Trailair Tri-Glide hitch failure - Page 3 - Dutchmen Owners
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:08 PM   #41
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They told me there was absolutely no reports of failures on these hitches. So, I had showed him the failed hitch above. The tune changed a bit and this is the latest responseClick image for larger version

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Old 08-20-2015, 07:10 PM   #42
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Thank you, Sir! I'll be doing the same and I have photos of my father-in-laws that failed last year.
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:11 PM   #43
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If I may have that pic as well, I will include it with my info as well
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:14 PM   #44
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I will dig it up although it may not particularly help as his was about 8 years old at failure. The point is that saying they are not aware of failures is false as he contacted then to get a new one when it failed. Also makes one wonder if there are no reports of failures, why aren't they offered any longer with no explanation...
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:20 PM   #45
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This was the first response after the picture. The response I previously posted was one that they sent without me responding to this.Click image for larger version

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Old 08-20-2015, 08:10 PM   #46
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Well, I took Don's suggestion and took my 3950 in to have the leaky hitch checked. Dealer called me today and said they received the replacement hitch but it was different weight rating. He said my old hitch had a sticker that stated 21K rating but Trailair said that the part number that is on the old hitch is only rated at 18K! dealer is going back and forth with Tailair trying to get it sorted out. The new hitch is not a tri-glide either. Dealer also said since they already had removed the old hitch, they put the new one on temporarily to move my Voltage and it also lost air just moving it around the lot with a forklift.

So I guess if ya'll have a sticker that says you have a 21K rating, get the part number and call Trailair to verify it is accurate.

P.S. this makes 6 1/4 months out of the 8 months I have owned this voltage that it sat at the (2 different) dealer's repair facilities! Quality is Not job 1 at Dutchmen! (I know trailair is not Dutchmen, but Dutchmen did install the incorrect hitch).
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Old 08-20-2015, 10:52 PM   #47
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Has anyone thought of filing a complaint with the NHTSA about this hitch?
The fact that mine was labeled for 21K but Trailair says it is only 18K makes me wonder if the faiiled one was also incorrect. I know I am over 18K when I pull.

Anyway, it won't hurt to put it on NHTSA's complaint form... here is where you can find it for the U.S. (the complaint form is in the link on the right side of this link)
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Old 08-21-2015, 07:02 PM   #48
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Originally Posted by arlan in arizona View Post
Look at the first bagged fifth wheel hitch I bought. I am embarrassed to show it but here it is.

Arlan
Next time I'm out in Quartzsite I now know how to find you. I just need to look for a 5 ton crane cause that must be what's needed to lift that hitch.
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Old 08-21-2015, 07:43 PM   #49
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Arlan
Next time I'm out in Quartzsite I now know how to find you. I just need to look for a 5 ton crane cause that must be what's needed to lift that hitch.
Mike,

You could have done that about 10 years ago, but when I sold my trailer and hitch, I included the 5 ton crane in the deal.

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Old 08-21-2015, 10:59 PM   #50
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I've been following this post from the beginning. I noticed when we picked up our voltage from the dealer towing it home that every time we stopped and took off again a loud and stiff CLUNK from the hitch... got me thinking to watch the hitch when we would take off. Turns out everytime we stopped that the trailer was not stopping ALL of its weight and the TV was taking up the slack causing the first CLUNK, then when we would take off there was the second CLUNK watching the slide plate slide back into the forward position when pulling. I adjusted the brakes myself... some were 10-15 clicks out of adjustment and the problem was resolved and no problems since... I could see 8-10 years of this causing a problem/failure. Not sure if this helps or maybe I have a bigger problem than I think...
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Old 08-27-2015, 06:22 PM   #51
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Has anyone thought of filing a complaint with the NHTSA about this hitch?
The fact that mine was labeled for 21K but Trailair says it is only 18K makes me wonder if the faiiled one was also incorrect. I know I am over 18K when I pull.

Anyway, it won't hurt to put it on NHTSA's complaint form... here is where you can find it for the U.S. (the complaint form is in the link on the right side of this link)
Well as an update to my tri-glide issue, I just received a call from Mike from Heartland. He is the Heartland NHTSA point of contact. He assured me that after extensive studying of the photos that my repair center had sent him, that my hitch is in fact a 21K rated hitch, not 18K that LCI part number says. He says you can see the difference because the 21K has extra side plates.
So now since LCI pulled all the tri-glides, the solution to my original leaky airbag issue is they are sending a new airbag to install on my original Tri-glide.
It is amazing how a simple little complaint form to the NHTSB gets these big companies to respond, when repair facilities can't get answers from them. My service writer says I sure know which hornet's nest to poke a sharp stick into...

Now to get the other 15 issues fixed correctly.....
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Old 09-06-2015, 10:54 PM   #52
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Add mine to the list of failures.


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Old 09-07-2015, 02:20 AM   #53
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Unbelievable.
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Old 09-08-2015, 02:30 PM   #54
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Just got off the phone with Lippert. They asked for pictures, but said they would probably just send a new hitch and pay no labor as mine is outside of their 1 year warranty.

I had my broken hitch welded up at the campground before returning home. Both the front and rear mechanisms broke leaving the center to do all the work.
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Old 09-08-2015, 07:07 PM   #55
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When I mentioned there were issues starting to appear with the TriGlide, they stopped answering my questions...
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Old 09-08-2015, 07:28 PM   #56
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When I mentioned there were issues starting to appear with the TriGlide, they stopped answering my questions...
They sure answered up quickly when I contacted the NHTSA. I contacted them on a Sunday night and Monday by 2 pm my service guy had 4 calls from LCI and Keystone.
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Old 09-08-2015, 07:40 PM   #57
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Interesting - I am looking at just getting a lower jaw to put on to avoid this issue. My father-in-law had to pay (a reduced amount) to have his tri-glide lower jaw replacement sent to him when his failed. Now he is beginning to wonder if he should have went with the non-TriGlide lower jaw...
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Old 09-21-2015, 04:09 PM   #58
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Lippert sent me another Tri-Glide... I was really expecting a non Tri-Glide hitch.
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Old 11-14-2015, 10:55 PM   #59
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I have a 21000lb Tri Glide hitch. I took mine apart to check it out for crackes. All looked good.Anyone who has one should have it inspected,your life may depend on it.
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Old 11-14-2015, 11:01 PM   #60
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Don't see why a fella couldn't 'magna flux' the hitch to find those hairline cracks that may be developing.
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