Swift picked a really weird place to drop a trailer

The trailer took a souvenir with it.

 

Actully on the 5th wheel you would be suprised. My first truck had someone incorrectly fix the 5th wheel before i purchased it. namely they used bolts that were WAY below the correct rating. So after a couple weeks driving they sheered on me while i made a turn. Looked absolutely normal to the point even the independant shop that did a service on it when i bought it and the 3 places i took it before a purchase all missed it.

So it can happen. Things break, morons happen, and sometimes you can do everything right and still step on a landmine.

 

With all of the above in mind....

would (over)stress cracks likely form first...& taddle on an impending failure like this --

OR....

...would this failure more likely occur right out of the blue -- with no real advance (visual) cues, &/or warnings?



-- L

 

Depends really. Could also be hidden under grease and/or paint. Could br hidden by thr flange, could be in a hard to see area. Dont know about you. Buy i typically dont polish my 5th wheel bolts. Just check they are there and not loose or obviously damaged.

 

Nonetheless -- very scary stuff.

Very proud, & grateful -- this happened in such a way that no one was (apparently) hurt.

 

Combine the quality of our infrastructure with a spring ride trailer, then, multiply by however many fatiguing miles and this is the result.

 

Last month we had one where the fifth wheel cracked down the middle (obvious manufacturing defect,even the technicians stated it) but the company tried to blame the driver because he didn’t get under the trailer to look at the fifth wheel while inspecting the truck.