5th wheel hitchs

[jons326RL]

I have a 2011 Montana mountaineer 326RL I tow with 2011 Ford F-250 4x4 deisel my hitch is husky 16k with pivot head it is 9 years old. Question how long do these hitchs last before you need to replace them, my concern is metal fatigue.

[Jim W]

I have a 2011 Montana mountaineer 326RL I tow with 2011 Ford F-250 4x4 deisel my hitch is husky 16k with pivot head it is 9 years old. Question how long do these hitchs last before you need to replace them, my concern is metal fatigue.

I myself would not worry about metal fatigue on your hitch. I believe that the parent material is more than adequate for the design job that it was intended for. What you may want to do is have the welds inspected for weld failure or fatigue if you are going to worry about the design life of your hitch. This is a simple check that any professorial weld shop should be able to perform for you. The shop could use either a die-check of the weld or an ultra sound of the weld; both of these tests will show results if you have a weld failure.
Most deign failures of any welded product will occur in the weld. Either at the toe of the weld or in the root of the weld before the parent material fails.
Jim W.

[jons326RL]

Thank you for your information