The defect
ON CERTAIN TRAVEL TRAILERS, THE SAFETY CHAINS ARE RATED TO 11,700 POUNDS DESPITE A GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT RATING IN EXCESS OF THIS RATING.
The risk
THIS COULD RESULT IN THE SAFETY CHAINS FAILING IN THE EVENT OF A SEPARATION OF THE TRAILER FROM THE TOW VEHICLE HITCH WHICH IN TURN WOULD LEAD TO A LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE TRAVEL TRAILER.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SAFETY CHAINS. THE RECALL BEGAN SEPTEMBER 13, 2004. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT NATIONAL RV AT 1-800-999-7260. THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (NHTSA), AN AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, HAS BEEN NOTIFIED THAT NATIONAL RV, INC. AND ITS HOLDING COMPANY, NATIONAL RV HOLDINGS, INC., HAVE FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY. NHTSA HAS BEEN ADVISED THAT OWNERS WHO WISH TO PURSUE CLAIMS RELATED TO SAFETY RECALL REPAIR WORK ON THEIR NATIONAL RV VEHICLES MAY FILE A PROOF OF CLAIM WITH THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE DIVISION. THE CASE NUMBER ASSIGNED TO THIS MATTER IS 07-17941. THE PROOF OF CLAIM FORM AND INSTRUCTIONS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT THE COURT'S WEBSITE HTTP://WWW.CACB.USCOURTS.GOV . ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE BANKRUPTCY AND ITS PROCEEDINGS MAY ALSO BE FOUND AT HTTP://WWW.OMNIMGT.COM/NATIONALRV . NATIONAL RV'S PHONE NUMBER IS (951) 943-6007. INFORMATION ABOUT SAFETY RECALLS ON NATIONAL RV'S PRODUCTS MAY BE FOUND AT WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV. THE NHTSA WISHES TO ADVISE OWNERS OF RECALLED PRODUCTS THAT, IN THE INTERESTS OF THEIR SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF THE MOTORING PUBLIC, ALL SAFETY RECALL WORK SHOULD BE PERFORMED ON MOTOR VEHICLES AND ITEMS OF EQUIPMENT.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| National RV Blaze'n | 2002, 2003 |
| National RV Rage'n | 2002 |
| National RV Ragen | 2003 |
Components: TRAILER HITCHES
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| National RV Blaze'n | 2002 | 0 | 1 |
| National RV Blaze'n | 2003 | 1 | 4 |
| National RV Rage'n | 2002 | 0 | 2 |
| National RV Ragen | 2003 | 1 | 2 |
Other trailer hitches recalls in 2004
10 of the 601 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2004 concerned the trailer hitches; NATIONAL RV, INC. filed 22 campaigns in all.
| 04V581000 15 Dec 2004 | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 04V352000 20 Jul 2004 | FLEETWOOD ENTERPRISES, INC. |
| 04V351000 16 Jul 2004 | THE LITTLE TRAILER COMPANY |
| 04V315000 2 Jul 2004 | VOLVO TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 04V265000 17 Jun 2004 | STRICK CORPORATION |
| 04V197000 26 Apr 2004 | MITSUBISHI MOTORS NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 04V158000 1 Apr 2004 | SUNNYBROOK RV INC. |
| 04V157000 31 Mar 2004 | KEYSTONE RV COMPANY |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2004