Another towing thread

[Willwork4truck]

Wen to close on the camper yesterday and do final walkthrough, found the frame cracked on both sides. One side they did an improper repair on. Have another one in our sights that is about 700 lbs lighter.

Gotta inspect stuff, good for you that you found it. Most don't.
Poor assembly, "frame flex" cracks especially in big 5th wheels is getting bad.

 

[Gren71]

while your going down the towing rabbit hole..if you find you dint like the ride or like you squat too much loaded..give cargomaxx hd springs a look. theyll help a LOT with heavier tongues on TTs

and x2 on great catch with that frame crack. last TT i got i brought my automotive creeper and rolled around the under side a bunch

 

[ikreider]

Come to find out there is a class action lawsuit against, lippert, who manufactures the frames and they have repair guidelines out for affected units.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2011/RCRIT-11V486-1111.pdf

 

[ikreider]

Unfortunately it seems like this is inevitable as lippert manufactures a majority of frames for TTs. My question now is should I be avoiding any TT with a lippert frame?

 

[Gren71]

Unfortunately it seems like this is inevitable as lippert manufactures a majority of frames for TTs. My question now is should I be avoiding any TT with a lippert frame?

i dont think so..that would be like saying youd avoid every vehicle made by FCA after they had a huge airbag recall. I would ensure that anything you buy is in good order at the time of purchase, you have a warranty if possible, its registered with the manufacturer if thats an option, you followed scheduled maintenance suggested by the manufacturer, and be fastidious about the upkeep of the TT. Id also be sure that frame damage is covered by your insurance company..and under what circumstances it is and isnt.

you can do a little googlein' on how frames get damaged and after watching a few videos, and getting over the knee jerk reaction of they all break, youll start to see the common factors in frame damage and know to avoid them. for instance When I am in a campe ground I try to walk a good portion of the route to my site before driving it. If there is a substantial change in grade I will unhook my WDH to avoid it putting extra strain on the A frame when possible. Does it help...who knows. But I certainly feel like it does haha

 

[ikreider]

i dont think so..that would be like saying youd avoid every vehicle made by FCA after they had a huge airbag recall. I would ensure that anything you buy is in good order at the time of purchase, you have a warranty if possible, its registered with the manufacturer if thats an option, you followed scheduled maintenance suggested by the manufacturer, and be fastidious about the upkeep of the TT. Id also be sure that frame damage is covered by your insurance company..and under what circumstances it is and isnt.

you can do a little googlein' on how frames get damaged and after watching a few videos, and getting over the knee jerk reaction of they all break, youll start to see the common factors in frame damage and know to avoid them. for instance When I am in a campe ground I try to walk a good portion of the route to my site before driving it. If there is a substantial change in grade I will unhook my WDH to avoid it putting extra strain on the A frame when possible. Does it help...who knows. But I certainly feel like it does haha

Great input, thanks for the time put in to your responses.

 

[ikreider]

maybe I just find another dealer to go through, it does not sit well with me that first this tt had 5 year old tires on it and I had to fight to get new ones added before I purchased. They did not disclose the frame damage they found and improperly repaired on the drivers side, surely they seen this crack on the passenger side as they put new tires on and it’s directly above the rear axle tire. My thought is they hoped we didn’t notice it and just pulled it out as is. It does not sit well with me, I just hate to go through the credit application portion again with a different dealer.

I will say the new one we are eyeing is a 2024 and very clean (I checked the frame already) so there’s that part…

 

[Gren71]

maybe I just find another dealer to go through, it does not sit well with me that first this tt had 5 year old tires on it and I had to fight to get new ones added before I purchased. They did not disclose the frame damage they found and improperly repaired on the drivers side, surely they seen this crack on the passenger side as they put new tires on and it’s directly above the rear axle tire. My thought is they hoped we didn’t notice it and just pulled it out as is. It does not sit well with me, I just hate to go through the credit application portion again with a different dealer.

I will say the new one we are eyeing is a 2024 and very clean (I checked the frame already) so there’s that part…

Cast a wide net and be willing to travel! Abuse the disreputable / dishonest dealers for their on site models and information to get the info you want. Then look elsewhere and try to work a deal on what you now KNOW you want, at a price your willing to pay. Then travel to get it and bring it home. Some dealers will be very willing to either sell you a WDH along with the TT, or install one you bring and ensure its set up properly for your new TT + truck before you leave their lot. When my wife and I were looking we enjoyed making up fake names and back stories just to drag them along knowing full well we werent going to buy from the less desirable folks. Ethical or not it was entertaining

 

[ikreider]

Love that idea, for what it’s worth they agreed to provide and install a WDH for my truck supposedly a value of $950, even though I’m sure it is tucked into the financing somewhere.

They did offer 3 units that fit our criteria and the general manager says to make it right he will honor the price of the original if we wanted one of those, we chose a 2024 Cherokee grey wolf 26dbh. Which is about 10-14k more than our original tt we were looking at. So if no tricks and he truly gives us the tt for 21k I think I may do it as long as all the terms are the same. Although I have a feeling he is going to try and stretch the terms out to 20-30 years to get the payment where it was originally. Attached is a photo of the 2024 which sells for 28-34k from online searches.

 

[Gren71]

Love that idea, for what it’s worth they agreed to provide and install a WDH for my truck supposedly a value of $950, even though I’m sure it is tucked into the financing somewhere.

They did offer 3 units that fit our criteria and the general manager says to make it right he will honor the price of the original if we wanted one of those, we chose a 2024 Cherokee grey wolf 26dbh. Which is about 10-14k more than our original tt we were looking at. So if no tricks and he truly gives us the tt for 21k I think I may do it as long as all the terms are the same. Although I have a feeling he is going to try and stretch the terms out to 20-30 years to get the payment where it was originally. Attached is a photo of the 2024 which sells for 28-34k from online searches.

grey wolfs are awesome, really every forest river product is IMO. My only complaint about them is the blue lights...which I get dont attract bugs. But theyre unpleasant on the eyes at night to me. Check out this one, its has a ligher tongue and is VERY similar in design.

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/campsite-reserve/26CJ/10950

 

[ikreider]

Landed on the 2024 grey wolf 26dbh, about 600 pounds lighter than our original choice. I Think we got a great deal at $22k. We bring it home Monday.