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10-04-2024, 09:09 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Black Diamond, WA.
Posts: 8
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What caused this...........
A fellow RVer posted this picture of his trailer hitch. It was on a 2022 Entegra Vision 36C, I think. What are some thoughts on a possible causes?
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10-04-2024, 09:44 AM
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#2
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Community Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 7,199
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What did the fellow RVer say about his hitch rating is, whether using a hitch extension, failure possible cause AND what was the hitch was used for and weight or tongue weight? Looks like the frame bolt fastener failed. Possible causes include: exceeded hitch capacity, especially with a hitch extension, which de-rates hitch capacity, faulty hitch installation, hazardous road conditions, etc. IMO.
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2022 Jayco Pinnacle 36SSWS / 2024 Ford F-350 XLT DRW 4x4 6.7L diesel crew cab long bed
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10-04-2024, 10:25 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2024
Posts: 1,614
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Overloaded, either total weight, or tongue weight, rough roads, poor workmanship or materials in the hitch. Or possibly nothing more than a lot of miles fully loaded. Actually, some closer pictures of the break from all both angles on each side might point to a much better explanation than our guesses. Steel failure analysis is very good science.
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10-04-2024, 10:43 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 27,919
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Lack of penetration in the welds .........defective mfg'n
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Dodge 3500 w/Tractor Motor
US NAVY---USS Decatur DDG-31
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10-04-2024, 11:08 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 36,552
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Overloaded. Look at the flange where it started to bend near the bolt before the corner failed.
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10-04-2024, 11:14 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Kelowna, B.C. Canada
Posts: 3,578
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What they said; unfortunately all too common as people seldom understand the effect of an extension on a receiver. When you have a static load hung several feet back from the hitch bouncing up and down due to poor road conditions/frost heaves/etc. this kind of failure is what can happen.
Dave
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2022 Outdoors RV 25RDS, 2022 F350 dually, 6.7PSD, 10 spd, 3.55's
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10-04-2024, 11:26 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Powell River, B.C.
Posts: 33,789
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Need to know " The rest of the story "
What was attached to the hitch ?
How heavy was it ?
Frame shows signs of bending the lower flange .
This didn't happen from flat towing a Mini Cooper .
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99DSDP 3884, Freightliner, XC, CAT 3126B, 300 HP /ALLISON 3060
2000 Caravan toad, Remco & Blue Ox.
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10-04-2024, 11:32 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Freightliner Owners Club Retired Fire Service RVer's
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Kansas
Posts: 116
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Looking at the picture it looks like it had been cracked towards the back for a little while. It is showing rust then there is shiny metal towards the front of the break. It didn't all happen at once.
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1994 Freightliner FL60 8.3 Cummins - Allison MD3060
1999 King Of The Road Marquis II M35KS
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10-04-2024, 11:36 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Rigby, Idaho
Posts: 4,118
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Big long extension and alota tongue weight?
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TonyMac
2006 Monaco Safari Cheetah 40PMT
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10-04-2024, 11:52 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: On the continental divide
Posts: 3,109
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X2 to what Dave said. When you have a 500# load at 1' it becomes a 1000# load at 2'. Now add F=MA and you get a whole lot more load when bouncing.
That must have been one heck of a load bouncing down the road.
The end plates on a hitch are usually 3/16 or 1/4 inch hot rolled mild steel bent 90 degrees to bolt to the frame. If the bend is too tight the steel will have micro cracks all thru the bend radius. Put a load like that (exactly in the wrong direction) on the bend and eventually one of those cracks will propagate / tear. That's what happened here, the metal just tore down one of those micro cracks.
Being that his hitch is mounted so close to the frame, the only remedy I see a person could do is to weld a triangular gusset or cap plate at the ends of the side plate, but who would think to do that. Only a retired engineer.
Pity us poor Pace Arrow owners who have hitches hanging down a foot and attached to a skinny pair of angle iron frame extenders with 5 huck nuts on each side. I fixed mine with a pair of 2 x 2 x 1/4" angle iron struts and grd 8 bolts, and I now tow 8K# with confidence. But I DO MIND my tongue weight.
Mike in Colorado
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2004 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 37c, 8.1 gasser, (Jezebel) Ultra RV ECM / TCM, plugs wires, and rear track bar, PPE deep Tx pan w/ temp gage, Bilstein's, Sailun's & Sumo's all round, pushed by a 2002 Grand Caravan, on a Master Tow Dolly OR a WR-250 on a rail.
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10-04-2024, 12:32 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2024
Posts: 1,614
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Quote:
Originally Posted by L-M-L
Looking at the picture it looks like it had been cracked towards the back for a little while. It is showing rust then there is shiny metal towards the front of the break. It didn't all happen at once.
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exactly, I can't quite see the whole story, but it looks like it would be vulnerable to rocking side to side, fatiguing the cracks in the corner and progressing over time, a careful inspection could have found the cracks well before failure. I wonder if a four down pickup fishtailing would rock that in relatively few miles? or just a fully loaded trailer and typical sway.
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10-04-2024, 12:51 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: MI
Posts: 2,402
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Not enough radius on the brake die that formed the two parts. That pinches the metal when it's bent making a weak line to tear along instead of a smooth bend that that is full metal thickness.
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10-04-2024, 01:03 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Southern Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,142
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Any evidence of the trailer hitch assembly grinding out from hitting the ground…..maybe even more than once?
Check the underside of the entire underside of the mount.
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kenandterry
2018 Sunseeker 2430S-CD carried by a 2017 Ford E450
Bye 2010 Georgetown 330TS after 10 terrific years, as we downsize for the next phase.
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10-04-2024, 04:21 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 793
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Ultimately (pun intended) too much bending moment on the hitch. The direction of the failure makes you think it is from an extension, too much tongue wt, or a very large impact from the rear. Welds, bends, and initial flaws would all be contributing factors.
I could see a 700lb motorcycle, on a lift, cantilevered 3 ft off back causing a failure like that over time. As long as we are guessing.
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Tom
2017 RAM 1500 4x4 5.7 HEMI
2015 PCW ECON 18RBS
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