Flex Guard Suggestion

I like the Flex Guard idea for supporting the electric wires under the master slide, but would like to suggest an improvement. Since the flex guard is bolted flat to the trailer body and then must flex 90 degrees when the slide is opened, it seems to have a very short life expectency. Ours broke on our new 2007 Sundance during the first trip. Duct tape was a handy on the road fix, but when I got it home, rather than getting it replaced, I added a simple 3 1/2 inch common hinge to attach the flex guard to the body. An exterior-grade gate hinge from Lowes had fastener holes in the correct position, so I could simply unbolt the broken flex hinge piece and bolt the hinge to the trailer through the existing holes. I then sandwiched the flex guard between the other side of the hinge and a metal plate and drilled holes through the flex guard and plate to align with the existing three hinge holes. Three stainless steel 1/4 inch bolts with lock washers were used to fasten the flex guard to the hinge.

I haven't given this a true testing yet, but it appears to be working well and avoids the constant 90 degree bend in the flex guard. The total cost for all the pieces was far less than $10 and the install time was approximately 15 minutes. I think that having a real hinge installed by the factory could avoid a lot of service requests and be advantageous for customer relations.

Thanks.

Have had the Flexguard break on our unit only 8 weeks old waiting for an new one currently . Definatly not a well designed system as far as fastening to the inside.

Rick

We have had a discussion of the Flexguard on the Landmark posts and the solutions from Lippert include a solid brace or rigid connection on one end. They claim it is needed to support the strap.

I am noticing the use of the Flexguard on other brands of trailers as I commonly look under the slides to see what they are using. Friday I saw a few Montanas with the triple wide strap and then noticed several Cedar Creek models with single wide straps. They were fastened with screws on one end and the pin on the other. It will be interesting to check those owners groups after they have a chance to break off like ours.

Mine broke also

first trip out (see pics) My fix was to reattach it at the broke end to the plate with the screws in the broke part and added 2 more, I also noticed that at the other end it was attached to a pole it was too low on the pole causing it to bind when moved in or out I adjusted the height on the pole so it would be level. I asked my dealer to get me replacements since the guy at Heartland said he could not send me any that I had to go through my dealer (who is incompetent ) I am still waiting for the part 7 months now.

Kurt;
I don't know who you spoke with at Heartland, but if you will contact Jim Fenner, the Customer Service Department Manager, I am sure that he will be able to assist you in making the necessary arrangements for your dealer to get the parts. You can e-mail Jim at (service@heartlandrvs.com), or call him in the Customer Service Department at 877-262-8032.

John

Flexguard

Kurt:
I had the same problem last week. I fixed it myself for less than $5. Went to Home Depot bought a 3 1/2 inch hinge with a removable pin and 3 - 1/4 X 1/2 inch bolts, washers and nuts. Clamped it to the flexguard and ran a 1/4 inch bit through the holes in the hinge. Bolted it all together. The other hinge holes (2) just had to be opened up a little to fit the factory holes I even used the self tapping bolts form the original instalation. It was a 15 minute fix with no future worries. I had to mount the pin upside down so I could remove it to lubricate it. The hinge pin is tight enough that it will not fall out. Others have fixed this ongoing problem the same way.

Retyred