Innovation Fuels Lippert Products Debuts

The RV supplier giant introduced a number of unique components prior to the 2023 Elkhart RV Open House

Anyone who’s been involved in RVing for any length of time is familiar with the Lippert family of products. As the largest supplier to the RV industry, Lippert’s impact on the travel trailer and fifth wheel markets is measured in “average product content per unit” — and, for 2022, that number came in at an amazing $6,090. And that was in a year that tailed off sharply near year’s end as the industry began “right-siding” annual production after record COVID-fueled sales.

But that’s just on the manufacturer level. Not as well-known, perhaps, is the strength of Lippert in the aftermarket. While the Elkhart, Indiana-based company is involved in industries as diverse as building products, marine, commercial vehicles, automotive and even hospitality — Lippert is the leading manufacturer of premium mattresses — it’s extensive rollcall of RV brands includes CURT (hitches), Furrion (appliances), Duncan systems (windshields), Girard (awnings), HappiJac (bed-lifting mechanisms), Luverne (grille guards), Solera (fabric solutions), Thomas Payne (furniture) and a lot more.

Not surprisingly, Lippert also is the industry leader in product development, committing huge resources to research and development, going so far as to establish a Lippert Corporate Innovation Team to create OEM and aftermarket products for the RV and marine industries. And, among its executive team you’ll find a senior vice president of aftermarket engineering and product development, a vice president of innovation, a chief technology officer and others.

Inside Lippert’s Elkhart, Ind., headquarters, where a specially outfitted Lippert chassis was fitted with many of the company’s latest products.

What’s all this mean? For RV owners, it’s simple: better and more intuitive products designed to enhance your camping experience. In fact, just prior to late September’s Elkhart RV Open House Week — the industry’s largest trade show — RV Enthusiast visited the new Lippert headquarters, where Lippert Chief Marketing Officer Jarod Lippert showed us what the company’s been working on. Nearly a dozen new products — from flush-fit baggage doors and windows to new takes on fifth wheel pin boxes, suspensions and toy hauler ramp doors — were on display. Some, like the company’s Integrated Parking Brake, seem to be simplicity itself (tensioning a pad against a wheel), while others such as the new Chill Cube HE RV rooftop air-conditioner by Lippert’s Furrion division, are designed to optimize camping comfort.

What makes this year’s crop of new products especially noteworthy is their aesthetics; Lippert designers and engineers didn’t just improve product performance, they refined the appearance of the component in many instances.

Here then, in no particular order, is an array of Lippert new products that will begin appearing on 2024 RVs that definitely will score highly in innovation.

• Helux™ Coil Spring 5th Wheel Pin Boxes

Few aspects of fifth-wheel towing are more aggravating than the inevitable “chucking” between the fifth wheel hitch and pin box. Manufacturers — including Lippert — have tried to dampen this through the addition of rubber isolators and even air bags and shocks, with limited success.

The combination of redesigned coil springs and a shock absorber, said Jarod Lippert, “has given us a lot more dampening properties.” Initial testing during extended evaluation on the rough roads at the Navistar Proving Grounds in New Carlisle, Ind., said Lippert, yielded impressive results. “We’re still getting back the actual numbers,” he said, “but the ‘feel’ of the system tells us that the ride has drastically improved.

Tested for safety with SAE J2638 standards and compatible with RVs using a “space saver” chassis, the CURT Helux Coil Spring 5th Wheel Pin Box will be available in several configurations for use by fifth wheels up to 21,000 pounds. The new system will also be offered in a gooseneck version.

“We will maintain the warranty on the chassis so long as it’s used with our tested gooseneck version of the Helux pin box,” said Lippert. “It will look exactly like this, with the coil spring and shock, but will have a gooseneck adapter instead of the standard fifth wheel pin box adapter.”

The Helux system will be available both at the OEM and aftermarket levels.

• Titan Leveling Systems

“We launched Level Up back around 2008-’09, which has become an industry standard for hydraulic leveling — but outside of some upgraded features we really hadn’t innovated anything around the product itself,” he said. “So, about three years ago, we set out to build a better system.”

The new Titan Leveling System — which, let’s face it, looks much cooler than the current product — requires 50% less hardware for installation; there are only two connection points (hoses) to the cylinder rather than the current four. It also includes larger footpads, with injection-molded covers around the jack and footpad for better traction. Another major upgrade is the use of a single easy-to-use control module, offering a single sensor for leveling. An upgraded “premium” version with built-in Bluetooth technology allows for full operation from a smartphone along with the addition of integrated LED lighting beneath the jack for illuminating nighttime operation; the lights also include “light” or “dark” modes.

