CAUTION!!: Double Check Trailer Hitch - Page 2

bigben · 05-28-2016, 09:05 PM

Chance - your input is exactly the within spec failure i am concerned with. Working with Morryde to understand.

Dave, virtually every mile on my coach has been with a toad - 18,000 +

Most of you have read any number of my posts with positive experiences with my my Challenger. I know there is a fix for the current problem and I'll continue to update in the next few days.

In the interm, check your hitch.

JamieGeek · 05-29-2016, 05:09 PM

Yes Chance my hit is just a standard Reese 5k hitch (probably just like that).

When I inspected it on Friday I did not find any area's that looked suspect (even jumped up and down on it for good measure..it moved along with the camper).

Chance · 05-29-2016, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Yes Chance my hit is just a standard Reese 5k hitch (probably just like that).

When I inspected it on Friday I did not find any area's that looked suspect (even jumped up and down on it for good measure..it moved along with the camper).

Jamie, I was mostly curious about the length and hole centers because on the picture I can see the edge of the rectangular washer for the furthermost forward bolt, and they look rather close.

I measured my Class IV hitch and it is 15-inches along frame, with bolts spread over quite a distance. In looking at pictures of various Reese 5,000-pound hitches on WEB, including some for motorhomes, it seems some models have a short base along frame with bolts fairly close to each other. That just places more stress on frame extension and must therefore be considered as a contributing factor.

JamieGeek · 05-29-2016, 07:52 PM

Let me go take a bunch of pics....hang on....
Ok here are a bunch of pics:

Last one: camera didn't want to focus on the far side..I may crawl under there again and use manual focus.

Yes you can see the hitch is held on with 3 bolts each side fairly close together. The frame extension's bolts, however, are spaced apart quite a bit, and are not in a line either.

(Also note: My bumper is only held on by 3 bolts, 2 on one side, and 3 on the other--you can see in the 2nd and 3rd pictures the hole where the 4th bolt should go. I may have to go pick one up and put a bolt there! LOL Guess Thor ran short that day. In the last pic, its blurry but you can see the two bolts holding the bumper on there.)

B&DBruner · 05-29-2016, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigben

I want to make sure everyone knows why I've posted this. I believe this is such a safety issue and with the cause still being determined, fellow owners ought to visually check the hitch attachment.

bigben, thank you so much for this post. I am sure we have the same coach as ours is a 2015 Challenger 37TB. However, (unlike yourself) we are very new at this and actually only have 2500 miles on ours with no towing miles at all. But, I bought and set up a 2006 Liberty with Blue Ox and Break Buddy to pull later this year.

This is something I might have never thought to check that close but now, I certainly will. LOL--Actually, it gives me something else to worry about but will gladly do so. Regards

Chance · 05-29-2016, 08:52 PM

Jamie, yours being one of the earlier Axis/Vegas, does it have the 5,000-pound hitch rating?

It's possible that when Thor upgraded to 8,000-pound hitch that they may have redesigned the frame extension to make it stronger. And the hitch itself may be different also.

By the way, it looks like you bottomed out a couple of times. Nice to have that built-in protection.

JamieGeek · 05-29-2016, 09:40 PM

Yes only 5000 lb hitch

bigben · 05-29-2016, 10:48 PM

B&DBruner - your reaction is exactly why I've posted this. I've put all sorts of safety checks on my coach to be safe as possible - steering stabilizer, TPMS, pre-op/post op checklist, surge suppressors, etc. This is a new one that I'll add as a visual every time I pull my toad.

Gonna talk with Morryde again on Tuesday. I'll keep the forum updated.

Mousemate · 05-30-2016, 02:47 AM

I agree with chance on the frame extension bend......
This is a pic of my ace with a lipport 8000 pound hitch the bend is much larger.
I think this is ford frame rather than a extension.

B&DBruner · 05-30-2016, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigben

B&DBruner - your reaction is exactly why I've posted this. I've put all sorts of safety checks on my coach to be safe as possible - steering stabilizer, TPMS, pre-op/post op checklist, surge suppressors, etc. This is a new one that I'll add as a visual every time I pull my toad.

Gonna talk with Morryde again on Tuesday. I'll keep the forum updated.

I couldn't agree more about safety bigben as we had the built in surge protector installed before we took delivery. Two weeks after I had the Safety Plus steering stabilizer installed and I did the Super Steer track bar on the rear end. Those two items made a huge difference in the handling. Just wish I had known about this forum before our purchase as it has been much more informative than the dealer was for sure. LOL-They sure didn't tell me about the needed ad ons.

Chance · 05-30-2016, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigben

...cut...

Gonna talk with Morryde again on Tuesday. I'll keep the forum updated.

MORryde's and Thor's potential liability is so great that you should have little trouble getting what you need done. They should want to inspect and learn from your failure to prevent others in the future.

Obviously had your hitch broken clean off at speed, your toad along with safety chains would have gone off on its own. It's one thing to have poor equipment performance (batteries, slides, etc.), but failures that can lead to injuries and death usually get top priority. I'm looking forward to hearing their action plan.

