Might be possible the slide corner is not close to the stress area?

Anyway, just something that I have noticed. I am no engineer but things crack when flexed. RV's flex and over time, everything fails.

 

I do know that when they started to add that pre-cut section under the forward slides Jayco was referring to it as the “pre-cracked” seam, I suggested to the factory rep that they should find a better name for it.
Our ‘24 Alliance Paradigm 385FL with two living room slides over the front has the factory seam below each of those slides.

 

My Solitude never cracked there but the cross member support welds under that section broke. I had to tow it from Arkansas all the way to Indiana that way. 55mph and sketchy at best.

 

I got a call from the dealer I bought my 22 Grand Design from, they want me to bring it in for a frame flex inspection, I will request that I get to watch them inspect it so that I will know where to keep an eye on it.

 

Funny how all these cracks appear mostly on the 2016-2022 models. Hardly any before 2016. WHY?? Cause they changed the design and build them cheaper along with no or little quality control. Charging more of course. I blame this on the manufactures for taking so long to correct such a known issue. I've had 7 different RV's over the last 30+ years. This is the only one that had this issue. I do agree, all RV's are junk. Some better junk. These are not made to travel. Maybe once and done. Much like a mobile home. Would you put your house on a trailer and travel all over the country? Nope.
Enough said. I'm waiting patiently for the dealer to call me back and give me the great news.......

 

I believe that all of these RV's with broken panels and broken frames are using Lippert frames. In the process of diagnosing my own suspension failure on an older trailer I came across many broken panel and broken frame threads on the various RV forums. Lippert, Lippert, Lippert. The RV manufacturers share culpability, but the root cause of many of the issues seems to be the frame itself.

I was very disappointed to see all the Lippert components in my new trailer. Furrion appliances, Lippert cargo door ramp, Lippert stairs, etc. Fortunately, the frame that Northwood uses in their trailers is built in-house by Northwood, not Lippert.

 

Considering Lippert makes most of the RV frames, it's understandable that you might think that.

Just like airplane wings, bridges, buildings, and most everything in life, things flex under pressure. A good engineer designs around that. Engineers [including their software] are not perfect.

I think the problem lies is with the sublet process. Nobody builds everything anymore. Everything gets sent out for someone else to build. The more you do that, the more control you lose. Name one manufacturer that has had success with this way of building products? The RV industry makes products that people can afford, that trucks can pull, and look good. None are built with quality.

I saw a video of a Lippert employee stating that they can design a frame that would work [and they can stand behind] but often, the manufacturer of the RV dictates the parameters. If Lippert feels it's not up to their standards, they build it anyway. I own a small business and I would never do something that I could not stand behind. Obviously, Lippert seems to care about the money coming in vs the quality that is going out. They seem to be no better than the lady on the street corner.

Lippert probably also does not have the knowledge if the RV manufacturer changes something in their design. If they change the wall dimensions, I suspect that would change the loading on the frame. A huge liability for Lippert. I have not read any of their business contracts so that is a WAG on my end.

 

If you look at the controlling shareholders for all companies involved they are the same. Eerily, Ford shares the same ones also.

 

Still waiting on the dealer's assessment. My guess is the wall that is failing. not the frame. We'll see....

 

Heard back from dealership. They deemed it cosmetic from frame flex. They are going to drill a small hole at the end of the crack and fill it with sealant. They said that they examined the walls and ran the bedroom slide in and out several times and did not see any issues. They also picked it up from the hitch and set it back down on the front dolly several times. Crack opens less than 1/8". They claim all new 5th wheels with Lippert frames now have a relief cut in the fiberglass and cover it with trim which I have saw. Had I known that 2 years ago, I would have had them add that. Oh well. Live & learn. Glad to know that the wall is fine as well as the frame. I do plan to do a little investigating myself. Will report back if I find anything different.

 

All of this makes sense, including the relief cuts they now include on the builds.

I do agree, if I knew this, I would have cut the side and installed the trim piece early on.

Thanks for reporting back, it's not done enough.

 

Agreed. Had I known about this a year ago, I would have installed the relief cut. Now I have a nasty looking crack that is not in a good spot to put in a relief cut. I have to just trust what the dealer told me and that his drilled hole will prevent the crack from getting worse. UGH.

 

I'm happy for you that the problem seems to be cosmetic, I guess it could have been worse. I'd be ticked too though, if I had a nasty looking crack in mine. My only suggestion would be to get something in writing from the dealer, on their letterhead, showing what the situation was. Maybe the invoice or something like that so you'll have something to show a prospective buyer if you ever try to sell it.

 

Ask the dealership if they would give you full trade in value with that crack in writing, my guess is no. I would make them repair the crack and make the cut with a trim piece to fix it properly. I've been in RVing since 1978 and if looked at any RV with that kind of damage I would walk away.

Denny

 

Ask the same dealership if they would give you full trade in value with a repair bill that stated they replaced the entire side panel. My guess is also no.

We forget who owns our toy. It's not the dealership's or anyone else's problem but our own. Life is about making decisions and some of them appear to be a good one but only to find out it was not. I don't think any of these RV's are a good investment. We buy them for the adventures they may bring, good or bad.