Broken trailer tongue

[backspinnn]

Last weekend I packed up my 2001 Coleman Santa Fe and left bright and early to go camping with the wife in Oklahoma.  About 5 miles down the road, I hear a big pop and thought I blew a tire.  I pulled over quickly and realized that the lower welds on the tongue had snapped.  The top was still holding, so I decided to limp to a welding shop up the road a mile.  It was closed on Good Friday morning....

I creeped back toward my house and heard another pop, so I pulled into a gas station and bang!!!  It completely broke off.  I had to get a tow truck to come get the PUP.  I am very surprised at the shoddy quality of the welds and how few welds that there are down there.  The welder must have been an amateur from the looks of the big glob of junk under the hitch.  There are only four small places holding the hitch on....2 on top, 2 on the bottom.

This could have been a really bad situation if it went all at once, but luckily it did not.  Now I guess I will have to get a portable welder to come fix me up.  This is the second thing to break off the camper so far, the first was the battery box with a brand new battery.  I do not live in a salty or wet area, so corrosion should be pretty minimal.

I doubt the warranty covers second owners on this type of thing.

Use safety chains and take a look at your hitch sometime.

[Tim5055]

The first thing that comes to mind is that I'm glad you and your family are safe.

Now, the second thing that comes to my mind is that does not appear to be a stock tongue from a 2001 Santa Fe.  Having owned one previously, I am very familiar on how they are set up.  If you look at my Servicing a Coleman Tongue Jack Web Page the top picture is the tongue jack area of the A frame.  In your photo the tongue obviously has a hole in it for a center mount tongue jack.  Any posibility that the previous owner "upgraded" the tongue to accept the newer style jack?  That may account for the poor welds.  A;sp if you look at the photo on my Break Away Switch web page  you will see that the triangle of steel at the front is solid on a stock 2001 Santa Fe (i.e. no round hole).

The swing away jack was standard on the 2001 model year.  I didn't think FFT put a center mount on the tongue of a folding trailer until they introduced the Highlander series (I'm not counting the FFT Caravans in this).

[backspinnn]

Unless they replaced everything on the tongue, the tongue that is on it looks like it is the one that came with the trailer.  I can't really see any evidence that it was ever welded, but the one time.  There aren't any scratches or grinded areas on there anywhere indicating any custom work.

[AustinBoston]

Unless they replaced everything on the tongue, the tongue that is on it looks like it is the one that came with the trailer.  I can't really see any evidence that it was ever welded, but the one time.  There aren't any scratches or grinded areas on there anywhere indicating any custom work.

I am strongly inclined to agree with Tim;  I would not have expected that type of failre, not only from Fleetwood (the strongest frames in the industry and maker of your trailer), but from any name brand manufacturer.  It's a type of failure I have never heard of before.

It's hard to tell, but from the picture, it looks like the tongue frame members may be square.  If so, that is probably also not stock.  Coleman/Fleetwood tongues are made from a closed box beam about 1-3/4 x 3-1/2 inches.

Austin

[tlhdoc]

The frame does look square and that isn't stock on the Fleetwood trailer.  I wonder why someone would have replaced the tongue.:confused:

[backspinnn]

The frame only looks square, because the picture is taken from above.  It is the rectangular stock that is standard on FFTs.  This is the stock hitch that came on the trailer.  I called the original owner who purchased the PUP new in Washington state and they never had anything done to it.  There is no way someone could have replaced that hitch without leaving the usual welding rework signs.  On wood you can hide stuff easily, but steel is not easy without major effort.

[SkipP]

The frame only looks square, because the picture is taken from above. It is the rectangular stock that is standard on FFTs. This is the stock hitch that came on the trailer. I called the original owner who purchased the PUP new in Washington state and they never had anything done to it. There is no way someone could have replaced that hitch without leaving the usual welding rework signs. On wood you can hide stuff easily, but steel is not easy without major effort.

I agree....thats a pathetic looking weld job! It's also a very good thing the chain tabs are located where they are too. Wow, bet that was pretty scary. Like Tim, I'm a little surprised to see this type of hitch on a Coleman/Fleetwood pop-up too. It's not the one normally installed. Perhaps the factory didn't have the stock hitch and the welder wasn't familiar with this type....that doesn't absolve the poor weld job though. I'd be inclined to share these pics with Fleetwood...warranty or not...just in case there was some type of recall.
 
