The driver side rear leaf spring mounting bracket broke leaving the spring against the frame and allowing the 2 tires on that side to rub together. If it hadn’t been noticed almost immediately failure of the 2 tires would have resulted potentially causing loss of control of the vehicle and RV. When I spoke to a local suspension shop they stated that the problem was very common and that they made that type of repair on Lippert frames often. The RV has not been inspected. When I discovered the failure I made the repair before I contacted the manufacturer. I was unaware there were multiple instances of the issue. I was informed by multiple people that Lippert was either sending someone out to make repairs or they were making partial reimbursement for having repairs done. I only contacted the manufacturer after I discovered it was a common occurrence. There are no warning lights or displays for the RV tires or suspension. I do a walk around inspection prior to towing, checking tires and lights, making sure stairs, awnings and electrical connections are secure. I never noticed cracks in the brackets but once the entire thing broke loose it was evident that the inside portion had been broken for some time. There is an engineering defect in these mounting brackets in that there is nothing to stabilize them from lateral torsion when cornering with a heavy load. Lippert uses the same mounting brackets on their 8,000 pound RV’s as they do on their 16,000 pound RV’s. With as many failures that are occurring it’s obvious there needs to be some upgrades.
- NHTSA ID
- 11567190
- Incident
- Nov 19, 2023