Broken steering Casting caused crash of our Dutch Star w/ Spartan Chassis

Spartan told me that they were only going to photograph the components but had no interest in doing metallurgical tests. The wreck is now owned by Progressive insurance and they are going to auction it off for salvage. It is in CA and I am in Missouri so it looks like the real reason for this crash may just remain a mystery. My goal here is to alert others that bad things can happen suddenly and violently with no warning even when all suggested maintenance is performed.

Even if Spartan Chassis comes back with a determination that a tire blowout caused this crash, that should send shivers up your spine to think that the design of the front end would cause total loss of steering control, a locked steering wheel, and such a violent veering off the path of travel due to a tire blowout. I would have a lot of trouble believing that scenario.

If I was looking to find fault with the broken piece the first thing that comes to mind is that it looks like a cold casting.

Here is a close up of the bracket that holds the air brake actuator diaphragm which is on the inside of the front wheel that shows the scraping from the concrete wall which could have only occurred if the wheel was full left and the coach hit the wall at a sharp angle to allow this bracket to contact the concrete wall.

The second photo is a close up of the void in the casting.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

If you look closely you can see fine cracks leading to the open inclusion.  I suspect a metallurgist can make something out of it but it is beyond my knowledge.  I suspect that the crack and inclusion lead to the failure but proving it is something else.

Good Luck,

Did your Spartan chassis employ the "IFS" front system? If so, it did not have leaf springs.>>>Dan

No leaf springs, just the air bags.

This is scary to read so can't imagine how terrifying it was for you and your wife.  Glad you were not injured nor anyone else.

Not surprising that Spartan is not interested in a full exploration of the root cause.  I am sure their lawyers advised to do whatever is necessary to avoid any liability.

Curious though, is your insurance company going to give you a satisfactory settlement?  How will/did they determine value?

helocfi said:

Spartan told me that they were only going to photograph the components but had no interest in doing metallurgical tests. The wreck is now owned by Progressive insurance and they are going to auction it off for salvage. It is in CA and I am in Missouri so it looks like the real reason for this crash may just remain a mystery. My goal here is to alert others that bad things can happen suddenly and violently with no warning even when all suggested maintenance is performed.

Even if Spartan Chassis comes back with a determination that a tire blowout caused this crash, that should send shivers up your spine to think that the design of the front end would cause total loss of steering control, a locked steering wheel, and such a violent veering off the path of travel due to a tire blowout. I would have a lot of trouble believing that scenario.

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Spartan isn't going to find anything that will help you recover your losses.  The same goes for Progressive.  Flo has a vested interest, as does Spartan, to bury this as deep as they can, so they aren't on the hook for any further losses.  You have turned this whole investigation over to the foxes guarding the chicken coop, so nothing will ever surface, and reach daylight, until the next major crash involving one of these chassis occurred, and someone is seriously injured or killed, and then everyone will deny any knowledge, just as GM is doing now, with their ignition switch debacle.

You need to locate legal representation in Ca., who can assist you in investigating and pursuing any legal options you have regarding this crash, and recouping your uncovered losses.  You have a limited window, in which to bring legal action against Spartan, or any other parties, as well as to recover any awards for injuries to you or your wife, now or in the future.  If you haven't been examined by a doctor, I'm sure they'll wan't you to be, or you wave any future claims against the at fault parties, if either of you should experience medical problems such as back, hip, leg, knee, neck, conditions, 3-6 months down the road.

I'm happy to hear you both were able to walk away from the wreck ok, and best wishes to both of you in the future.  You sound like you dodged a big bullet this time.

rebelsun said:

Spartan isn't going to find anything that will help you recover your losses.  The same goes for Progressive.  Flo has a vested interest, as does Spartan, to bury this as deep as they can, so they aren't on the hook for any further losses.  You have turned this whole investigation over to the foxes guarding the chicken coop, so nothing will ever surface, and reach daylight, until the next major crash involving one of these chassis occurred, and someone is seriously injured or killed, and then everyone will deny any knowledge, just as GM is doing now, with their ignition switch debacle.

