Thor Forums

[The Gritz Carlton]

Interestingly enough I had dinner with my attorney last night and discussed a number of issues. It just so happened he got involved with a death-related accident (entire family) a few years ago that was related to a motorhome towing a boat. Hitch broke, boat and trailer went through front of a small car...rest of the story you can figure out. The end result and culprit/blame was the use of a "drop down hitch" installed by MH owner. Drop hitch extension was 8" and it was claimed to have changed the dynamics of the original design of hitch which is designed to work against horizontal forces. The use of the drop down changed this range of force to an arc or fulcrum, thus weakening the metal over time and resulting in the failure. It was stated that most certified hitches are designed to withstand a minimum 140% of rated capacity. The 8" drop down extension actually reduced the original capacity to less than 65%. This isn't my opinion. This is what came out of a 4 month legal action that resulted in the MH owner having his life changed forever and $2.5M settlement to the estate of the deceased. Whatever you do to your hitch...have your system inspected with your modifications/drop downs/etc., in-place before hitting the road.