Front of 183 bowing after long haul

shmily76

Member
I believe I mentioned this in another thread response, but we experienced a bowing effect on the hitch (front) end of the trailer after a 1,500 miles trip a few weeks ago. After meeting Jim B. from Heartland at a campground in Indiana (small world!), we contacted Heartland. They sent me back to the dealer and the dealer DID decide to pull the fiberglass, put in reinforcements, and replace the fiberglass, repaint, etc. Just an FYI to keep an eye on the same area if you do any long trips- the wind seems to cause bowing, and it cracked the panel just enough to cause a problem. Just wanted to thank Jim and give other owners a heads up!
 

brains77396

Active Member
We are leaving on a 1,800 mile round trip tomorrow. Hope this is not something that keeps rearing it's ugly head. Will keep an eye out. We try to put all our heavy extra stuff in the bed of our truck. Plan to travel with only 1/3rd tank of water to help keep weight down. Just enough for hand washing and flushing.
 

mcota

Member
What do you mean "bowing"? We just back from a 10,000 mile (yep, that's not a typo) trip. The trim on the bottom outside is separating from the sides. It is happening on the from and back. Any thoughts?
 

shmily76

Member
We noticed that the front panel (hitch end), the wide area of fiberglass is bowing. Turns out it DOES need to be reinforced (at least our does), and the dealer is tearing it apart and taking care if it in the off season. Keep an eye out- your problem may be the same- needs reinforcing b/c of the wind hitting a wide area..... good luck and let us know!
 
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