Originally Posted by scraprat

2004SD I like the Cameo but then I'm baised after owning 2 Cameos with the current being 2010 34ck3. It looks a little nose high and if bothers you look at the rear springs where they mount you might be able to lower the mounting and gain 1-1.5" in rear height.

Originally Posted by Karl4Cat

Absolutely right Monty. There are a lot out there where people have no idea... yet. There is also the use/mileage factor. How many people put on big miles each year like you or I do? I'm sure many of my issues would have never shown up (or not shown up for a long time) for an owner who only pulls to the state line campground 75 miles away once a month. Put on 5-10k miles a year and it's a completely different story.

Originally Posted by GIGGER

Love the disc brake conversion, well done

Originally Posted by Irelands child

I'm out of Guinness right now but do have a fresh jug of John Jameson's Uisce beatha as well as some Bushmill's from the 6 counties in the North

Monty - while your situation showed up as torn loose aluminum framing, I'm still convinced the underlying cause, IMO, was still the excessive amount of front frame flex. Light structural aluminum just does not have the inherent strength as steel nor does it have the resistance to welding's heat affected zone, regardless of the type of weld. Lippert is well enough acquainted with the problem to actually have a criteria to measure flex, LIP Sheet 0136 plus the repair criteria LIP Sheet 0235.

As far as spec, and just guessing based on my long ago manufacturing experiences, RV OEMs tell (an RFQ) Lippert the total dimensions including weights and balances of what will be added to the frame and then it's built to a mutually accepted spec. The crappy welding - all Lippert, not the RV OEM (who should be QC monitoring the manufacturing processes)

Originally Posted by Karl4Cat

Absolutely right Monty. There are a lot out there where people have no idea... yet. There is also the use/mileage factor. How many people put on big miles each year like you or I do? I'm sure many of my issues would have never shown up (or not shown up for a long time) for an owner who only pulls to the state line campground 75 miles away once a month. Put on 5-10k miles a year and it's a completely different story.

Originally Posted by Karl4Cat

I'll see the disc brake conversion and raise you one independent suspension upgrade... No more cracked suspension equalizers for me....

Originally Posted by rvpuller

This is the underlying problem with the whole industry now, they know that the majority of their customers just don't put that many miles on their units. Our HH soon to be 15 years old and way over 100K miles has had 0 frame problems and no signs of any in the future, I stopped keeping track of the miles a few years ago. Just look at the way they put a square tub subframe where the axle are mounted to remove stress from the frame rails but it comes with added weight that I will take over something that's built on the light side to save money.

Denny

Originally Posted by golfmedik

Dave, the problem now has gone on for more than two years now and the similar rigs are having the same problem. They have NOT been addressed by Montana. I've talked with over 20 with the same problems. There is a TSB of sorts out now assisting the dealers who want to try and tackle the situation, but most defer to the factory. Just today my partner and her husband drove over two hours away for look at a 2017 latter half year Montana and the first thing we noticed when we got there, sidewall separation. It is a design flaw that they haven't changed. Another problem is, if you read the entire debacle, is that they take up to six months to acknowledge and repair the problem. There are several that the sidewall has even broken under the slide. Much worse than mine did. However, they will tell you straight up they are not afraid of a lawsuit and will fix it when they get a chance. You have an $80k camper that you can't use as if you damage it more than when the claim was first made, that's on you. They are building 22 a day and could care less how many of them come back. Apparently, there are those that this has happened to and those it hasn't happened to YET.
They may have one of the best rigs on the market as far as sales, but even when the dealer is your best proponent, you are just a number to them. I had no problem with FR as they owned up to the mistake they made right away and replaced both axles with the proper weight rated ones. They also allow dealers to repair your complaints by getting the parts where ever they are available, repair the unit, then bill FR.
Many more over on the Montana groups on Facebook, the owner's forums and the other forums have had a eerily similar experience. I hope yours is different.

Originally Posted by ssunit1

Ok, so now that I am afraid that my trailer is going to split in half rolling down the highway, I am somewhere between the 75mile to 5-10k miles range, just where / what do I look for to see if I have any pending issues before I end up with a 2.5 wheel RV?