Yet another Hydraulic Post

[bfs673]

Last trip out I ran out of hydraulic fluid before my slides were fully extended. Quick trip to an auto parts store fixed that... BUT.... where did it go???

Found some leaking hoses, 2 actually, in the underbelly.
Pulled the lines out and this was VERY CLEARLY an installation issue at the time of manufacturing.
Both leaking lines had sheathing stripped; the black line had roughly 24" of sheathing missing.
There was no damage to the underbelly, the sheathing was nowhere to be found.
I would put $$$ on this was damaged when being pulled for installation.

Had new lines made at a local CAT dealership, will be measuring the remaining line and replace ALL lines in the trailer.

Several quarts of hydraulic fluid in the belly, soaked into the insulation. So all that has to be replaced as well.
What a MESS !!!

So... I'm extremely disappointed with Grand Design right now. I know these lines are prone to failure anyhow, but this is just blatant lack of quality that caused this damage.

Questions:
What have folks here used to replace the insulation? Rigid foam boards, fiberglass, or other genius alternatives?
Anyone have the female quick disconnect size needed for the hydraulic bleeder fittings on top of the LCI pump? (This would've been handy)
Has anyone added simple cross member supports between the frame rails to prevent coroplast sagging?
Any other suggestions while I'm in the underbelly (Which REALLY sucks by the way)?

[JonSr.]

We just got back from a 1600 mile trip. On our last day to come home one of the hydraulic lines to the left rear jack blew out as I was retracting the gear. Upon inspection, it appears something from the road flew up and hit the line at the point where it enters thru the frame. The underbelly on the inside got soaked with Hyd fluid. I'm in the process of trying to answer the same questions you asked!
"What have folks here used to replace the insulation? Rigid foam boards, fiberglass, or other alternatives? Has anyone added simple cross member supports between the frame rails to prevent coroplast sagging?"
I would like to know if you found any answers to your questons.
Thanks

[DECelt]

Last trip out I ran out of hydraulic fluid before my slides were fully extended. Quick trip to an auto parts store fixed that... BUT.... where did it go???

Found some leaking hoses, 2 actually, in the underbelly.
Pulled the lines out and this was VERY CLEARLY an installation issue at the time of manufacturing.
Both leaking lines had sheathing stripped; the black line had roughly 24" of sheathing missing.
There was no damage to the underbelly, the sheathing was nowhere to be found.
I would put $$$ on this was damaged when being pulled for installation.

Had new lines made at a local CAT dealership, will be measuring the remaining line and replace ALL lines in the trailer.

Several quarts of hydraulic fluid in the belly, soaked into the insulation. So all that has to be replaced as well.
What a MESS !!!

So... I'm extremely disappointed with Grand Design right now. I know these lines are prone to failure anyhow, but this is just blatant lack of quality that caused this damage.

Questions:
What have folks here used to replace the insulation? Rigid foam boards, fiberglass, or other genius alternatives?
Anyone have the female quick disconnect size needed for the hydraulic bleeder fittings on top of the LCI pump? (This would've been handy)
Has anyone added simple cross member supports between the frame rails to prevent coroplast sagging?
Any other suggestions while I'm in the underbelly (Which REALLY sucks by the way)?

Looks almost chewed....like rodent damage.


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[JonSr.]

My brother in law works with insurance companies in his line of work. He was told just last week by one insurance company that they totaled a less than one year old RV due to rodent damage. All the electrical lines had been decimated. They said it was because the wire covering is a soy based product and not oil based. As it is soy based the rodents see it as food.