Hate that it screwed up your camping trip too!

[AustinBoston]

I'd be inclined to share these pics with Fleetwood...warranty or not...just in case there was some type of recall.

I would also show these pics to Fleetwood.  The last thing in the world they would want is a lawsuit because someone got hurt when something like this came apart.

Austin

[wavery]

I am SO glad that you posted these pictures.

We have a 2002 Coleman. When I saw these pictures, I ran down and looked at the welding job on my trailer. I must say that it is better than the job on your trailer but I am going to drill through my tongue & frame and through bolt it with 3/8" grade 8 bolts and double nut them, as a back-up.

I also think that your trailer tongue is a modification. You have exactly the same, swing away jack on the side of your trailer frame that I have. Your tongue is designed for a center mounted jack. It just doesn't make sense that it would have both set-ups on the same trailer. I may be wrong but it sure looks odd and those welds are extremely amateurish. I can't believe that ANY manufacturer would let weld like those go.

[brainpause]

If you can verify with the original owner (on paper), which you already have, and also tell the manufacturer that you can find no evidence (from yourself or previous owners) that they have modified the tongue in any way, they might be able to trace the date of manufacture to employees' records and see if they know that someone at that time was doing shoddy work.

Or, it might not matter. They should fix this, as a goodwill gesture, IMHO, as long as it can be proven with a preponderance of evidence (75% surety) that it came from the factory that way.

My humble opinion.

Larry

[SkipP]

Another possibility that came to mind. Perhaps the camper tongue was damaged at the dealer and (poorly) repaired. That would account for the uncommon hitch, the original owner not having done anything and, finally, the confusion seen here. I do hope you seek Fleetwood's opinion on this matter.

[wavery]

If you can verify with the original owner (on paper), which you already have, and also tell the manufacturer that you can find no evidence (from yourself or previous owners) that they have modified the tongue in any way, they might be able to trace the date of manufacture to employees' records and see if they know that someone at that time was doing shoddy work.

Or, it might not matter. They should fix this, as a goodwill gesture, IMHO, as long as it can be proven with a preponderance of evidence (75% surety) that it came from the factory that way.

My humble opinion.

Larry

I couldn't agree more. Someone needs to take responsibility for that mess. A lot of damage could have been caused, had you not been as aware as you were. There may be other trailers, just like yours, out there and that would be a real hazard.

One other thing that I noticed. You said that there is no evidence of it being previously welded. I'm not so sure about that. I'm pretty sure that those frames are completely painted before that tongue is welded on. That's an awful lot of rust under there and it may indicate that it had been ground off, sanded, welded, then painted. Welds can easily be ground off to the point that you can't tell that it was ever there.

[brainpause]

One other thing that I noticed. You said that there is no evidence of it being previously welded. I'm not so sure about that. I'm pretty sure that those frames are completely painted before that tongue is welded on. That's an awful lot of rust under there and it may indicate that it had been ground off, sanded, welded, then painted. Welds can easily be ground off to the point that you can't tell that it was ever there.

I noticed that too.

Larry

[mike4947]

I hate to be a cynic but I thought two things when I read the original post. One was that's not a standard coupler mounting and it's been changed and the original owner/dealer didn't fess up to an accident/repair. Then I looked at, like the others the amount of rust between the plates. That's not normal either unless you live up here in the snow/rust belt.

[wavery]

You might want to consider taking that trailer in and having it inspected real good by a frame shop. I would have all of the welds and alignment inspected (if it were my trailer).

I've got a hunch that there could be something else wrong here. If that trailer has a corner weld broken or a broken spring, it may just be putting a lot of stress on the rest of the trailer. The tongue weld is obviously inferior but what bothers me more than that is the battery brace breaking off as well. That's a pretty good indication (to me) that there may be some twisting and flexing action going on with that frame.

Has anyone ever driven behind you and checked to see if it's tracking straight? It's almost impossible to tell from the tow vehicle.

The other thing that you can do yourself is take a tape measure and measure the trailer cross-wise, corner to opposite corner, in both directions. If the frame is square, both measurements will be exactly the same. Any variation will indicate an out-of-square trailer. You might want to check with Coleman to find out what tolerances are acceptable.