Forum Discussion

24tucson's avatar
24tucson
Explorer
Sep 02, 2015

Lippert Frame Failures

I have a 37 ft 2005 Keystone Copper Canyon Sprinter. The part of the trailer frame that the pin box bolts to is breaking away from the rest of the trailer frame. The frame is manufactured by Lippert. We noticed a buckle in the floor of the end cap wardrobe closet after returning home from a trip. In looking for the source of the problem, I shined a light up into the area where the pin box is attached to the frame and saw that 4 welds, each about 4 inches long, were broken. Obviously a very serious problem. I searched the forum for similar incidences of this occurring. I was hoping to find some information on what other 5er owners did to address the problem.

What I found, much to my dismay, is bickering among posters about the possible cause, bumpy highways, etc, etc. The real cause is poor design, engineering and/or workmanship.

This is a major safety hazard! In searching various forums, I found bits and pieces of information but it's difficult to pull all the info together. I believe this problem may be larger than meets the eye. How many people shine a light up into the pin box area (if you can even get at it) and inspect the welds?

Anybody got any suggestions?

74 Replies

  • 24tucson,several years ago there was a place in the Dallas,Tx area that fixed that problem for less then 1K dollars.I went through basically the same thing but my RV manufacturer fixed it for me.I pulled it to Elkart to their factory and let them do the repairs under warranty.While it was in the shop they fixed anything else we wern't happy with.
    You might give Lippert a call and see what they suggest as a starter.
  • Did you purchase new or used? Reason I ask is some of the problems are caused by using goose neck hitches i.e. adapters instead of a 5er hitch. See it a lot more rural where owners have both a 5er and goose neck horse or stock trailer. I'm not saying that was the cause of your problem but you may want to search in that area of the forum for info. If you bought used could be PO used a goose neck adapter.