Warning about use of Sulastic Springs on a Solitude!

Nuffsaid said:
It's a youtube video showing frame failure from having the rubber bump stops between the axle and the frame, trailer was totaled out by insurance.
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Well, it does show frame failure. As to the cause of the frame failure, it's anybody's guess.
 
Nuffsaid said:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/r1r7La2dkK4

This couple had Sulastic springs installed on what looks to me a Solitude 310GK and the springs caused the frame to bend and crack and caused the trailer to be a total loss!
Click to expand...

Looks like he had the black Sumo Springs on the trailer. If you watch his other video it seems like there were some extenuating circumstances while he was offroading with the Solitude. Looks like he hung it up on some pretty nasty dips in a road he probably shouldn't have been on and put his trailer through things it should not be exposed to, Sumo springs or not. Lucky he didn't wreck his truck too. But then this is all based on about 30 seconds of some pretty interesting video in his clip.

Rob
 
Heck of a frame crack. That got me looking at fame flex YT videos - yeah I know that is a bad thing. There is another Solitude (2022) video with front frame flex - kind of interesting what GD at Elkhart welded in to fix screws popping through their bedroom linoleum flooring though their techs said flex was in limits. They clearly found some issues which go back to RV construction.

Front cross member flex is something that GD is going to check at Elkhart when we are there.
 
Calbar said:
Looks like he had the black Sumo Springs on the trailer. If you watch his other video it seems like there were some extenuating circumstances while he was offroading with the Solitude. Looks like he hung it up on some pretty nasty dips in a road he probably shouldn't have been on and put his trailer through things it should not be exposed to, Sumo springs or not. Lucky he didn't wreck his truck too. But then this is all based on about 30 seconds of some pretty interesting video in his clip.

Rob
Click to expand...

You could very well be correct that they are Sumo springs, I was going off of memory after I watched the video where they took the trailer to a repair center and the tech blamed the rubber springs for the failure of the frame.
 
Scott'n'Wendy said:
Those aren't bump stops.......... but the frame is bent in the rear. Hangers twisted. Something dramatic happened there for sure.
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Bump stops probably isn't the correct terminology, the culprit is a rubber spring placed between the axle and the frame to help support the load, they could be Sumo springs, I only posted a short video link, the full length youtube video shows them bringing the trailer to a repair center in Texas and the techs there said undoubtedly frame damage caused by the added springs. It is pretty simple structural engineering that putting a rubber spring between the axle and frame can stress the frame beyond design parameters and cause a failure. The lower flange of the I beam is broken from upward pressure of the rubber spring, this resulted in the spring hangers twisting due to lack of structural integrity.
 
Nuffsaid said:
Bump stops probably isn't the correct terminology, the culprit is a rubber spring placed between the axle and the frame to help support the load, they could be Sumo springs, I only posted a short video link, the full length youtube video shows them bringing the trailer to a repair center in Texas and the techs there said undoubtedly frame damage caused by the added springs. It is pretty simple structural engineering that putting a rubber spring between the axle and frame can stress the frame beyond design parameters and cause a failure. The lower flange of the I beam is broken from upward pressure of the rubber spring, this resulted in the spring hangers twisting due to lack of structural integrity.
Click to expand...
While certainly possible, it is also just speculation on your part. Not knowing how the trailer was treated, what kind of roads, and when the suspect rubber springs were installed and by whom. Could just as easily have been caused by the owners' treatment, and is being blamed on the rubber springs. Without being there, it's impossible to say.
 
Hmm, watching that video, no mention is made about why the trailer was sitting in a ditch, near the beginning, with the side that's in the ditch just happens to be the side that the frame is bent. And it shows him beating down the bent frame at some point, no mention made of that either. Looks like a lot of Youtube videos: only showing the parts that support their narrative.

Maybe not complete internet BS, but definitely no full disclosure on how that frame got bent.
 
I've had my sumo springs on for 3 seasons and thousands of miles. So signs of damage and I like how they reduce sway. I have kept my trailer out of the ditch however. Probably helps..lol
Lots of frames are broken without sumo springs. Did they cause all the problems with the video guy's trailer? I'm thinking ditching the trailer is the main issue. Be interesting if SuperSprings ends up commenting.
 
