Tow bar mounts torn off my WG

[ohmygrodd]

WARNING! This will be a lengthy written post so please bare with me as I will try to provide all the info that I can to help with feedback.

I made a gruesome discovery on Thursday last week on my WG ( June 2005 4.7 V8 ) and invite any input/direction/feedback/suggestions that you might have.

I hooked up my camp trailer - all up about 1200 kg - and headed south from Mackay on my way to a four day trip to Byfield National Park which is near Yeppoon east of Rockhampton. I pulled up at Marlborough to top up fuel and get a few snacks for the rest of the trip when a friend who was in his car along for the trip commented that the tow hitch seemed "wrong". Rather than being horizontal and parrallel to the ground it was pointing on a downward angle. We lifted the drawbar of the trailer up and down and the hitch receiver moved up and down as well!

I laid down under the back of the car and got the others to lift the front of the trailer up and down again and the whole tow bar assembly was moving up and down too but the back of the car was not. A closer look revealed what I could not believe I was seeing. The whole assembly bolts to the car with 2 bolts on either side onto a "chassis tube" that is built into the monocoque body. There is a forward bolt and a rear bolt. What I was seeing was the rear bolt has broken away a section of the chassis tube and is "floating" up and down with the movement of the trailer! The front bolt area seems to still be intact but it is very hard to see clearly.

Fortunately one of the other vehicles was camping in a roof-top tent so he was able to pull the trailer for me and we were able to continue with the camping trip. But the dramas have just begun since getting home.

I rang my insurer - Shannons - to find out if this is a claimable problem. I discussed the situation and the initial person didn't understand - monocoque so no chassis but tow bar mounted to chassis tubes???? - so after discussing with a supervisor they decided that, before they could make a decision to even consider a claim application, I gad to obtain a letter from a repairer describing the damage and stating the cause of the damage.

I attended a very respected and very recognised repairer in Mackay and they were great and got the owner of the business to talk to me and look at the car. He was able to confirm that the damage was very new due to zero sign of oxidization and could clearly see that there was no evidence of any secondary impact elsewhere on the car that might have influenced the damaged. He agreed that what I had told him suggests that the damage was due to metal fatigue in an area that should never fatigue, especially given the high tow capacity and the bar being a factory item and factory fitted. He also advised however that he cannot, nor would any other repairer, issue a statement determining the exact cause of the damage. He also pointed out that provided I wasn't towing anything then the car is safe to drive however without repairing the damage it will never pass a roadworthy and is essentially unsellable.

So back to Shannons with all this info from the repairer and they've decided that because there was no accident or incident that caused the damage then they cannot entertain a claim. I said there was an incident because when I hooked up the trailer there was no damage and then after driving the car the damage occurred. They did not accept my logic and said that I should not contact them again about this matter unless I can provide documented evidence as to the cause of the damage! They also said maybe Jeep Australia might be responsible if the structural integrity of the car has not held up and especially if factory fitted equipment.

I contacted Jeep Aust and they kept asking what my local dealership had said. I explained that I bought the car second hand privately. They said I am not Jeep Aust's customer and that if there is anything that Jeep Aust has to consider regarding this problem that they would only do so after a referral from a dealership!! I then asked if there had ever been any recalls regarding anything related to tow bar and was told to look for it on the internet myself!

I contacted my local dealership - River City Motor Group in Mackay - and asked to speak to the service manager. I was told that I would have to talk to the receptionist first and she would decide if I could talk to the service manager. I told her what had happened and she said I could have it looked at on Thursday. She then said it would cost me $154 for the first hour and then $122 per hour after that. She said she could not quote how long it would take to look at it. So I said that I would just like to talk to someone else about it first to which she replied that after I have paid the money and someone has looked at it then they will decide if they want to talk to me about it after that and if the service manager would need to be involved!!!!

So HOLY SHIT what a predicament I'm in. I guess I might have a bit more info when I pick up the car from the dealership on Thursday and I'll tell them to remove the bar and leave it off and that they must keep an pieces of the car in case it is needed for evidence in the future. I could be really lucky and maybe it was fitted wrong at the factory but maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Thanks for reading through all of that if you made it this far into the post. I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who:
-Has had the same or similar damage to their car
-Works in insurance assessment or in any dealership warranty department that might be able to give me some direction or maybe even if they know it is a futile exercise
-Maybe you're a mechanical engineer and can offer some technical info that might help me present a case
-If you reckon I'm getting a bum deal so far or even if you think I'm being unreasonable with what I'm trying to achieve.

All replies will be greatly appreciated and thanks again for reading this lengthy post.

PS Sorry unable to attach any pics at this stage but should be able to get some decent photos after the tow bar has been removed.

