1998 FLEETWOOD PROWLER — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

4 GOODYEAR MARATHON MILER TRAILER SERVICE TIRES PURCHASED AROUND JULY 2006. 1 TIRE WITH LOT CODE 1305 HAS LARGE BULGING NOT ON OUTSIDE AND TIRE IS SEPARATING FROM INNER LINER. 1 TIRE WITH LOT CODE 2104 HAS SIGNS OF SEPARATION FROM LINER AND DRY CRACKING SHOWING. ALSO TREAD IS BULGING HIGHER ON 1 SIDE THAN THE OTHER. 2 OTHER TIRES, 1 WITH 1604 LOT CODE AND 1 WITH 2104 LOT CODE HAVE SHOWN ONLY SOME SIGNS OF DRY CRACKS. *TR

AFTER EXPERIENCING A BLOW OUT ON MY TRAILER MYSELF (GOODYEAR), I FOUND I WAS IN GOOD COMPANY. IT APPEARS THIS IS A COMMON MALADY. PLEASE LOOK AT THESE POSTINGS. HTTP://WWW.CAMPINGWORLD.COM/CFORUM/INDEX.CFM/FUSEACTION/THREAD/TID/14464 015.CFM IT IS ALMOST COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT TRAILERS HAVE BLOW OUTS VERY OFTEN. I HAVE NEVER HAD A BLOW OUT ON ANY VEHICLE AFTER 46 YEARS OF DRIVING. WHY DID I HAVE ONE ON MY TRAILER WHICH HAD PERFECTLY GOOD LOOKING TIRES WHICH WERE PROPERLY INFLATED? I SUSPECT THE MANUFACTURES ARE GETTING AWAY WITH SELLING JUNK TIRES BECAUSE THEY CAN BLAME IT ON OTHER THINGS. IE. UNDER INFLATION, OVERLOADING ETC. IT IS SO DANGEROUS WHEN A BLOW OUT OCCURS AND COULD LEAVE YOU ON A BAD HIGHWAY TRYING TO REPLACE THE TIRE. I SURE HOPE YOU PEOPLE CAN START REGULATING THIS AND PROTECTING THE CONSUMER. JAY HAINDEL

HELLO. I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT AN UNSAFE CONDITION WITH A TRAVEL TRAILER MADE BY FLEETWOOD. THE SPECIFIC MODEL IS A FLEETWOOD PROWLER 24LZ. MY PARTICULAR SERIAL NUMBER IS 2388699. THE SITUATION: I WAS DRIVING AWAY FROM MY CAMPGROUND ON MEMORIAL DAY (5/30/05). ABOUT 7 MILES INTO THE TRIP, WE RECEIVED A CALL ON OUR CELL PHONE FROM CAMPERS IN OUR PARTY WHO WERE FOLLOWING US. THEY SAID THAT WE WERE DRAGGING SOMETHING LARGE, AND THAT WE SHOULD PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY. WE PULLED OVER ONTO A NARROW SHOULDER, AND WERE SHOCKED AT WHAT WE SAW. THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF OUR 30 GALLON GRAY WATER TANK HAD COME OUT OF ITS CAPTURE, AND WAS DRAGGING ALONG THE ROAD. DUE TO THE FRICTION, THERE WAS A LARGE GASH IN THE TANK, AND ALL THE CONTENTS OF THE GRAY WATER HAD SPILLED OUT ONTO THE ROAD. THE ONLY THING HOLDING THE TANK ON THE AFT END WAS THE PLUMBING THAT IT WAS AFFIXED TO. THE ONLY OPTION WE HAD WAS TO HACK SAW THROUGH THE PLUMBING, DETACH THE TANK, AND STOW IT IN OUR TRAILER. FORTUNATELY, SOMEONE IN OUR CAMPING PARTY HAD A HACKSAW, AND WE DID JUST THAT. WHAT WAS SHOCKING TO ME, WAS WHY THE TANK CAME UNDONE FROM ITS CAPTURE, WHEN IT WAS ONLY ONE THIRD FULL. A CLOSER LOOK GAVE US THE OBVIOUS REASON - A DESIGN DEFICIENCY. WHILE THIS IS HARD TO DESCRIBE WITHOUT A SKETCH, I WILL ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN HOW THE TANK IS HELD IN PLACE. THERE ARE TWO CHANNEL SECTIONS ATTACHED TRANSVERSELY TO THE UNDERSIDE FLOOR OF THE TRAILER. ONE CAPTURES A LIP ON THE FRONT END OF THE TANK, AND THE OTHER CAPTURES A LIP ON THE AFT END OF THE TANK. THE PROBLEM LIES IN THE FACT THAT THE FRONT AND AFT EDGES OF THE LIPS HAVE ROUNDED EDGES ON THE LOWER SIDE. THE ONLY WAY THE TANK COULD HAVE COME OUT OF ITS CAPTURE FROM THE CHANNEL SECTION WAS IF THE CHASSIS FLEXED ENOUGH TO CAUSE ONLY THE ROUNDED EDGE OF THE TANK TO BE ENGAGED IN THE CHANNEL SECTION, CAUSING IT TO SLIP OUT. IN MY OPINION AS AN ENGINEER, THIS IS A DESIGN DEFICIENCY. THERE WAS NO OTHER REDUNDANT METHOD TO RETAIN THE TANK IN THE CASE OF . CONTINUED.

PROWLER 31 5R 5TH WHEEL RV.*MR WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY THE CONSUMER SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE WHEELS, THE CONSUMER PULLED OVER AND DISCOVERED DAMAGED TO THE SPRING HANGER WHICH SUPPORT THE SPRINGS AND AXLES OF THE TRAILER. *CB *JB *MR

LEFT REAR TIRE FELL APART AND KNOCKED THE GENERATOR FUEL TANK FILLER NECK OFF, SPILLING FUEL ONTO THE HIGHWAY. THE TREAD OF THE TIRE JUST CAME OFF. IT ALSO TORE OFF THE ELECTRIC BRAKE WIRES AND DISABLED THE BRAKES. THERE WAS A BIG POTENTIAL FOR FIRE AND EXPLOSION AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF LIFE(RIM SPARK ON PAVEMENT, CIGARETTE BUTT THROWN FROM OTHER CARS, ECT). FLEETWOOD HAS NOT RESPONDED TO ME YET. I ALSO FEEL THAT THIS TRAILER WAS MANUFACTURED WITH AN UNDERATED TIRE INSTALLED ON IT. THE TRAILER HAS A GVWR OF 9600LBS AND THE TIRES ARE RATED AT 2150LBS TIMES FOUR. THIS IS A SPORT UTILITY TRAILER. NLM