You need to locate legal representation in Ca., who can assist you in investigating and pursuing any legal options you have regarding this crash, and recouping your uncovered losses.  You have a limited window, in which to bring legal action against Spartan, or any other parties, as well as to recover any awards for injuries to you or your wife, now or in the future.  If you haven't been examined by a doctor, I'm sure they'll wan't you to be, or you wave any future claims against the at fault parties, if either of you should experience medical problems such as back, hip, leg, knee, neck, conditions, 3-6 months down the road.

I'm happy to hear you both were able to walk away from the wreck ok, and best wishes to both of you in the future.  You sound like you dodged a big bullet this time.

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Very well put and strongly agree with this recommendation.

The last comments are right on the point of the issue.  The only other thing would be to report it to the transportation safety people as a possible defect and see what happens from there.  The alternative is to get the lawyer and spend money as  was pointed out.

I have already filled out a report with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration but have not heard back from them. I plan on checking back with Spartan next week to see if they are forthright in sharing their findings following the inspection of the wreck. I really do appreciate all of the input from this forum.

In the interest of letting as many people as possible know about this serious safety issue, would you post your story on the other RV forums?  I hesitate to mention them here as this is my first post and I just registered in order to see your posted pics.  I am sure someone on this forum can PM you the names of the others for us.  This is too important an issue for it not to be widely posted.

So glad you and your wife were not injured or killed.  Thank you for alerting all of us to this potential problem.

TedToo

You know, this makes me wonder if it would be best (or even possible) to employ some sort of stability program like modern vehicles have. I know with a vehicle this size and weight, it could be very difficult. However, if you were turning the steering wheel and the vehicle DID have a stability program, it could have compensated slightly by braking the right side tires to turn a bit, at least perhaps to a safe stop. Has there been discussion on that yet?

I imagine it could be extremely difficult as the weights change per tire, and the amounts of energy and the way the brakes work on these.

Some chassis have that already, e.g. the Workhorse Wxx series gas chassis included StabilTrack.  I think, though, that a broken steering component is likely to be well beyond any stability correction device.

First, my wife and I want to thank everyone for their kind words here on this forum.

Here is an update, Spartan Chassis called me yesterday and informed me that two of their representatives and one rep from the front end manufacturer inspected the coach this past week. He could not release any data yet as the inspectors needed to run their report through the legal department first and then they would publish their "Position".

I was pleased that Spartan Chassis seems to be taking this seriously but I have no idea of what their Position will be. It may be something very informative or it may be something else, we will need to wait and see. I was told that I would be informed of the official position by the end of next week. Of course I will let the forum know what they come up with, even if they blame me for not being able to control the coach-----I sure tried. I hope that their position explains why the steering wheel instantly locked in the wheels-forward position and could not be budged at all during the wild ride to impact and yet the coach veered violently to the left.

I think it fair to mention that I am a helicopter Certified Flight instructor (HeloCFI) as well as commercial helicopter pilot and helicopter medevac pilot and I am accustomed to stressful situations and have had a number of in-flight emergencies such as engine failures and control failures during my long career. I am also an FAA licensed Airframe and Powerplant mechanic and I work on airplanes and helicopters as well as teach folks to fly. When something unexpected happens while flying a helicopter there is usually a way for the pilot to safely descend (autorotation) to the ground and land the helicopter without damage when an emergency hits, as I teach and have had happen for real several times.

We use the motorhome to travel around the country to provide my helicopter services when I am not at home working locally. On this particular trip, after the wedding near LA, we were planning on driving to Northern CA where I had six clients waiting my helicopter related services. Needless to say that did not happen.

When the coach suddenly diverted from it's path sharply to the left and the steering wheel would not budge, all I could do was stand on the brake and go along for the ride. That inability to even move the steering wheel still really bothers me and it happened at the same instant as the rapid left turn. The coach did not just drift left as it might do if the steering jammed. In this case something very radical happened to cause both the steering to jam and the rapid violent left turn at full speed with nothing the driver could do but step on the brake and brace for impact. The muscles on both arms ached for over a week from the strain of trying to turn the stuck steering wheel to the right with every ounce of strength I had, yet it would not budge.

I am hoping that Spartan is forthright with their evaluation so that we will know what actually happened.

I am hoping that Spartan is forthright with their evaluation so that we will know what actually happened.

