Possible frame rail, hitch receiver issue..
..Was under the Motorhome a few weeks ago, looking at some things, and noticed at the back, where the hitch receiver bolts to the frame, that the frame rails seem to have bent, twisted slightly. I know a discussion like this is worthless without pictures, so I snapped a few pictures, and uploaded them. Here are some pictures of it (hope this works):
..Facing toward the back of RV, driver side frame rail (this one isn't as bad):
..passenger side frame rail:
First off, a few clarifications, to prevent unnecessary 'ranting' posts, or other unnecessary discussion:
Motorhome is a 2012 Georgetown (see signature), built of course, on the Ford V10 F53 chassis. Have owned since brand new, it handles, drives great, same as it did the day we first bought it (have around 15k miles on it now). Have had zero chassis issues, only minor stuff with the coach, that they all have from time to time.
We have towed just two different vehicles with it - Most of the time (and presently), a Ford Fusion, and briefly before that, a Kia Sedona van. Both were towed 4 down (van was towed very briefly at first with a dolly), and both were well under the 5k limit of the hitch receiver. Neither did either bring us even remotely close to the 26k GCWR limit of the Motohrhome. At last weigh-in, Motorhome even fully loaded was a good 1,000 lbs under its 20,500 lb GVWR. Also, a supplemental braking system (Readybrake) was/is always used with both.
After seeing this, I examined the hitch receiver very closely. It is NOT at all unlevel, and seems rock solid. The hitch receiver itself is not what has bent. I have no problem towing with it, and will continue to.
Now, for some questions I have:
Does this look like something I should even be concerned about, something that needs addressing somehow? Or, is this typical, and I just need to not worry about it and move on?
If this is something that needs to be addressed, I'm guessing it'd need to be done by a truck frame shop that can handle welding, etc. Can anyone recommend a good place that could handle such work, around Charlottee, NC area?
Has anyone else seen anything like this, with an F53 chassis Motorhome?
..Facing toward the back of RV, driver side frame rail (this one isn't as bad):
..passenger side frame rail:
First off, a few clarifications, to prevent unnecessary 'ranting' posts, or other unnecessary discussion:
Motorhome is a 2012 Georgetown (see signature), built of course, on the Ford V10 F53 chassis. Have owned since brand new, it handles, drives great, same as it did the day we first bought it (have around 15k miles on it now). Have had zero chassis issues, only minor stuff with the coach, that they all have from time to time.
We have towed just two different vehicles with it - Most of the time (and presently), a Ford Fusion, and briefly before that, a Kia Sedona van. Both were towed 4 down (van was towed very briefly at first with a dolly), and both were well under the 5k limit of the hitch receiver. Neither did either bring us even remotely close to the 26k GCWR limit of the Motohrhome. At last weigh-in, Motorhome even fully loaded was a good 1,000 lbs under its 20,500 lb GVWR. Also, a supplemental braking system (Readybrake) was/is always used with both.
After seeing this, I examined the hitch receiver very closely. It is NOT at all unlevel, and seems rock solid. The hitch receiver itself is not what has bent. I have no problem towing with it, and will continue to.
Now, for some questions I have:
Does this look like something I should even be concerned about, something that needs addressing somehow? Or, is this typical, and I just need to not worry about it and move on?
If this is something that needs to be addressed, I'm guessing it'd need to be done by a truck frame shop that can handle welding, etc. Can anyone recommend a good place that could handle such work, around Charlottee, NC area?
Has anyone else seen anything like this, with an F53 chassis Motorhome?
