Damaged Revolution - what to do?
Picked up our 5th from storage at the dealer last night. Had two service managers look at it after hitching because I historically had problems with the Reese Revolution being very hard to hitch/unhitch. They were not very knowledgeable about it, and asked me to bring it back so their 5th wheel guy could look at it. I left. There was more "clunking" than I had remembered - but this is still all pretty new to me. Drove the 15 miles, and did a tight 90 deg. back-in to the driveway. Unhitching, the Reese R16K hitch, even when fully open, would not release at all! After trying much back and forth, crawled into the bed of the pickup to see what was going on. Immediately saw that the "wedge" for the Revolution was severely bent and mangled. One of the two hitch jaws was jammed closed. Got a crowbar, and managed to pop it open. Then the truck would unhitch. Looking at the twisted metal, spotted the bolt put in the rear hole of the Revolution. Obviously, one of the dealers guys had put it in so they could move it around their yard with whatever conventional "hitch" they have on the tractor they use. Neither the guy who brought it out, nor the three who looked at it, including me, noticed the bolt used to prevent the Revolution from pivoting.
To me, the entire Revolution assembly has to be replaced. The whole pin box is bent to some extent.
My hitch may have to be replaced, will spend time later today to see if the jaws are sprung from the twisting forces. May not be able to tell, as I do not want to alter the situation much until the dealer has time to respond.
I'll call when they open, and demand they come and get it - I don't want the liability of pulling it with a mucked up pin box, even if I could get it apart and configured to hitch like a conventional pin.
What else needs serious inspection? Trailer frame? Truck bed?
Obviously the twisting forces it had to overcome in the turns were very high to bend things like it did.
Should I alert my insurance company, even though the fault was all the dealers? If the truck needs inspection, who does it - my choice of collision shop, or theirs? So many questions.....any advice is appreciated!
You can see that the right hitch jaw is still closed, here.
All that twisted metal should be laying flat on the underside of the pin box, and the box itself should be flat!
The offending bolt, and damage to the pivot point of the Revolution.
To me, the entire Revolution assembly has to be replaced. The whole pin box is bent to some extent.
My hitch may have to be replaced, will spend time later today to see if the jaws are sprung from the twisting forces. May not be able to tell, as I do not want to alter the situation much until the dealer has time to respond.
I'll call when they open, and demand they come and get it - I don't want the liability of pulling it with a mucked up pin box, even if I could get it apart and configured to hitch like a conventional pin.
What else needs serious inspection? Trailer frame? Truck bed?
Obviously the twisting forces it had to overcome in the turns were very high to bend things like it did.
Should I alert my insurance company, even though the fault was all the dealers? If the truck needs inspection, who does it - my choice of collision shop, or theirs? So many questions.....any advice is appreciated!
You can see that the right hitch jaw is still closed, here.
All that twisted metal should be laying flat on the underside of the pin box, and the box itself should be flat!
The offending bolt, and damage to the pivot point of the Revolution.