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In reality, I wouldn't hold my breath if their analysis shows info putting them in a bad light.  The info that you may receive will most likely have been approved by their legal council and probably not of much use to you if legal action is pursued.

Edit: Fixed quote tag.

many different RV's use these Spartan chassis
is there a list of manufactures and years that may be affected?

I found this..dated 7/1/10

WASHINGTON ? Spartan Motors has recalled 340 model year 2008 to 2011 RV chassis to fix a problem with the vehicle?s steering column, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported.
The recall affects motorhome chassis built between June 17, 2007 and March 15, 2010, equipped with TRW IGEN3 intermediate steering columns.
The weld around the IGEN3 steering shaft tube that secures the spline tube to the intermediate tube may be mislocated and not fully over the seam created when the tubes are pressed together.
Mislocated welds may result in torsional and axial strength falling below acceptable levels. This condition could result in separation of the steering column, loss of steering control and a vehicle crash without warning.
Spartan Motors will notify owners and the vehicles will be repaired free of charge. The recall is expected to begin around July 8.
For more information, owners may call Spartan Chassis at 800.543.5008 and select Option 5.

I know it sounds weird, but I saw a video that suggested during a blowout or any event in which you lose steering, the best solution is to accelerate to create more forward momentum. I am in no way saying you didn't do exactly the right thing. I wouldn't want it any other way knowing that nobody was seriously injured. Just happened across the video. I'm not sure if I can post a link, but the video name on there is "How to Handle a Tire Blowout in an RV." Also, I know this was no blowout. I would just theorize the same dynamics would apply. Their whole basis is that the forward momentum would help counteract the sideways forces and help keep it in line.

It actually says standing on the brake is the absolute worst thing a person could do. However, if there were any people ahead of you, I commend your actions, as the choice would be slam on your break, hope for the best, or plow into the people in front of you! Just a nightmare either way.

Good to know about the stability program. It probably couldn't overcome something like that, but I would think, as long as it were smart enough to realize one wheel was failing completely, that maybe it could align the vehicle by braking the passenger side tires. Mind you, it also depends on where it gets it's information from as far as measuring the wheel turn. If it's somewhere in the steering equipment, like the rods that could be bad, if it broke. If it is somewhere in the column itself, that would be awesome and maybe help. I know in my vehicles it has saved me a few times. I used to drive a very lightweight Prius and it had Vehicle Stability Control. It was pretty much impossible to lose control. I now drive a Volt with Stabilitrak, and it's significantly heavier. If I try I can send it into a skid just before it takes over. Seeing that much difference on that small of a weight makes me wonder how well it could perform with an RV. I've read a lot on here already about how much the weight can vary from wheel to wheel, so that likely has an impact as well. Not as easy to program the system as with automobiles.

helocfi said:

The part that broke might be called a pitman arm. The front wheels are about six feet behind the front of the motorhome and the actual power steering box is mounted up front just below the brake pedal area. From the steering box there is an arm that goes back to a pivot on a vertical axel that has a heavy casting with three arms, one arm attaches to the link from the steering box/pitman arm, one attaches to the ball joint that is on the right wheel steering tie rod and the other arm, the one that broke, attaches to the ball joint of the left wheel steering tie rod.

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So this just happened to me as well. The casting that broke is called the Bell Crank. In my case it was the front lobe that broke. The part that attaches the drag link to the steering box leaving me with a steering wheel that just spun around and no connection to the actual steering controls. Thankfully we were in a parking lot when it happened. 10 minutes earlier and we would've been on a mountain interstate with no control. This IS NOT the same component that is listed in the recall. When I spoke to Spartan they said they had never encountered anything like it.

2003 Newmar Dutchstar
Spartan Mountain Master Chassis

Hi Doc and thanks for giving me the heads up on your steering breaking as well. We replaced our totaled 2003 Dutch Star with another 2003 Dutch Star feeling that since the break that happened to our coach was the only one to have happened we were safe to purchase the same one again. Now with your break it seems that there may be some problem with the casting in General and Spartan needs to investigate this before someone is killed by this casting breaking at the wrong time. We fortunately had a concrete barrier that kept us from careening into the 5 lanes of oncoming traffic. Others may not be so fortunate.