The axle hanger weld on the passengers side of the 5th-wheel broke and the axle shifted forward in which the tires rubbed together while doing driving on the highway. Luckily we stopped to get gas when this was noticed. If we had not stopped for gas the situation could have been very bad up to and including death. We have pictures and still have the part if inspection is requested. We were in the middle of nowhere TX and stayed overnight at an RV park near next door to the gas station. The next day we spent 2 hours contacting mobile RV companies and welders to come look at and fix the damage. The damage was looked at by TW welding and construction as they were the only company available to come look at and fix this so we could get back on the road so we could get home to CO. There was no warning lamps or messages as this is a 5th-wheel. Looking this up it appears that there have been several recalls on this particular part in the past and when calling Keystone, Dexter Axle and Lippert they stated they knew of this part failing before but our unit was not included in the recall. This issue has been fixed on newer models (my parents have a 2021) and the hangers are reinforced. No one wants to own this yet it is a known problem.
- NHTSA ID
- 11465523
- Incident
- Mar 23, 2022