Chance · 05-30-2016, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mousemate

...cut...

I think this is ford frame rather than a extension.

Everything else being equal, I would prefer a motorhome where the chassis is not altered to stretch the rear overhang, and especially to stretch the wheelbase. Unfortunately having a Ford chassis nose to tail must not be all that common. Most floorplans I've seen end up with one or the other stretched, and many times both. It's not that it can't be done right, it's just one more thing that "could" go wrong, like what happened with bigben's rig.

By the way, comparing Thor and Ford ACE specs it appears that the shorter ACE floorplans may use the entire Ford chassis frame from front to back. I'll take a look next time I'm at a show or at a Camping World. If I were looking for a motorhome that size, I would consider it an advantage.

rving2015 · 05-31-2016, 05:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigben

We spend lots of time traveling in our Challenger. Had a very serious problem come up after picking up our coach at Thor's Wakurusa Factory Service location.

I stopped to get fuel, walked behind my more coach to add fuel and my towbar was literally on the pavement at the forward portion of the hitch. Initially, I thought the Reese hitch had failed. Wrong. What happened was the frame where the hitch was attached had split on both sides.

Our hitch is rated at 5000 lbs. Our Ford Explorer's curb weight is 4600 lbs. Again though - it was NOT the hitch that failed - it was the coach frame chassis.

As of today, Thor has been very supportive in helping get the problem fixed. I found this problem on Tuesday, May 24. Since my initial phone call, I have talked with Thor, Morryde and Ford. Obviously, I am concerned with fixing the problem but just as concerned with WHY this happened. Poor design, weak chassis, other engineering related issues or is this a simple 1 off non-standard problem. Good news/bad news - Morryde has a fix for the problem but locally applied it is more than $1300 to apply. More good news/bad news. Morryde will apply the fix BUT I must travel back to Elkhard - 275 miles north of me.

The main reason for me posting this is to alert other owners with toads - CHECK YOUR HITCH AND FRAME!!!!

I will continue to update as I get more info.

Wow, I just came across your post bigben! I just got everything set to tow my 3700 lb wrangler in a couple weeks up to seattle for a 2000 mile round trip. Now I can't wait to get to my rv at storage and check out my hitch tomorrow. I know with 2016 thor they installed an 8000 lb hitch but never thought to check the connections.
A big thanks for the post and I look forward to hearing the findings.

bigben · 06-03-2016, 01:54 PM

Quick update;

Morryde has been working with me to repair my coach locally in a manner that will keep this from reoccurring. There are a number of good truck repair shops in Louisville and Morryde has offered to have one of these repair my coach. As soon as that is done, I will post pics of the repair and the probable cause.

So far, so good.

rving2015 · 06-03-2016, 02:49 PM

Hey Bigben,

I'm very curious if thor thinks this is an isolated issue or will it call for a recall being i have the 2016 version and after checking mine the structure looks the same minus any cracks. They also increased the hitch capacity to 8000 lbs. I hope Thor will send out a recall if they think necessary and not hold back hoping no one knows about what you posted.

Again...thanks for updating.

**EA37TS** · 06-03-2016, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rving2015

Hey Bigben,

I'm very curious if thor thinks this is an isolated issue or will it call for a recall being i have the 2016 version and after checking mine the structure looks the same minus any cracks. They also increased the hitch capacity to 8000 lbs. I hope Thor will send out a recall if they think necessary and not hold back hoping no one knows about what you posted.

Again...thanks for updating.

I would be interested in the same. I have a 2015 with 8K hitch and it is mounted the same as Raymond's.

bigben · 06-03-2016, 04:38 PM

I have not asked this specific question of either Thor or Morryde. In my discussions with them, I will ask specifically and relay that info.

For now, I'd visually inspect the installation frequently. The frame failure didn't happen all at once as evidenced by the rust on the crack.

Best I can say for now and as I said I will relay soonest the response.

rving2015 · 06-03-2016, 04:44 PM

That would be great if you can ask them and yes...thanks to this post you put out I will now double check each and every time my hitch connection under the rv before taking off on a trip and during.

bigben · 06-04-2016, 01:35 PM

We are on the mend from surgery but if we are able and Morryde agrees, I intend to go to Elkhart later this month to allow engineers to examine the frame failure and apply the fixes. This is almost a 600 mile round trip but would go a long ways to understanding this issue. The mend is a big ? mark at this point and we may simply run out of time. I'll keep the community updated.

bigben · 06-07-2016, 10:21 PM

Unfortunately, we will not be able to make the trip to Elkhart. But I was able to have a professional heavy trailer fabricator check the frame and hitch failure today. He has seen other failures similar to this but not on an RV. If the company does the repairs, they will be able to provide a more precise input as the get into the repair.

I was surprised that the hitch itself has been dinged up and will also need replacing.

We are pressing ahead and I'll provide more info as we progress.

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