NHTSA Complaint #11554661 — 2019 GRAND DESIGN REFLECTION

In April 2023 during an inspection to correct a misalignment of my 2019 5th wheel trailer's dual axles, it was discovered by the servicing shop (Straight Line Suspension, Mesa AZ) that the left rear spring hanger had failed causing one of the axles to become misaligned. Straight Line informed me that this was a very unusual situation but we assumed it was a one off situation which was then corrected by Straight Line. On September 24, 2023 while traveling on Interstate 40 in western Arizona several vehicles blew their horns at me and indicated that I should pull off to the side of the road. As I slowed down and began to get out of the active lane I heard a tire blowout. After stopping on the side of I-40 I discovered that the blowout was a result of the right rear spring hanger had broken apart and subsequently hitting the inside of my right rear tire and totally destroying it. At this point the rear of the spring and axle was no longer connected to the chassis. I contacted a towing company who had to chain up the floating axle in order to tow me to the nearest exit. After I located a mobil welder to temporarily patch the broken hanger and was able to limp home with my trailer. I contacted Grand Design and they informed me that since it was over 1 year since I bought the new trailer from them it was out of warranty but suggested that I contact Lippert Components who was the OEM of the defective chassis and spring hanger. Since there are a total of 3 hangers on each side I asked that they pay to replace the broken one plus the other 4 that had not yet broken off. They asked that I get an estimate to replace the broken hanger and the other hanger that I already replaced 5 months earlier. They refused my request to replace the total of 5 hangers that were still part of their original build. If additional hangers had broken loose at that time it is likely that 1 or 2 axles could have broken free from the trailer and possibly cause a catastrophic situation.