I bought my Tiffin Open Trail in Nov. 2025. The vehicle pitched, rolled and swayed so badly it could be hard to control going over a speed bump. I decided to upgrade the suspension. I went to Owl Vans in Austin, Texas on March 9, 2026. I stayed a hotel while the work was performed. I received a phone call from Owl the night of March 9th, because they found the inside dually tire had been rubbing on the frame underneath the entire time, with tire failure immenint. This is a 12k pound vehicle. I contacted Tiffin who really seemed unconcerned. Owl provided me with a new tire and informed me that they were upfitting many (25) Open Trails by Tiffin and they had found the vehicle too heavy for the stock Mercedes 3500XD suspension. They informed Tiffin of their concerns. Because I upgraded the suspension significantly it resolved my issue. HOWEVER, I contacted friends who had recently purchased an Open Trail with stock suspension and shared my findings and concern. They had their Open Trail inspected and ALSO found the leaf springs flat and the rear tire rubbing with imminent failure expected. I spent $12k making my vehicle SAFE. If the tire would have blown at 70 mph, losing control of a 12k pound vehicle would have been catastrophic, not only me but anyone else near me. I travel extensively in my Open Trai and so do others.
- NHTSA ID
- 11739729
- Incident
- Mar 9, 2026