Newell Gurus

Hi Ron,
My 2005 Ram 3500 has an electronic switch for the 4x4. It does have a neutral position. I believe the '08 is very similar.

Today we had a close call with our coach drawbar. Aftre hitching up, Sue said something doesn't look right. She was so correct. There was a crack in the drop hitch and the ball was at at angle. If we had been going down the road and this failed, the trailer would have become one with the radiator and the rear of the coach if the safety chains performed correctly.

I had never removed the drop receiver since owning the coach. When we bought it, it was a perfect match for the trailer tongue, and before that it worked well on our toad.  25 thousand miles of bliss.  If I had examined the drop hitch, I would have seen a massive piece of iron, with one fatal design flaw. The devil is in the details.

That is one nasty crack Guy. Glad Sue spotted the issue! Metal fatigue has flat set in. Not easy to split a thick piece of steel like that.

Started at the weld line on the right hand side, just below the edge. Look at how old and tarnished the weld puddle is. Then it propagated across from right to left. The crack is not brand new, based on the rust line. You were lucky, this has been going on for a little while.