RV Fifth Wheel Frame Cracked!

Have you inspected your visible frame lately?

That's insane! Looks like it was just one trip away from catastrophic failure.

I had a 2004 cougar 5th wheel and my frame, (not the welds) holding the pin box also splits on both sides and fell on the bed of the truck and started pulling a part from the rest of the rig while I was driving on HY 80 by Fremont Ca. Insurance totaled the Rig. Thanks Don

I've seen this many times before and before you go blaming Forest River, I want to point out that the RV owner has probably been overloading his front end or front basement. This is a common mistake the RV owners make. They load their basement with too much weight. Or they're bedroom with too much weight. And it you don't have an airbag hitch, the 5th-wheel front end takes all the impact when you go over bridges or hit potholes. This can happen on any brand of fifth wheel. It's important to have your rig weighed before you take off on a long trip. After a couple of weighings, you'll get a pretty good idea of what you can carry, and what you can't. Our rig is heavier on the left side and puts undue pressure on our left rear tire. The left side has the queen-sized bed, shower, and bathroom sink, and the kitchen solid surface countertop, stove, fridge, entertainment center, and fireplace. Plus two slide-outs. I keep an eye on the tire pressure and heat on the left wheels more than our right side.

This is why I will never buy a 5th wheel. I’ve seen a few YouTube vids of problems with frames in this general area.

This is a common happening, amateur YouTubers stating facts without either knowing what caused the damage and then giving the name of the brand when it has nothing to do with the brand yet they're ridiculing the brand, and doing damage to the brand when all along it's the RV owner overloading his fifth-wheel in the front basement that caused this damage. Having RV'd for 17 years, I've seen this happen before and it happens to any brand that is not used properly. Too many people go out and buy an RV and don't take the time to learn the dos and don'ts of using them.

i am a carpenter, and even i can see that is a crap construction. all the weight and shocks when riding on that beam.😮

Where are you located, address?

let the germans have a look on that. europian rv is far better built quality.