[bfs673]

We just got back from a 1600 mile trip. On our last day to come home one of the hydraulic lines to the left rear jack blew out as I was retracting the gear. Upon inspection, it appears something from the road flew up and hit the line at the point where it enters thru the frame. The underbelly on the inside got soaked with Hyd fluid. I'm in the process of trying to answer the same questions you asked!
"What have folks here used to replace the insulation? Rigid foam boards, fiberglass, or other alternatives? Has anyone added simple cross member supports between the frame rails to prevent coroplast sagging?"
I would like to know if you found any answers to your questons.
Thanks

Sorry to hear about your issue.
Here's what I've discovered:
The hydraulic lines in the trailer are very light duty and prone to failure (as we both discovered). I replaced all lines (with a few exceptions) with CAT brand lines (Coupling PN 1241950, hose PN 4568409)
These hoses are great, by the way. More flexible than the Lippert, yet much more stout (at least based on "feel"). The cost was $14 for both couplings and $.05/cm for the hose; not terrible. They built the hoses at the lengths I specified.

For hydraulic fluid, I went with Mobil 1 ATF. This allows me to use the hydraulics in the Northeast winters. NOT cheap. Needed roughly 2 gallons ($10/qt). My system nearly emptied throughout this whole process.

For insulation, I went with Non-faced standard role of batted insulation. I went with R-30. DO NOT DO THIS !!! Way too thick.
Installing this was also a ton of fun!

For cross-members, I'm headed to Home depot this evening and will look at the 1" square aluminum tubing. Not sure if this will be strong enough over the ~ 79" span between the I-beams but we'll see.
May go with an angle iron, or steel square tubing.

I'm hoping to drill a hole through it and use the existing coroplast retainer screws to hold it in place.

[bfs673]

My brother in law works with insurance companies in his line of work. He was told just last week by one insurance company that they totaled a less than one year old RV due to rodent damage. All the electrical lines had been decimated. They said it was because the wire covering is a soy based product and not oil based. As it is soy based the rodents see it as food.

I had considered that, but no other sign of rodents. No nests, no feces, insulation fully intact (minus the gallon of ATF), and no other signs of issues in any other lines. Wiring looked ok, but honestly didn't indirect closely. It looks like a rats nest anyhow (pun intended).

I'll be sure everything is sealed up as good as I can!

[JonSr.]

Sorry to hear about your issue.
Here's what I've discovered:
The hydraulic lines in the trailer are very light duty and prone to failure (as we both discovered). I replaced all lines (with a few exceptions) with CAT brand lines (Coupling PN 1241950, hose PN 4568409)
These hoses are great, by the way. More flexible than the Lippert, yet much more stout (at least based on "feel"). The cost was $14 for both couplings and $.05/cm for the hose; not terrible. They built the hoses at the lengths I specified.

For hydraulic fluid, I went with Mobil 1 ATF. This allows me to use the hydraulics in the Northeast winters. NOT cheap. Needed roughly 2 gallons ($10/qt). My system nearly emptied throughout this whole process.

For insulation, I went with Non-faced standard role of batted insulation. I went with R-30. DO NOT DO THIS !!! Way too thick.
Installing this was also a ton of fun!

For cross-members, I'm headed to Home depot this evening and will look at the 1" square aluminum tubing. Not sure if this will be strong enough over the ~ 79" span between the I-beams but we'll see.
May go with an angle iron, or steel square tubing.

I'm hoping to drill a hole through it and use the existing coroplast retainer screws to hold it in place.

I'm not ready to replace all the hydraulic lines yet! As we have a local and well established hydraulic shop close by, they make all things related and I had them make a new hose for me. Its more flexible, 1/2" vs 3/8" and has braided steel inside. I was told there is no way any rodent can chew through it.
I contacted Grand Design today and had a conversation regarding the white batt insulation. I was told it was supplied by Alpha Systems. It is R-7 and is 15"x60". I'll contact Alpha tomorrow and see if I can obtain some of it. I need to replace some of the black coroplast underbelly and GD told me it was the #140 version they list on their website, not the #160 version. Contact the local dealer tomorrow about it. Just a side note, if you aren't in a hurry, Lippert lists the internal cross members for sale on their website. I'm going to use a local welding and fab shop for materials. Finally, I've replaced the original coroplast retaining screws with Stainless Steel ones, and you can get them on Amazon.