Cracked Frame.

[traveldawg]

While inspecting my spring hangers after talking to friend who had one twist and come partially broken off his Cardinal 5th wheel I found these cracks in my frame....







The cracks were in the same place on both sides. Just forward of the gusset plate on the I-beam above the rearmost spring hanger. The cracks were about 1.5 inches but I couldn't tell how far under that gusset plate they went (turns out they were about 3" and the tech was pretty surprised I found them that early in the failure cycle. He has seen them a lot longer).

I'm working with Lippert on warranty coverage. They are amenable to provide some assistance and may pay for it all. So that seems to be going well so far. They were quick to answer the phone, transform to some specialist folks and email exchanges are quickly replied to.

I found a good welding shop locally (Bend, OR) and took it there. They were quite familiar with the problem and said they see it all the time. They explained that the I-beam twists when backing due to stresses on the wheels, axles and spring hanger. We've all heard about the spring hangers breaking, I had not ever heard of the I-beam cracking.

The fix was to box the frame from about 8" before the front most spring hanger to about 8" behind the rearmost spring hanger (seems to be about 6' long). The formed a "C" shaped plate out of 1/8" steel that fit inside the I-beam on the outside of the beam and welded it in place. The even cut the plate to fit around the welded on extensions on the I-beam and around the openings for the slide out mechanism. They also filled the crack with some welds before boxing the frame.

They dropped the coroplast before welding and put everything back to gather very neatly. I sure am impressed with their work. They even had to work around my brake lines (disc brakes).

I'll put some more photos in the next post due to photo limit.

kalakamods

[traveldawg]

Here is the continuation of the cracked frame info......

Here are some photos of the plate and the plate welded to the I-beam. I threw the one in with the suspension figuring ya'll might like to see the MorRyde SRE4000, disc brakes I put on and the Sumo springs.









All this happened while staying at a friends place. So were are very fortunate that he knew the area well and some welding shops to contact. We are also fortunate that they have a spare studio apartment about their workshop that we could stay in while the RV was repaired.

I really can't say enough good things about the shop. We went by the shop yesterday (Wednesday) and as soon as they saw the photos they knew what to do. They thought it would be Monday before they could do the work and estimate 2 days. They called late in the day and said bring it in today at 8:00am. We got there, I pulled into the garage and they went right to work and it was ready the same day at 4:30 PM. whooohooo!!!!

We did interrupt our travel, having to cancel a 5 day stay near Portland but we're glad to be with our friends for a few more days. And they get out help with some chores around the property. It's a pretty good deal for us.

We just feel so lucky how all this mess worked out. I was pretty upset when I discovered the cracks and feared the worst. But everything worked out OK.

CRAWL UNDER YOUR RV AND CHECK YOUR FRAME.

btw..... Apparently Lippert is quite aware of this failure point.... check out this link.

I didn't have the spring hangers strengthened as I already have an appointment with MorRyde to have their independent suspension installed and the welding shop said I should be OK until then. (my fingers are crossed).

[geotex1]

It is too common on Lippert frames! As I have said before, the industry took a huge leap backward when Lippert became the near monopoly on frames... A lot of good design with engineering behind it was lost.

You really need to add a diaphragm to resolve this problem because Lippert has left out web stiffeners. MORryde X-factor as a minimum option not impacting frame warranty or custom designed for the ultimate reinforcement.

[Bradnailer]

We had a similar issue on our Coachman travel trailer, also a Lippert frame. The issue ended up being a recall. The repairs were similar. On a side note, I recently had an issue with our leveling system and ended up having to call Lippert. I got a tech person quickly and they were extremely helpful.

[FT4NOW]

Good catch. Looks like the shop did a good job. Did LCI end up covering the cost or is that still being worked out?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[dryfly]

I had a Lippert tech do some welding on the frame of my previous trailer. He said were you to visit the manufacturing facility you could see two men lift the bare frame to a 30' trailer by hand. Really gives you confidence!

[Redapple63]

Great catch! Looks like the work done was top notch. Boxing is a great idea.

[traveldawg]

Good catch. Looks like the shop did a good job. Did LCI end up covering the cost or is that still being worked out?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Yes. LCI is reimbursing me. Kind of odd... they said it was as a gesture of goodwill. I would have thought it would be a warranty issue.

[FT4NOW]

Yes. LCI is reimbursing me. Kind of odd... they said it was as a gesture of goodwill. I would have thought it would be a warranty issue.

Either way, seems like it worked out well for you.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[WhittleBurner]

Yes. LCI is reimbursing me. Kind of odd... they said it was as a gesture of goodwill. I would have thought it would be a warranty issue.

Likely a safety issue being near the hager. So more like a gesture of CYA.. but great Lippert stood up regardless.

The added angle plates was to stop cracks on the I beam, looks like they just transfered the stress to a different spot. Since our hanger fell off a few years ago we check frequently in the suspension areas .

Awesome you were taken care of so quickly and a quality repair is the best part.