• Undermount RV Steps

When it comes to RVing, sometimes little things mean a lot — and the introduction of entry/exit steps that lower to the ground for drastically improved stability rank among the best designs of recent years. As Lippert found with its SolidStep, however, they are not without their drawbacks: complaints ranged from having to lift them to debris from the steps falling inside the unit.

“As a chassis manufacturer, we always knew that building the steps under the chassis was the best option — but how could we do that and still save space?” Lippert asked hypothetically. Lippert’s solution calls for the steps to fold flat when lifted for storage, which then allows them to be stored securely beneath the chassis using a patent-pending “infinite range” locking mechanism. The steps also feature adjustable legs for added stability and anti-slip treads. No chassis cutting is required for installation, though Lippert noted that company engineers will need to stay in touch with RV designers to ensure that the steps do not compromise placement of under-chassis components such as plumbing and holding tanks. Built of heavy-duty aluminum, the steps will be available in sizes up to 36 inches wide.

• PRX2 Power Ramp Door

According to Lippert, throughout the history of the company making toy hauler ramp doors, it’s always toyed with the concept of using power ramps “but for one reason or another, the industry has never gravitated towards a power option.”

The pieces were put in place to make a power door a reality, Lippert said, when the company was able to integrate cable tensioning wires inside the doorframe while still bearing the weight of the ramp door as it lowers at a gentler pace.

The PRX2 Power Ramp Door offers 12-volt, push-button motorized operation, allowing for the extension/retraction of the ramp door in just 25 seconds or less. Featuring heavy-duty 150-pound steel construction with black textured coating, the door fits industry-standard 3×4-inch (OD) square-tube door jambs and is manufactured with weep channels to deter water intrusion; manual compression latches ensure closure.

• Independent Suspensions

While the additional weight of the bigger units required further design of the suspension — in the Touring Edition, for example, the dual-axle fifth wheel system retains the axle tubes as well as a triangulated trailing-arm design to improve and maintain the suspension geometry, along with coil springs and shock absorbers to extend suspension travel — Lippert said the system was extensively tested at the proving grounds and yielded a “night vs. day difference” in dampening road vibration. “It creates one of the most stable rides anyone will ever realize with a towable RV,” he added, keeping interior gear and belongings secure.

The Lippert/CURT IS is available in two configurations — the aforementioned Touring Edition and the axle-free Adventure Edition with a toe and camber adjustment system for tire alignment and adjustment. Both feature polymer bump stops to prevent over-compression of the coil springs and a powder-coat finish.

And, while Lippert noted that at present the system is designed to hit “the meat of the market,” a triple-axle configuration isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

• 4000 Series Frameless Windows

“We’ve got an amazing glass innovation facility in Bristol (Ind.) that can do a lot of these cool new concepts,” Lippert added.

• ‘The Fort’ Hideaway Series Rooftop Tent

• Quick Drop Stabilizer Jack

Towables tend to suffer greatly from movement anytime someone inside so much as shifts their weight — especially travel trailers. Some are equipped with jacks at all four corners, which helps — but doesn’t eliminate — this “boat on the water” effect. While some RV enthusiasts have taken it upon themselves to create crude stabilizers out of 2 x 4s and a ratchet strap, Lippert’s new Quick Drop Stabilizer Jack mounts to the trailer frame and utilizes its Quick Drop A-frame jack technology to quickly deploy with a non-impact power drill. Easily adjusted for optimal stability with a 500-pound weight capacity per leg, the jacks create a triangular support — “the strongest shape in nature,” said Lippert. “And, with their adjustable feet, you can create the most stable position possible.”

• OneControl Upgrades

While the additional weight of the bigger units required further design of the suspension — in the Touring Edition, for example, the dual-axle fifth wheel system retains the axle tubes as well as a triangulated trailing-arm design to improve and maintain the suspension geometry, along with coil springs and shock absorbers to extend suspension travel — Lippert said the system was extensively tested at the proving grounds and yielded a “night vs. day difference” in dampening road vibration. “It creates one of the most stable rides anyone will ever realize with a towable RV,” he added, keeping interior gear and belongings secure.

The Lippert/CURT IS is available in two configurations — the aforementioned Touring Edition and the axle-free Adventure Edition with a toe and camber adjustment system for tire alignment and adjustment. Both feature polymer bump stops to prevent over-compression of the coil springs and a powder-coat finish.

And, while Lippert noted that at present the system is designed to hit “the meat of the market,” a triple-axle configuration isn’t out of the realm of possibility.