Design flaw !!!!!!!!!

As you know I've took the belly off to take care of some rust. It's coming along nicely. NOTE: When POR 15 says nothing will take it off you skin if you get it on you, THEY MEAN IT..

I've ordered a bunch of parts for mods and such. I added 4 cross members to take away a bunch of the under belly sag.

I got them from Home Depot in the Electrical section. They are metal, light and strong. I cut them to length and then painted them.



There seemed to be puddles that sat in the bottom and caused much of the rust.

Well here comes the design flaw. While Heartland says it has a sealed and heated under belly it's far from sealed. This biggest problem and this allows A LOT of water in and no water out.



This big gaping hole is right between the tires. I understand it has to be there, BUT it allows massive amounts of spray in while you go down the road. Once in there it has NO WHERE to go, but slosh around and cause rust.

Same problem with the other slides rear of the wheels. When driving in the rain the mist and pressure from the mist will force water into the holes and then you have a problem.

Since I'm waiting for parts: IE thermo, heat element, charge wizard... I racked my brain and planning a dual rubber seal set up for the hole and some sort of splash guard for the actually slides.. Hopefull this will prevent water from getting in.

For those who haven't ventured behind your walls in storage this is what it looks like.



LOTS of excess down here. With better planning Heartland could cut it's cost on materials. I took 4 feet of excess heater hose that goes under the stairs.

Thanks for the detailed info/pics CREEP....will give folks something to look out for. Will be interested in what you come up with to take care of holes frame that allow the water in. Thanks again.

Creeper,

Consider a front axle repair boot for a car... those come in two pieces... and can be glued together.... should be a way to attach it to the frame hole... maybe by making a sheet metal sleeve to clamp the boots large hole too... then the slide pistons shaft could just float through the small hole on the boot.

Good Luck !

Marv

Good idea, I'll look at it.

Creeper not that it will make you feel any better but I saw your pictures of the rusty frame. Yours looks like it came right out of the paint booth compared to mine. I want to do what you are doing but I have to lay in the street to work on it. I like your support idea for the under belly. I have lots of sags in mine. I think if you would look in the "un-seen" areas of most RVs the wiring and plumbing would look about the same. I spent several hours re-routing wires, ducts and plumbing. I did it because of pride of ownership. The furnace blew air a little better when I shortened up the ducts and took the whoopie-dos out of them.

When I took my rig into the repair shop because of the underbelly sag, they were smart enough to add 2 cross members underneath accross the frame. It stopped the sagging, and kept water from accumulating underneath. Bob (of Bob and Patty) drilled holes in his corrugated plastic underbelly to let the water drain. The only odd thing was when we took our next trip, the sewage smell everytime we flushed the toilet was horrible. Could one have to do with the other? It was suggested that when they placed the cross members it could possibly cause a crimp somewhere in the black tank by forcing it up a little. I am open for suggestions.

Hey Larry,

The tanks don't normally hang below the bottom of the I-beam but if your tank itself was sagging and they jacked it up in order to add the metal supports, I am wondering if they cracked a seal somewhere? Maybe where the vent is glued at the top or maybe where the gate valve is glued to the side? Just thoughts. May not be this at all.

Jim

Jim Beletti said:

Hey Larry,

The tanks don't normally hang below the bottom of the I-beam...

Jim

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It may not be normal but that is one thing I did see on mine when I dropped the bottom. I had noticed the sag underneath and found that the waste tank does hang below the bottom of the I-Beam.

I checked with production and was told this:

The tanks are mounted flush with the top of I-beam. After some usage, they can swell and become disproportioned, this is normal. It will be more noticeable on 10” I-beams rather than 12”.

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