Andrew Roberts 17 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Hopefully the below link will work. I live in the area where most of our beloved RV are made. Found this article in the paper a few days ago. Also wondering if this will help me or any of you. I own a Forest river Fifth Wheel that was manufacture in 2013 and was sitting on tires that were under sized for it. The tire they put on it were only rated for 3200lb and yet the Camper weighs in at 15,000. With only four wheels the math just won't not work. I never noticed until the one of tires blow up in Ocala on I75. The tires that can handle the weight cost me $1,468.00. May be time for a class action, who wants in? http://www.elkharttruth.com/news/business/rv-industry/2015/01/28/Forest-River-facing-more-than-600-000-in-fines-for-recall-safety-reporting-violations.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 I own a Forest river Fifth Wheel that was manufacture in 2013 and was sitting on tires that were under sized for it. The tire they put on it were only rated for 3200lb and yet the Camper weighs in at 15,000. With only four wheels the math just won't not work. I never noticed until the one of tires blow up in Ocala on I75. Technically, your tires were likely fine- just at the maximum end of their weight capacity. A fifth wheel camper's axles and thusly tires generally carry only 75-84% of the total weight of the camper. The remainder of the weight is carried by the truck as pin/hitch weight. So a camper that weighs in at 15,000 pounds will carry somewhere in the ballpark of 11,250 to 12,600 pounds on the tires. Assuming 4 tires at 3,200 pounds means that you had a carrying capacity of 12,800 pounds. Like I said- they were maxed out, but probably not underrated as a whole. (Individual axle and wheel weights are another story- but they're generally very hard to get). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Roberts 17 Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Technically, your tires were likely fine- just at the maximum end of their weight capacity. A fifth wheel camper's axles and thusly tires generally carry only 75-84% of the total weight of the camper. The remainder of the weight is carried by the truck as pin/hitch weight. So a camper that weighs in at 15,000 pounds will carry somewhere in the ballpark of 11,250 to 12,600 pounds on the tires. Assuming 4 tires at 3,200 pounds means that you had a carrying capacity of 12,800 pounds. Like I said- they were maxed out, but probably not underrated as a whole. (Individual axle and wheel weights are another story- but they're generally very hard to get). I do appreciate the answer but the fact is the tires were under sized. The whole unit was scaled and there is only 950lb on the truck. and the back axle was holding 7200b and the front was at 6600lb. It was not safe in anyway shape or form. And all you have to do is drive into any truck stop with a scale and weigh the unit twice once with the truck and once without. place the scale plates between the axles and you can get the axle weight. Oh and the other part is the determination that it was overweight for the tires was done by Goodyear Commercial. the Failure of the Tires were from over heating. The stress on the sidewalls were to much for it to handle. The one that blow up was catastrophic the other side made it but had been stressed to the point of tread separation and multipoint leaks. THEY WERE WAY UNDERRATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also I put this up because the feds are investigating unsafe RV builders and I have had this issue. There are also many others who have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 I know full well about weighings. I've actually weighed my rig quite a few times. I have a few blog entries on my experiences. Your numbers don't make sense to me. Your camper weight is going to be 7200+6600+910=14,710 pounds. Being that 910 pounds was your pin weight, that's something like 6.4% which is underheard of low for a travel trailer (norm is 10%-15%) and even further from accepted norms of 20-25%. I'm not saying their wrong- they're just wildly unexpected. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Roberts 17 Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 I know full well about weighings. I've actually weighed my rig quite a few times. I have a few blog entries on my experiences. Your numbers don't make sense to me. Your camper weight is going to be 7200+6600+910=14,710 pounds. Being that 910 pounds was your pin weight, that's something like 6.4% which is underheard of low for a travel trailer (norm is 10%-15%) and even further from accepted norms of 20-25%. I'm not saying their wrong- they're just wildly unexpected. As noted above I really posted this due to Forest River being in trouble for safety issues. I'm very sure about my findings and trust the people that helped me with it. Being that I'm on the edge of Elkhart Indiana. I have a lot of assistance from the engineers (my friends) that build this stuff. (all of which warned me that that was to big a rig for just two axles). But again this really is a post about Forest River's issues not mine I just brought my example into it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 As noted above I really posted this due to Forest River being in trouble for safety issues. I'm very sure about my findings and trust the people that helped me with it. Being that I'm on the edge of Elkhart Indiana. I have a lot of assistance from the engineers (my friends) that build this stuff. (all of which warned me that that was to big a rig for just two axles). But again this really is a post about Forest River's issues not mine I just brought my example into it Sounds good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
devores 382 Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 I saw no where in that article where forest river had safety issues. The fine was for failure to properly report warranty work, recalls, and complaints. It's clearical. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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