Suspension Issue - Snapped a hanger

[Rxrus1]

2018 303RLS
We have had many years of trouble free ownership. We primarily travel in the summer to escape the FL heat.
This past summer we travelled from FL to Nova Scotia. After arriving far out east in a Nova Scotia RV park I noticed each tire was worn on 1/2 side -almost bald.
Upon further inspection I see the R Rear hanger snapped, and the L rear hanger has a hairline crack!
Nearest RV repair said they are 3 weeks out, Tow company 10d out.
Fortunately, I was able to find a mobile welder to save the day.
Thank goodness I did not end up broken down on the side of the road!
My rig is too light for IS - spoke with Moryde.
As a result I have very little confidence in the suspension of fifth wheels and am considering moving to a Class A. I had all brass bushings and was religious about greasing the Zirks.
Of note I like my fifth wheel and truck, but this has really shaken my confidence.
Any thoughts?
TIA

[Riverbug]

When you have a break in travel have beefier hangers installed. Add shock absorbers while you're at it. You'll spend a lot less on that than a motorhome and all the fixes and upgrades you'll want to do with that in the first few years.

[SGT ROC]

No way would I go to a class A. Beef up the hangers and move on.

[livinthelife]

2018 303RLS
We have had many years of trouble free ownership. We primarily travel in the summer to escape the FL heat.
This past summer we travelled from FL to Nova Scotia. After arriving far out east in a Nova Scotia RV park I noticed each tire was worn on 1/2 side -almost bald.
Upon further inspection I see the R Rear hanger snapped, and the L rear hanger has a hairline crack!
Nearest RV repair said they are 3 weeks out, Tow company 10d out.
Fortunately, I was able to find a mobile welder to save the day.
Thank goodness I did not end up broken down on the side of the road!
My rig is too light for IS - spoke with Moryde.
As a result I have very little confidence in the suspension of fifth wheels and am considering moving to a Class A. I had all brass bushings and was religious about greasing the Zirks.
Of note I like my fifth wheel and truck, but this has really shaken my confidence.
Any thoughts?
TIA

We have a 2017 Reflection 26RL. Our first big trip (Alaska/Yukon) we broke a spring hanger. Well, it wasn't all the way broken, my husband discovered it on his walk-around inspection after a lunch stop outside of Whitehorse, YT. What we had was a hanger that was "ripping" loose.

Happily it was mid-week not far from a "big" town. We drove slowly back to Whitehorse, and located an RV repair facility there. After pulling in, they told us they don't do structure work, and referred us to a welding shop on the other side of town.

We got there, and after talking to the person there, we backed the rig into the work bay. That maneuver broke the hanger completely, squishing the propane line to the fridge. After he fixed the broken hanger, we headed back to the RV place to have the propane line checked for damage. No damage. We were delayed getting into our next stop that night by about 3 hours total, and, since it was summertime, it was still light for us to set up in the campground.

All in all not a bad experience.

Things happen. The roads in Canada seem especially rough on rigs.

Once we got back home, we took it to a farm equipment manufacturer and asked him what he suggested.

His suggestion: flat plate on outside of hanger, piece of square tubing on inside of hanger, square tubing to the hanger on other side of trailer, square tubing inside that hanger and flat plate. We did this for all 3 sets of hangers. $1000 and worth it.

We still have the 5th wheel and put additional 45,000 miles on it (including the Canadian Maritimes) with no issues.

[ajg617]

2018 303RLS
We have had many years of trouble free ownership. We primarily travel in the summer to escape the FL heat.
This past summer we travelled from FL to Nova Scotia. After arriving far out east in a Nova Scotia RV park I noticed each tire was worn on 1/2 side -almost bald.
Upon further inspection I see the R Rear hanger snapped, and the L rear hanger has a hairline crack!
Nearest RV repair said they are 3 weeks out, Tow company 10d out.
Fortunately, I was able to find a mobile welder to save the day.
Thank goodness I did not end up broken down on the side of the road!
My rig is too light for IS - spoke with Moryde.
As a result I have very little confidence in the suspension of fifth wheels and am considering moving to a Class A. I had all brass bushings and was religious about greasing the Zirks.
Of note I like my fifth wheel and truck, but this has really shaken my confidence.
Any thoughts?
TIA

Was there ever more than a tack weld there? We had two hangers replace midway through our trip this year and wound up parked at GNP. Two hangers had twisted and the welds broke - but you could see the welds. One hanger had a full length weld on one side and only a tack weld on the other. The other hanger had no tack weld but the main weld was still in tact (but both were so bent as unrecoverable). So we are headed to Elkhart in April because I also have less confidence in the undercarriage. That said, the number of Class A's that were awaiting repairs was during our trips was substantial.

[Rxrus1]

They are all solid welds.
I did have them reinforced on the back side after the failure, but I agree at this point to consider replacing them all with heavier if able. My equalizer was already updated.
Any opinions on the roadmaster slipper springs with shocks?

[Hoopy Frood]

FWIW, I have heard somewhere, and can't remember where of course, that it's a bad idea to completely weld up one side of the hanger. The reinforced hangers from Lippert, go from corner to corner diagonally. I have seen a hanger that was welded on the back side completely, and that hanger broke, but even worse was the way it broke. It actually broke a piece of the mounting off the frame where it was attached. I have no idea if the fact that the hanger was completely solid on the back had anything to do with the fashion in which it broke.

[Riverbug]

They are all solid welds.
I did have them reinforced on the back side after the failure, but I agree at this point to consider replacing them all with heavier if able. My equalizer was already updated.
Any opinions on the roadmaster slipper springs with shocks?

I can't speak for slipper springs but adding Comfort Ride shocks certainly made a difference in dampening the bounce.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I can't speak for slipper springs but adding Comfort Ride shocks certainly made a difference in dampening the bounce.

And I'll add...
I can't speak for slipper springs but adding Sumo springs certainly made a difference in dampening the bounce. But I'm sure they do not act completely the same as shocks

[Riverbug]

And I'll add...
I can't speak for slipper springs but adding Sumo springs certainly made a difference in dampening the bounce. But I'm sure they do not act completely the same as shocks

I would guess a primary difference is in the upward motion. The shocks would dampen upward and downward motion whereas the Sumo Springs would only be able to dampen the downward motion. Not saying shocks are twice as good but for the price, I went that route as it wasn't much more expensive and it seems logical that it would provide better overall ride vs only preventing bottom out in the downward motion. But that's just my opinion since I've never used Sumos. The big difference is in the ease of installation. The shocks aren't rocket science by any means but definitely take more time than Sumos.