Frame sagging in rear

Just had my BH3670 in the RV shop. (Very reputable shop) I wanted them to adjust the rear slide on drivers side as it appeared to be crooked. The slide seal was barely touching on the top and bent pretty good on the bottom, so I wanted them to adjust it up to square it up. They said they see this quite often and that the frame is sagging in the rear and when they put jacks under the frame in the rear, it straightened right out. Supposedly Heartland knows about this problem and the fix is to weld supports on the frame to straghten it out. Has anybody heard about this and exactly what is the fix. Where and how do you weld the supports. Would appreciate response from somebody that has had this problem or somebody that knows of the fix.

Thank,
Jim

Frame sag? The most common frame problem posted about here is frame flex, which is not the main I-beams but rather the upper frame structure to which the pinbox is attached.

There have been a handful of other frame problems talked about on this forum, but I don't recall sag being one of them.

Regardless, the frame is made by Lippert. Lippert has some technical bulletins (LIP Sheets) on the frame. One of them deals with cracks near the axles and how to repair and strengthen the frame. Here's a link to one that might be helpful.

bucketman said:

Just had my BH3670 in the RV shop. (Very reputable shop) I wanted them to adjust the rear slide on drivers side as it appeared to be crooked. The slide seal was barely touching on the top and bent pretty good on the bottom, so I wanted them to adjust it up to square it up. They said they see this quite often and that the frame is sagging in the rear and when they put jacks under the frame in the rear, it straightened right out. Supposedly Heartland knows about this problem and the fix is to weld supports on the frame to straghten it out. Has anybody heard about this and exactly what is the fix. Where and how do you weld the supports. Would appreciate response from somebody that has had this problem or somebody that knows of the fix.

Thank,
Jim

Click to expand...

My 07 Cedar Creek had frame failure. My first sign was the street side slide would not seal while in or out.
An RV mechanic was able to adjust the slide but it was only a temporary fix.


Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

I would guess to repair the sag you would weld some heavy duty rectangular steel tubing to the I beams with the weight lifted and the I beams straight. I had to have such a repair for sections of my I beams that had twisted longitudinally around the suspension hangars area.

You can look at this album of pictures from my 2014 repair: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bw3atuhfb0GMUXhiRE50LXYtMjg The 8th picture with the oarnge jackstands shows the I Beam and rectangular tubing welded to it pretty well.

Thanks for the bulletin, We had the frame flex and Heartland took care of that last summer. I adjusted the slide today and was able to get it sealed a little better. I will check for a crack in the fram to see if that is what I have. This a good reason for not loading up the back end of the trailer. I removed all the heavy stuff from the axles back which wasen't very much. Going to look into a different way to haul the bicycles.

- - - Updated - - -

wdk450 said:

I would guess to repair the sag you would weld some heavy duty rectangular steel tubing to the I beams with the weight lifted and the I beams straight. I had to have such a repair for sections of my I beams that had twisted longitudinally around the suspension hangars area.

You can look at this album of pictures from my 2014 repair: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bw3atuhfb0GMUXhiRE50LXYtMjg The 8th picture with the oarnge jackstands shows the I Beam and rectangular tubing welded to it pretty well.

Click to expand...

Wow! that looks pretty major. Did you do it yourself? I sure hope I don't have that.

I had the same problem with slide in Big Horn. The slide was cocked. What I found was a 5 inch crack in I beam right above rear shackle. I brought it to Elkhart and Lippert repaired it out of warranty.
I dealt with Mel Jones at Lippert. He said he would make it right and he did. He did the right thing.
Dennis

dennych1 said:

I had the same problem with slide in Big Horn. The slide was cocked. What I found was a 5 inch crack in I beam right above rear shackle. I brought it to Elkhart and Lippert repaired it out of warranty.
I dealt with Mel Jones at Lippert. He said he would make it right and he did. He did the right thing.
Dennis

Click to expand...

I'm going to get under the trailer this morning and give it a good look over for cracks. How long did the reapair take? Mel Jones may be my next call. Thank You

- - - Updated - - -


Wow! that looks pretty major. Did you do it yourself? I sure hope I don't have that.[/QUOTE]


I found the twisted I beams after a day's pull South on US 101 from Fortuna, CA. to Cloverdale (near Sonoma) California. I may have noticed the problem at a slight amount the day before, but was in the middle of nowhere as far as getting major RV repairs done. I found a professional welder shop in Cloverdale, Fletcher Fabrications. He had just finished doing essentially the same repair on a SOB 5th wheel. It cost me $5500 in 2014.

This is why I now advocate for either the MorRyde IS system with the added welded steel box in the suspension area, welded add-on tubular cross-members between the suspension I beam hangars, or the MorRyde DIY X Factor crossbeams.

My repair at Lippert took about 6 weeks but besides the 5 " crack it was bent down and also bowed out.

wdk450 said:

- - - Updated - - -


This is why I now advocate for either the MorRyde IS system with the added welded steel box in the suspension area, welded add-on tubular cross-members between the suspension I beam hangars, or the MorRyde DIY X Factor crossbeams.

Click to expand...

All of these stories of frame issues make me glad the first stop I made after picking up our new 5th wheel was at MORryde. I got a couple of funny looks when I told people I was getting rid of brand new axles/suspension with only about 300 miles on them. But so far I am loving it!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One more observation I wanted to make on all of these postings of frame issues, is that the affected units all seem to be produced between 2007 and 2011. Those of us who were on the forum then also remember many postings about leaf springs flattening out, and a suggestion that all of these metal problems could be a result of cheaply made Chinese steel. China at that time had just made the right turn from government ownership/control of all industry to limited capitalism. Unfortunately, regulatory agencies to ensure quality products were either non-existant, or the inspectors and officials were easily bribed to look the other way. It took a no-nonsense approach of the highest levels of Chinese government to get their products on a quality par with the rest of the world. There were more than a few "bullet to the brain" executions in China for corruption to reverse things. A great number of SOB 5th wheels had many of the same problems as Heartlands did in that 2007 - 2011 era.

I just read a thread headline that says that Heartland is now giving a 3 year frame warranty. I think that this shows Lippert's and Heartland's confidence in the product they put out TODAY.

wdk450 said:

I just read a thread headline that says that Heartland is now giving a 3 year frame warranty. I think that this shows Lippert's and Heartland's confidence in the product they put out TODAY.

Click to expand...

'

The 3 year structural warranty (in part):

The Heartland Three (3) Year Limited Structural Warranty covers substantial defects in material and/or workmanship supplied and attributable to Heartland in the construction and assembly of the “structural” (as defined below) portions of the recreational vehicle, arising under normal use and service to the structural components.

“Structural” portions of the recreational vehicle consist of: (a) exterior sidewalls, laminated or non-laminated, including fiberglass and wall studs; (b) floors, laminated or non-laminated, including decking and floor joists; (c) roofs, laminated or non-laminated, including decking and roof rafters; and, (d) slide out box exterior sidewalls; end walls; roofs; floors; skeletal framing; decking; and, roof material installation.
​This Warranty does not cover: front and rear fiberglass caps and any other cosmetic fiberglass attachments; aluminum siding (unless the root cause is the wall structure); exterior roof material (EPDM rubber, TPO, etc.); floor covering (carpet, linoleum, hardwood, tile, etc.); all sidewall, end wall, front and rear wall, roof and floor attachments; cosmetic issues; damage from water leaks not attributable to a defect; and, delamination caused by water intrusion from lack of required exterior seal maintenance as outlined in the Maintenance Schedule included in the Owner’s Manual.

Click to expand...

The I-Beam frame from Lippert would still be warranted by Lippert.