Bent and cracked frame -RESOLVED

[dennych1]

On trip to Florida my door side slide on big horn was jammed on top back corner. Called heartland to notify them since they fixed broken weld in that wall last year. Also Lippert rewelded spring hangers because weld was broken. I was able to adjust slide so it would open. Then decided to readjust a little more and found reason why this happened. Right where spring hanger was rewelded by Lippert the frame was cracked and bent. Not really sure it's safe to travel waiting to hear from Heartland Monday. Oh yeah the broken weld in wall was fixed back in Heartland 2 times last year. Not very happy with Lippert!!!!
Dennis

 

[rhodies1]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

On trip to Florida my door side slide on big horn was jammed on top back corner. Called heartland to notify them since they fixed broken weld in that wall last year. Also Lippert rewelded spring hangers because weld was broken. I was able to adjust slide so it would open. Then decided to readjust a little more and found reason why this happened. Right where spring hanger was rewelded by Lippert the frame was cracked and bent. Not really sure it's safe to travel waiting to hear from Heartland Monday. Oh yeah the broken weld in wall was fixed back in Heartland 2 times last year. Not very happy with Lippert!!!!
Dennis

What year,type,and model unit are you speaking about,we as
owners are very interested in this type of information.
As you state the frame is broken,if this were my unit,it would not be moved until some form of repair was completed.If this is a fairly new unit then I would be demanding Heartland/Lippert complete a proper fix by installing a new frame rail on the broken side, if possible,if this cannot be done then buy the unit back,this is very dangerous.I have never heard of a frame breaking but on another brand off unit I owned,both rear shackles broke from the frame.
keep us informed as to your outcome.
Good luck.

 

[danemayer]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

proper fix by installing a new frame rail

I've never heard of a frame rail being replaced and I doubt it's possible. But I have heard of frame damage being repaired by welding in material alongside the damaged area. I'm sure Lippert can provide expert advice.

Btw, if you have damage to the frame, spring hanger, sidewall framing, and slide all in the same area, I have to wonder if your trailer took some kind of extraordinary shock on that side. Just a guess, but when I see multiple symptoms that appear in some way related, I start looking for a common explanation.

 

[rhodies1]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

I've never heard of a frame rail being replaced and I doubt it's possible. But I have heard of frame damage being repaired by welding in material alongside the damaged area. I'm sure Lippert can provide expert advice.

Btw, if you have damage to the frame, spring hanger, sidewall framing, and slide all in the same area, I have to wonder if your trailer took some kind of extraordinary shock on that side. Just a guess, but when I see multiple symptoms that appear in some way related, I start looking for a common explanation.

You are most likely correct that the rail cannot be replaced ,never heard of it but maybe possible.Something is terribly amiss with this unit, does it have inferior steel in the frame rail,has the previous weld weakened the specific area and bouncing,pot holes have taken its toll,either way ,I would not haul it down the road until some form or repair was completed. If the frame breaks completely at the hanger area then the suspension is going to come apart and possibly lose control of the unit. Someone could be seriously hurt or worse. I would ask Lippert for their recommendation asap.

 

[dennych1]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

This unit is a 2015 Big Horn 3160. I think that when Lippert rewelded spring hangers they weakened rail. Unfortunately I probably have to wait for Tuesday because they might be closed on Monday holiday

 

[rhodies1]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

That's very interesting,this unit is virtually new,I would expect Lippert and Heartland to step up to the plate and repair this unit like new..There must be something defective in this rail,I have been an RV owner for 40 years and have never heard nor seen this type of failure.
If this was my unit ,I would expect a quality repair not a quick fix,you definetly have a structural issue.
Please keep advise of your outcome,and again,Good Luck.

 

[mlpeloquin]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

I've never heard of a frame rail being replaced and I doubt it's possible. But I have heard of frame damage being repaired by welding in material alongside the damaged area. I'm sure Lippert can provide expert advice.

My cousin's husband is a tool and die maker (retired). There famous SOB had stud welds pop free on one side welds break around his main slide, and around the front storage. He found cracks across his steal I beams. He took the fifth wheel apart, looked where he could support it, and removed all the I beam frames under it. He replaced it with aluminum I beams, and air suspension. He then remove all the siding and repaired the welds that failed in the studs. He then braced them and put the fifth wheel back together. Nice to have the land, talent, and skill to do this. Two years and no more problems. This is driven over New England's famous pothole roads. So it can be done, but at what cost? I hate to think how much a shop would charge for this. I saw his rig just after he finished and it was impressive. My cousin told me she was not too happy on their first trip when she opened the door and found a 3/4 glass of water on the island counter. No water was spilled and the glass did not move. He looked at me and said "AIR SUSPENSION" and luck.

