failure. Meaning welds have broken where the pin box frame is welded to the trailer frame. Will require a good frame shop go in and reinforce and reweld it all. Not safe to tow as is.Would she best be towed to the local large RV shop or somewhere else?

You should check local shops with googling, "Complaints about 'shop in question' ". And check them on RVServiceReviewsGood luck.

5th Wheel Hitch Ripping off Camper!!?? | Good Sam Community

larry_barnhart
Explorer
Apr 17, 2018
RV dealer near us told me the frames are the worst he has ever seen. Long time rv store owner.

chevman
laknox
Nomad
Apr 17, 2018
Cummins12V98 wrote:
They build them to the manufacturers specs. "Light N Cheap"

"Light N Cheap" can be a good design IF it's built properly. I've seen plenty of pics of beautiful welds that only stuck on one side. I've also seen pics of some fugly welds that cracked right through. I've seen pics of places where there were =supposed= to be welds, that never got done. This is where I fault both Lippert =and= the mfrs for not doing quality checks. The mfrs, especially, seem to just grab a frame off the pile and slap parts on them without first checking anything against the specs. This is where they are at fault for missing cr@ppy and missing welds as well as not catching any non-spec metal used. I've seen more than one report here where Lippert flat out used the wrong metal to build frames that then failed.

Lyle
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Apr 17, 2018
They build them to the manufacturers specs. "Light N Cheap"
garyp4951
Explorer III
Apr 17, 2018
My first thought would be to call a mobile rv repair guy to remove, and re install the overhang, and a mobile welder to patch it up so she can continue her trip.
LIKE2BUILD
Explorer
Apr 16, 2018
jbslade82 wrote:
tinner12002 wrote:
Does anyone know what part of IN she is broke down in??

Yes, 45 mins east of Indianapolis.

We plan to call around place this morning and figure out where to get the RV into. If anyone has recommendations please let us know!

Would she happen to be anywhere near Richmond, IN on I70? FlyingJ shows a location at Spiceland, IN....is that the one? If so, there is a big Camping World dealership in Richmond that has been there for years. I don't know anything about the quality of their service but it's been there ever since I was a kid (don't ask, but it's been decades).

There could be local welding shops near her but an RV dealership might be a place to start. As big as that CW dealership is, I'm sure they've had to have seen the Lippert frame failure and would hopefully have experience fixing it.

KJ
wilber1
Explorer
Apr 16, 2018
memtb wrote:
stew47 wrote:
She should talk with insurance agent also.

And a good attorney! Maybe with enough bad press these manufacturers will up there game as far as quality! We have “FAR” too many frame failures in the RV industry.
If the trucking industry had these types of failures....you could bet your “behind” that the DOT would be involved!

Didn't stop Lippert from turning out axles with grease contaminated brakes for years. The manufacturer of our unit gave up on them and switched to Dexter.
BarneyS
Explorer III
Apr 16, 2018
memtb wrote:
stew47 wrote:
She should talk with insurance agent also.

And a good attorney! Maybe with enough bad press these manufacturers will up there game as far as quality! We have “FAR” too many frame failures in the RV industry.
If the trucking industry had these types of failures....you could bet your “behind” that the DOT would be involved!

Keep in mind that any mention of legal action, past, present, or future, will get the thread either closed or deleted.

From forum rules:
Posts are not allowed in which a local, state, or federal consumer action board and/or legal counsel is/have been involved. This includes posts related to future, ongoing or past lawsuits.
Barney
memtb
Explorer
Apr 16, 2018
stew47 wrote:
She should talk with insurance agent also.

And a good attorney! Maybe with enough bad press these manufacturers will up there game as far as quality! We have “FAR” too many frame failures in the RV industry.
If the trucking industry had these types of failures....you could bet your “behind” that the DOT would be involved!
jbslade82
Explorer
Apr 16, 2018
tinner12002 wrote:
Does anyone know what part of IN she is broke down in??

Yes, 45 mins east of Indianapolis.

We plan to call around place this morning and figure out where to get the RV into. If anyone has recommendations please let us know!
tinner12002
Explorer
Apr 16, 2018
Does anyone know what part of IN she is broke down in??