Nuffsaid said:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/r1r7La2dkK4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtSsxr_vYvY

Go to about 9:00 minutes on the video

This couple had Sumo springs installed on what looks to me a Solitude 310GK and the springs caused the frame to bend and crack and caused the trailer to be a total loss!
Click to expand...

I may be missing something but think there is a serious installation problem here. My axles never touch the frame. Installing something between the frame and axle defeats the purpose of having tandem wheel float. Even when shock absorbers are attached, they are at 45 degrees to allow the axels to move. Whoever installed this add-on concentrated all of the pressure at a single point. These videos are long on talk but short on actual pictures of the complete installation. I'm glad they got some money from the insurance company but I don't see this as a design defect, just a poor installation.
 
Hoopy Frood said:
Hmm, watching that video, no mention is made about why the trailer was sitting in a ditch, near the beginning, with the side that's in the ditch just happens to be the side that the frame is bent. And it shows him beating down the bent frame at some point, no mention made of that either. Looks like a lot of Youtube videos: only showing the parts that support their narrative.

Maybe not complete internet BS, but definitely no full disclosure on how that frame got bent.
Click to expand...

Yup, I saw their off road attempt video back when they first posted it, I was a subscriber to their youtube channel. They used to be members here on the forum. When he pulled the trailer into the ditch trying to get to a boondock site, the very rear end of the RV frame was stuck against the road and the front of the frame supported by the hitch, then they preceded to drag the RV forward out of the ditch with the rear of the frame dragging on the road. After trying to put wedges under the tires, pulling the rig up out of the ditch caused the suspension to fully collapse shoving the aftermarket spring to the frame. That aftermarket spring was nearly the only thing holding the entire weight of of the RV on that side. No wonder the frame bent. Then proceeded to beat on the frame with a sledge hammer!
They severally stressed the RV frame and the suspension, that is what caused the frame to be bent, damaged and then crack. It wasn't the aftermarket springs, just IMO of course.
 
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Steven@147 said:
Yup, I saw their off road attempt video back when they first posted it, I was a subscriber to their youtube channel. They used to be members here on the forum. When he pulled the trailer into the ditch trying to get to a boondock site, the very rear end of the RV frame was stuck against the road and the front of the frame supported by the hitch, then they preceded to drag the RV forward out of the ditch with the rear of the frame dragging on the road. After trying to put wedges under the tires, pulling the rig up out of the ditch caused the suspension to fully collapse shoving the aftermarket spring to the frame. That aftermarket spring was nearly the only thing holding the entire weight of of the RV on that side. No wonder the frame bent. Then proceeded to beat on the frame with a sledge hammer!
They severally stressed the RV frame and the suspension, that is what caused the frame to be bent, damaged and then crack. It wasn't the aftermarket springs, just IMO of course.
Click to expand...
Thank you, that's very informative, and kind of puts paid to the claim it's an issue caused by something other than ineptitude. :)
 
Steven@147 said:
Yup, I saw their off road attempt video back when they first posted it, I was a subscriber to their youtube channel. They used to be members here on the forum. When he pulled the trailer into the ditch trying to get to a boondock site, the very rear end of the RV frame was stuck against the road and the front of the frame supported by the hitch, then they preceded to drag the RV forward out of the ditch with the rear of the frame dragging on the road. After trying to put wedges under the tires, pulling the rig up out of the ditch caused the suspension to fully collapse shoving the aftermarket spring to the frame. That aftermarket spring was nearly the only thing holding the entire weight of of the RV on that side. No wonder the frame bent. Then proceeded to beat on the frame with a sledge hammer!
They severally stressed the RV frame and the suspension, that is what caused the frame to be bent, damaged and then crack. It wasn't the aftermarket springs, just IMO of course.
Click to expand...

Makes you wonder if the insurance paid out due to an "accident" or "collision" ?
 
Hoopy Frood said:
Thank you, that's very informative, and kind of puts paid to the claim it's an issue caused by something other than ineptitude. :)
Click to expand...

Yup, you just can't pull these @ 40ft RVs into places they can't go. Turning off a 2 lane road onto a way to narrow entrance road with deep ditches on either side of the entrance. I remember watching the owner use a very large cresent wrench tightened onto the lip of the frame and trying to pry the bent frame back into place, then beat on it with a sledge hammer. I just thought this isn't going to be a good outcome.
 
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