As stated in title new to the forum, been non member lurking reading threads of interest for a while, naturally got a problem and Google is failing me so I'ma look here and post my issues if I fail to search it out.

I've got a '12 1500 hemi 4x4
Most interesting thing about my truck is my passenger lower control arm snapped in half driving through my work parking lot (ouch) messed up that side the truck bad, stupid cast aluminum stock garbage.

Out of curiosity anyone else suffer similar tow guy claimed I'm the third he's seen but can't find evidence of many others online.
It's fixed btw, $2700 of diy and body shop.

 

New one on me. Welcome to DF! Moving this to Fourth Gen Ram section for ya.

 

Never heard of it. Amazing the things that tow truck drivers claim they 'see'.

 

Right, just glad I was in a parking lot instead of the interstate, I'd be dead.

 

I used to see all sorts of things when I ran a wrecker. Unless someone asked I never talked about it. Between liability and just plain orneriness, I rarely talked about what I saw people do. About a third of the time, it was something really stupid that they would rather forget.

 

The aluminum lower control arms are fragile and weak.My wife pulled over at very low speed to let a school bus go by and slid into a ditch,striking a rock and it shattered the lower control arm in half,bent the strut all up and broke the cv axle out of the inboard joint.It pushed the wheel back and up into the fender wrecking it also.It created a real mess for me to repair.

I can appreciate Ram going to aluminum to save unsprung weight,improve mpg etc,but on this critical component it seriously compromises durability and reliability in these trucks.From what I've seen now no way would I attempt to do any off-road in this truck without beefing up the chassis and mimimizing the aluminum.

I chose to go with the Moog RK621602 forged steel lower control arm instead of the Dorman 524-078 aluminum arm which are priced about the same yet it is many times stronger and far less prone to leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere and it has a serviceable ball joint.