[scarps]

Good post, well written. Disappointed that the local Jeep Dealer wasn't a bit more sympathetic, but I guess we don't have vision to their side of the story.
I've seen WG's towing caravans around the country without issue, but wonder if there's something in the vehicle history like towing over it's structural limit that has caused previous damage?
It's doubtful in my mind that a CT, even as heavy as your's would cause this. Just my 2c.

p.s. I had a similar situation with a 2nd hand VK commodore when towing my boat. Turned out whoever had installed the towbar, hadn't put the large steel plates inside the boot when they bolted it up. My 1T boat pulled the rear bolts through the floor.

[Hanna]

Sorry to hear about your issue OMG - just a couple of things:

1 - This is a relatively common issue for some WJ/WG owners whom have done a lot of towing with heavy loads. I believe it is caused by the towbar mounting bolts coming loose over time and then the oscillating movement of the mounts when towing causing the mounting points to tear the frame rails from fatigue. Do a search on here for "Towbar came loose" or something similar, there has been plenty of threads over the years on this, but none very recently;

2 - I think you're probably wasting your time with Jeep, and by the sounds of it the insurance company. You may get somewhere with the insurance company if you stick to your guns, but it sounds painful enough already. I doubt Jeep would help you even after paying the $154.

3 - Instead of wasting a couple of hundred of your hard-earned on either insurance excess or a Dealership telling what you already know (or trying to tell you it was operator error) just take it to a reputable welding/steel fabrication workshop and get them to repair and reinforce it. It will be stronger than new and much less painful for you to get a satisfactory result.

Let us know how you get on.

Good luck with it!

[duggy2145]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. If you do indeed only have 4 mounting bolts on a factory hitch you have found part of your problem there......they use 3 bolts either side for a total of 6 bolts.

The other issue to consider is if a WDH has ever been used on the Jeep.Despite being recommended by the manufacturer for heavy loads almost every instance of damage to the rails I have seen/read/heard about has involved the use of one.While they work fine on a full chassis vehicle on flat roads,the way they transmit load towards the front axle puts enormous load on the sheet metal rails on a unitary body .The longer the trailer the worse those loads are especially if used on roads with dips/causeways/boat ramp ect where the towing vehicle is on a different angle to the trailer and the WDH is trying to keep the whole lot flat.

I know for example Nissan Pathfinders and xTrails are not warranted if a WDH is used as it does indeed tear up the rear rails.

Hard to know what a previous owner has done as well.I would do as suggested and have it welded up with some extra reinforcement and enjoy the camper.

Cheers Doug

[layback40]

Can understand you not being a happy camper!
it is likely that the failure may have occurred long before the jeep was yours. If the bolts had become loose & flogged the rails out, some one may have just tightened the bolts, kept their fingers crossed & not used it again for towing. Reinforcing the frame rails is your best bet. Jeep dealers sell jeeps & thats about it. A good welder/crash repairer would be your best bet. A competent tradesman is who you need.

[projoe]

Some years ago a valiant i owned at the time was rear ended by a silly female in a mazda we where driving up a hill on a freeway she had been distracted by a dog in her car anyhow my valiant still being driveable i got home & gave all the details to the insurance company & got the valiant in for repair. rear bumper, towbar only slightly damaged. So rang the insurance company & asked if the towbar would be replaced as i tow a boat & did'nt want any problems down the track, their answer was NO.
Bugger that i rang the company that the boat was insured with & explained to them my concerns, their reply was leave it with us.
only an hour later the car insurance company got back to me & said please take the valiant to allen towbar fitters when the crash repairs done & have a new heavy duty towbar fitted!!! so, sorry that was a bit long winded but i wonder if your van insurance company might be as sympathetic?

[fester]

Drover should chime in for you when he's about as he has just gone through this a couple of months ago. His was actually fixed by insurance if I remember correctly but I was amazed that he did get it covered. Don't mean to be rude to you but this is not an insurable event under a normal motor vehicle policy and I would not expect them to cover it, sucks I know. It is a wear and tear situation not an accident event, same as you would not expect them to cover an engine failure or similar.

I also don't see any prospects with Jeep. It is a 10 year old car with unknown towing history. The towbar issue is small in reality and not anything like a recall issue so I can't see them caring. And in reality as much as it sucks again I'm not sure I would expect them to do anything. It would be nice though for them to act in good faith and at least stick a quick nose underneath and pay you some lip service but that's about all you'll get.

I think you are wasting $150 that would be better spend with someone who can fabricate a repair. It would be nice to know though how Drover got his covered.

What you should have done is ring the insurance company and said someone ran you off the road when you were towing your camper trailer and you hit a big pothole/ditch that threw the camper and car around a bit and next thing you knew the camper was dragging on the ground. So the impact from the big hit must have damaged the rear structure. May not still work if they investigated it and decided it was age related fatigue but at least you identified an "insurable event" which would have at least got you past the initial phone call. Insurance is often all about the wording.

At any rate good luck with a hopefully successful outcome.