Hydraulic line failure

[artfuldodger]

Yesterday while towing I noticed the slide on drivers side was protruding a few inches so I stopped and tried to pull it in. The pump ran but no movement. Outside, a large pool of fluid was on the parking lot pavement. After much research and cutting of the coriplast I found an hydraulic line with no end on it. What a mess. Luckily I had a spare and was able, while lying in fluid and being dripped on I got the spare installed. I put more fluid in and all seems to work. I hope all the lines are not coming to an end lifewise.

[mlh]

I don’t understand how Lippert could find hydraulic lines that wouldn’t last for the life of a camper unless it got against something that cut it. I had a 62 model JD tractor that still has the original lines on it.
Lynwood

[artfuldodger]

There was plenty of slack in the line but the metal end came off the composite line. Not cut. Anybody else have an hydraulic line failure?

[dieselguy]

I'd guess the lines are made in mass volume so there will be a small number that didn't get crimped right. You landed with one of those. When we made our hydraulic lines at work, we always marked the lines before we pushed them on the metal end fittings so we would know the line was inserted all the way down. It then got placed in the chuck collar for the hydraulic crimping machine to compress it. I really doubt if you'll have mass hydraulic line failures as thousands of us have older fivers with the OEM lines still doing the job.

[2 Yoopers]

For the crimp fitting to just come off the end it had to have been an improper crimp. Typically there is a measurement across the crimp shell that they check to verify a proper crimp. If the fitting that came off measures larger on the outside than the one on the other end, there was a bad crimp. End got pushed off gradually until it came off.
You can purchase a new Orfs crimp end at Napa and they will crimp it on your hose for a spare.

[rohrmann]

Never had one fail that bad, but years ago had one getting ready to burst. Replaced it with a new and better Gates hose. Your bad hose connection could have been bad installation of the fitting by Lippert or even damaged at installation by the Montana factory.

[jackel1959]

We had one fail on our SOB 2018 Bighorn in July 2019. According to the repair shop, which I trust completely, it was caused by a "bad" crimp at the connector. I contacted Lippert for reimbursement because I saw it as a manufacturing defect. Lippert informed me they only supply the materials and the manufacturer builds the hydraulic lines. I confirmed this when I contacted Heartland. Fortunately, the comprehensive portion of my insurance covered the repair and Heartland reimbursed my deductible.

J & D