How to avoid RV "Hitch Collapsing" frame failure - 2 tips from a tech!

Explained very well. That's why I have a dually. Very stable, no matter if I'm pulling my 8,000 lb travel trailer or my 18,500 lb 5th wheel.

5:51 I you stop in the middle of a Interstate Highway construction zone to drop your bars, and the commercial traffic on that road are going to make it worst that the broke trailer!

As someone who has yet to tow a TT, even I understood this. Well presented.

Excellent explanation. I think there are probably a few trailers that ARE built a little lighter than they should be, but it's not a widespread problem. I see way too many people with the "bigger is better" mindset buying 12k or 15k WD hitches for a 5k or 6k trailer.

Interesting video. We tow a small tear drop and our first tow vehicle was a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Great video, and auto leveling so whenever we hooked the trailer, the Jeep auto leveled to give us a even ride. Moved on to a Ford F150 and obviously sits a bit higher. No auto leveling but the Ford handles the tear drop without issue. We keep the tear drop tongue weight as light as possible and watch what we load into the bed of the truck. When loaded for a very long (months long trips) I see a very slight downward V angle between the truck and trailer. It's not enough for me to worry about, I don't think it's worth the money to invest in a new hitch, but I have thought about adding aftermarket air suspension on the truck to inflate maybe 10-20lbs to just give it a bit more lift.

back in the day, my grandfather got a weight distribution hitch from reese hitch, they told him the best way to use this was to, measure the rear bumper, hook up the trailer, measure the bumper in the same spot, then put enough tension on the bars that the bumper was two inches lower than the regular ride height, anything less than two inches there would be too much pressure on the hitch, they put many miles on their trailer with no problems, I watch these videos and the people hooking the hitch up are trying to get the truck to set level, and in my book it's asking for trouble, I used a distribution hitch when I was racing that was rated at 6000 pounds, and had no issues no matter what the angle, and my trailer and car was around 4-5000 pounds, and I would put all the success on the measuring of the bumper

Thanks for this video, made perfect sense. I’ll sure be paying attention to this going forward. Also the part about the hitch weight rating set my mind at ease. My dealer set me up with 10,000 pound weight distribution bars on my equalizer 4 hitch and my trailers Gvwr is 9,495 pounds. Everyone has been telling me I need atleast 14,000 pound bars! I know better now after watching this video👍

excellent info!!! of all i've watched, this info was never covered. I will pay more attention to severe dips, which can occur just getting into some gas station parking lots on the road. Thanks!!!

I ordered some long narrow square u bolts and mounted a 3' long piece of square tubing on the bottom of 2 v frame members, centered at the frame headwall.

Interesting. The dealer said I should remove our BlueOx WDH when backing up. But BlueOx themselves say not to. But you're saving the issue is the angle of the road itself, not whether you're backing up at all. Good video- I learned something.

Several issues coming into play here creating a "perfect storm" for a bad day: 1. Camper manufacturers using cheaper, lighter, thinner materials for their frames. 2. Truck manufacturers have been increasing the towing capacity of their light duty trucks for the past twenty years or so. A lot of this increased capacity is due to improvements in the transmission, not the suspension. 3. Consumers who are wanting more and more and more features in their campers, all of which add weight. Of those three, if I had to point to a main culprit, it would be the manufacturers using flimsy materials in their frames. Well, that and the quality of build. I've seen some welds on some of these campers that would make a buzzard puke. Monkeys with MIGS could probably weld a better frame.

B&W has a WD hitch. It is very easy to use and you can easily release the pressure if needed and restore pressure when required. I highly recommend it.

Very good video and easy to understand. I went with my brother-in-law to pick up his new fifth wheel and while he was being shown the operation of his new camper, I observed the dealer employees moving various campers around the lot. I was concerned when they were using a fork truck to move fifth wheels around in that they were making very sharp turns to get the camper aligned with other units. I noticed the wheels having been pushed sideways and steep angles as the camper was moved. I didn't think about the spring hangers and I beams being twisted and stressed. Thanks for the info.

Best video on this topic that I've seen in 3 years of watching RV videos!

Id love to hear your opinion on a BP conversion hitch. It converts a Bumper pull into a gooseneck. Bolts on to the frame just like a WDH

Frost Heaves. I towed an ~4500 lb. w/~500 lb tongue weight travel trailer up to Alaska from the California with a Transit Van, no weight distribution hitch. I'm so glad I did not (not manufacturer recommended anyway) because I'm pretty sure those heaves in the road would have done frame damage of some sort. Thanks for the great information! I'm really enjoying your channel!

how about a topic of, When to use verse not needing a Equalizer? Im going from 1/2 ton to 3/4 ton, I myself am torn on to use or not.

Awesome video brother.

I used to own an older Fireball 32' 1980s 5th wheel trailer. That trailer was like towing a small tank. The frame on that RV was never questioned. The newer 5ths are crap, I've been shopping again for over a year and gave up. I'm leaning towards a cargo trailer and converting it or even leaning towards a bus conversion

Thanks for all the great information…subscribed I have a question. I’m in the market for an Rv. I travel for my work. I’m looking for something comfortable and well built. I’m currently looking at the riverstone, for the insulation and robust frame, for a fifth wheel. Also looking at the outdoors 280 model travel trailer. My two options. Can you give any advice or opinions on these two brands. And yes, work takes me to extreme cold…I mean sometimes-40, to highs around 90. Thanks a lot in advance