Help!!! Frame broke

[ERnurse16]

My husband and I were hauling our trailer. It was loaded with water but not overloaded. As we were slowing to turn, the actual welds on the trailer broke,slamming the front end into the highway. Now the company is saying we were overloaded because we had water in the tank. If we didn't have extra weight from other supplies, what are the chances that we were overloaded? Shouldn't we have been able to haul water? Just looking for thoughts. The trailer is a 2017 and is just out of warranty.

Thanks

[Hannibal]

What model truck are you towing it with? And what model hitch? Too much truck will stress a lightweight trailer’s A frame to the point it will break. WD puts a lot of stress on it as well. Something will give. Especially if traveling on buckboard concrete highways and the like.
We can blame Lippert, but the RV manufacturer specifies the chassis they buy from Lippert for each model trailer. Cheaper is better.

[BillyBob_Jim]

troubledwaters wrote:

ERnurse16 wrote:
Getting it weighed now is a moot point as we can't even move it since the frame is broke and it had to be hauled on a flat bed just to get it away from the accident scene. As I mentioned, we only had a few kitchen supplies in the camper as we were only going for a weekend trip. The remaining supplies were in our tow vehicle.

So if I opened up all the cupboards, pass through storage, underbed storage, closets, etc. in your camper - the only thing i would find is " a few kitchen supplies"; the rest would be empty. BulllShiiit.

You sound like a Lippert rep lol.

[troubledwaters]

ERnurse16 wrote:
Getting it weighed now is a moot point as we can't even move it since the frame is broke and it had to be hauled on a flat bed just to get it away from the accident scene. As I mentioned, we only had a few kitchen supplies in the camper as we were only going for a weekend trip. The remaining supplies were in our tow vehicle.

So if I opened up all the cupboards, pass through storage, underbed storage, closets, etc. in your camper - the only thing i would find is " a few kitchen supplies"; the rest would be empty. BulllShiiit.

[stew47]

File the insurance claim and let your insurance company go after trailer manufacturer and Lippert through the subrogation process.

[ppine]

This is very disappointing and seems like a disaster.
The good news is that a competent welder can make the frame much stronger than it ever was coming from the factory.

[SidecarFlip]

You are way off in your statement that with an almost full FW tank, it weighed 250 pounds. Water weighs just under 8.5 pounds per gallon. You had about 400 pounds of water on board, not 250. Hopefully, your other estimated weights were closer...

Don't think so though. People tend to overload commonly. I believe you were oveloaded and if that proves out, you haven't a leg to stand on poor frame construction or not.

Lippert did (a while back) release a warning about running with a full FW tank or a BW tank due to them 'falling out' of their cradles because the cradles aren't stout enough to carry them full. In as much as you didn't suffer a 'tank drop' but instead broke the frame at the front, I suspect you were grossly overloaded.

[301TBS]

I had a similar experience. The sticker weight on the trailer was out by 400lbs. That reduced my payload a significant amount.
I would think the frame should be able to handle a full water tank, but nothing surprises me on rv construction anymore.
Good luck getting things sorted out.

[GrandpaKip]

Very sorry to hear of your mishap and can certainly understand your frustration. Hope it gets sorted out to your satisfaction.

In general:
If you never have had your camper weighed, then you have no idea what your weight situation is.
My camper had a 3600# dry weight, 3820# factory weight, and was almost 4200# empty when I stopped at a CAT scale on the way home from picking it up. We run right at 5000# when camping. Max of our camper is 6000#.

[Jebby14]

here you go

[ERnurse16]

Okay.....anyone know how I add pictures to this conversation? I've tried figuring out and am not having any luck 😮

[afidel]

dodge guy wrote:

opnspaces wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:
I figure our everyday camping gear with food and water exceeds 1,500.

1'500, that's a lot of gear. Once on a whim I took everything out of my trailer and weighed each item one by one (well I measured the utensils as a complete drawer etc) for a total of 263 pounds. So I can see where the OP truly didn't have that much stuff in the trailer.

valhalla360 wrote:
I would be very careful about getting the rig weighed if you don't have to...if everyone is in a pissing match and it shows up over the GVWR, both insurance and manufacture could point to that say it was all your fault.

Getting it weighed is probably a moot point now. But I would still get it weighed so I know what's going on. If for some reason the scale says you are overloaded then throw the scale ticket away and move on.

I always say to add 1200-1500 lbs to the dry weight because you will add more than what you think. Your 263lbs sounds awfully low!

Completely off topic but what do you people carry that's so heavy? I was loaded for 5 people for 3 weeks and was under my 600# carrying capacity. I had a full fridge, full pantry, all my kitchen gear, and clothes and outdoor equipment for 3 weeks in temps from 28 to 110, plus my toolbox because we were going to be in some of the remotest country in the US. I did not have anything in the tanks so I can see being at 1200# if you're including large tanks that are full.

[ERnurse16]

Getting it weighed now is a moot point as we can't even move it since the frame is broke and it had to be hauled on a flat bed just to get it away from the accident scene. As I mentioned, we only had a few kitchen supplies in the camper as we were only going for a weekend trip. The remaining supplies were in our tow vehicle.

[dodge_guy]

opnspaces wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:
I figure our everyday camping gear with food and water exceeds 1,500.

1'500, that's a lot of gear. Once on a whim I took everything out of my trailer and weighed each item one by one (well I measured the utensils as a complete drawer etc) for a total of 263 pounds. So I can see where the OP truly didn't have that much stuff in the trailer.

valhalla360 wrote:
I would be very careful about getting the rig weighed if you don't have to...if everyone is in a pissing match and it shows up over the GVWR, both insurance and manufacture could point to that say it was all your fault.

Getting it weighed is probably a moot point now. But I would still get it weighed so I know what's going on. If for some reason the scale says you are overloaded then throw the scale ticket away and move on.

I always say to add 1200-1500 lbs to the dry weight because you will add more than what you think. Your 263lbs sounds awfully low!

[Lantley]

"Getting it weighed is probably a moot point now. But I would still get it weighed so I know what's going on. If for some reason the scale says you are overloaded then throw the scale ticket away and move on."

Agreed without a weight ticket the how does the OP know if they were overloaded or not? Knowing the weight vs. guessing the weight lets the OP know where they stand!

[opnspaces]

beemerphile1 wrote:
I figure our everyday camping gear with food and water exceeds 1,500.

1'500, that's a lot of gear. Once on a whim I took everything out of my trailer and weighed each item one by one (well I measured the utensils as a complete drawer etc) for a total of 263 pounds. So I can see where the OP truly didn't have that much stuff in the trailer.

valhalla360 wrote:
I would be very careful about getting the rig weighed if you don't have to...if everyone is in a pissing match and it shows up over the GVWR, both insurance and manufacture could point to that say it was all your fault.

Getting it weighed is probably a moot point now. But I would still get it weighed so I know what's going on. If for some reason the scale says you are overloaded then throw the scale ticket away and move on.