Is this happening to anyone els
- Thread starter bimmy
- Start date
RoadJunkie
Well-known member
It appears that water penetrated this area and froze, which expanded and caused the flaking. It does look like mold is present indicating sustained moisture. The area needed to be maintained to prevent water penetration. I could be wrong...mine is not having the issue, but we don’t live in a freezing environment.
It sounds like you have what is known as frame flex. Which means that the front frame support welds may have broken.
Take a flashlight and look everywhere you can to observe the welds. Stick your head in that side compartment and look for broken welds up front.
Or have a dealer check it out.
If you or the dealer observe broke welds, contact Heartland and explain the situation and ask for guidance.
Peace
Dave
wdk450
Well-known member
Check out this thread and the "Similar Threads" that come with it at the bottom of the thread's pages: https://heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/71095-Frame-Flex-Again?
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
Walk around the bedroom and closet barefoot and see if you feel any unevenness in the flooring beneath the carpet or hear squeaking. That's how I found mine had a problem before any serious damage occurred and got it fixed. This was after the first summer we used the trailer. Brought it to the dealer, they checked it out and did the repairs under warranty.
carl.swoyer
Well-known member
Looking at the picture I'm thinking pin box movement. This is noticed when hooked up but not when disconnected. There's a method for taking measurement's to see if you are still in acceptable tolerance.
Mine just started .
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mlpeloquin
Well-known member
Been there and done that. The two frames are held together with self drilling/taping screws. Most likely some of the fastener heads have popped off. If you have a place to work on it, the fix is to remove the trim and then the front sheeting. You can lay the sheeting down on an old sheet or blanket. This exposes the the fasteners. Mine was fixed with larger gauge fasteners that were doubled up. The cost was just shy of $1000.00 at my independent RV repair business.
I should have included a picture. Once fixed and since there is no movement.
Last edited:
danemayer
Well-known member
If you think you might have frame flex as some have suggested, you need to take clear pictures to show the flex.
Tape something of known size, ideally a ruler, next to the area where there's separation.
Put your smart phone or other camera on a solid surface so it's stationary.
Take a clear picture with trailer weight on the landing gear and another with trailer weight on the hitch. Sometimes it's helpful to have a view of the entire area, accompanied by a close up of the ruler and area separating.
If there's frame flex, a measurable difference will be seen in the pictures. The ruler will show exactly how much separation there is.
I think and 1/8" or so movement may be considered normal.
Contacting Heartland with pictures ready to send will help with getting direction on what to do.
Tape something of known size, ideally a ruler, next to the area where there's separation.
Put your smart phone or other camera on a solid surface so it's stationary.
Take a clear picture with trailer weight on the landing gear and another with trailer weight on the hitch. Sometimes it's helpful to have a view of the entire area, accompanied by a close up of the ruler and area separating.
If there's frame flex, a measurable difference will be seen in the pictures. The ruler will show exactly how much separation there is.
I think and 1/8" or so movement may be considered normal.
Contacting Heartland with pictures ready to send will help with getting direction on what to do.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
You have a 2010 ElkRidge, and we did too!
Your separation does look like potential frame flex.
We also had this, noticed in 2012 and Heartland covered the repair, but we had to take it to them to do so.
Take pics and contact Heartland as Dan mentioned!
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Your separation does look like potential frame flex.
We also had this, noticed in 2012 and Heartland covered the repair, but we had to take it to them to do so.
Take pics and contact Heartland as Dan mentioned!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
I think it depends on the rig and the amount of movement.
On our ElkRidge, they removed the bulkhead under the overhang, and the doors to the battery and propane compartments, to access the frame, and also removed the bedroom slide. Then they cut the fiberglass horizontally on either side to get to the structure where the walls meet the floor of the upper deck. I think they added additional steel gussets in various places and better secured the walls to the structure. At the factory they don't allow photos, and ours was re-fiberglassed before we saw the work done underneath.
We also had similar work done for suspected frame flex on our Big Country, but less intrusive. No fiberglass work. It has not eliminated the movement entirely, however.
It's not a simple job, it takes them about 4-5 working days for deconstruction, welding, and reconstruction.
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mlpeloquin
Well-known member
Depends on just how much has been damaged. Mine was just having new fasteners installed holding the two frames together. This required removal of the front trim, front storage bay door and frame, removal of the front sheeting, and installing new fasteners. Then putting it back together again. I had heaver gauge fasteners and had them doubled up. After, I installed a Trailair Flex Air pin and air bags on the truck to reduce the shock on the frame fasteners. Great ride and 16k plus miles later, with 11k cross country trip of America's best roads, everything is still fine.
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