 

[DougS]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

I am at the same CG as Dennych1 and I can not believe a rail could crack like his. The crack is right over a Lippert repaired hanger bracket and the flat surface of the rail is bowed. I my humble option either the metal was weaken in this area at manufacture or when the hanger was repaired by being welded the metal was over heated taking the temper out of the metal. How to repair this problem is above my pay grade. My hope is HL and Lippert get back to him soon without leaving him hanging.

 

[dennych1]

Re: Bent and cracked frame(Update)

Was arranging for Lipper come to me in Florida but they couldn't make it for a week. Got local welder to do temp fix. Went to pick camper up from him and couldn't close slide. Finally got it closed and off to Elkhart so Lippert can fix frame. Hopefully we make it with no problem. Have a appointment .
Dennis

 

[DougS]

Re: Bent and cracked frame(Update)

Was arranging for Lipper come to me in Florida but they couldn't make it for a week. Got local welder to do temp fix. Went to pick camper up from him and couldn't close slide. Finally got it closed and off to Elkhart so Lippert can fix frame. Hopefully we make it with no problem. Have a appointment .
Dennis

Good luck Dennis and Barbara, have a safe trip, what a disappointing end to your Florida vacation. Hopefully your problems will be fixed.

 

[wdk450]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

Here are a couple of links to pictures of my 2008 Bighorn bent I beams near the axles, and post private welder (Fletcher Fabrication in Cloverdale, Ca.) post repair photos. These are from Fall 2014.

Before repair photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bw3atuhfb0GMNlNrR3ZhM2I4dG8?usp=sharing

After Repair photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bw3atuhfb0GMUXhiRE50LXYtMjg?usp=sharing


On edit:
At the same time, in 2014, Sonny Dismuke, representing Lippert, came out to California, and inspected the damage. He said that Lippert deeclined to repair this under any warranty. But he DID GIVE me one of his JoyRider heavy duty shock absorber upgrade kits, which normally sell for $500 for the dual axle kit. Now I recently noticed that one of the shock mount adapters mounted to the axle U bolts had broken. Further measurements had us realize that the top shock mount was mounted 2 3/4 inches to low due to the uncalculated for size of the wide wall repair rectangular steel tubing welded to the bottom rail of the existing I beams. This only gave the shocks 1 inch of up movement before they bottomed out. I contacted Sonny (now in Arizona) who very graciously worked with me in getting me some more parts for the system to fix all 4 lower shock mounts. I have to wait a few days for the mud to dry under the trailer to do the installation (we got over 9 inches of rain here, in the mountains East of San Diego, just for yesterday).

 

[Bob&Patty]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

Good grief, how much heat could welding on a spring hanger create? Was the guy using a gas torch?? You would have thought that Lippert had come into the 21st century by now. Mig and Tig welding has been around for many years. I think a 3160 has a 12" frame.... and to get it hot enough weaken the metal??

Anyway, good luck to you.

 

[DougS]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

Dennis, glad to hear you made it to HL with no incidents from the frame, I guess the patch weld held.

 

[dennych1]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

Well good news brought camper over to lippert in Goshen today and they said it was covered and they will make it right. Also they will ship it home to Long Island. Boy were we happy. Left for home today and will be home tomorrow. Thank you Mel Jones from lippert
Thanks all
Dennis

 

[carl.swoyer]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

I personally have never been able to get Lippert return a call.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[dennych1]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

Our camper is fixed and currently in Otter lake P.A. Camping. Lippert stood behind there product and fixed frame for good I hope. Mel Jones from Lippert was great to work with. A big thanks to Mel and his crew at Lippert and Darrel Turner at Heartland working together getting fix done.
Thanks
Dennis and Barbara.

 

[MP_CS]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

You're in the poconos or at otter lake in the adirondacks?

 

[dennych1]

Re: Bent and cracked frame

You're in the poconos or at otter lake in the adirondacks?

We are in poconos