That's a pretty nasty looking crack Steve...
That's the side Steve sits on Chars isn't as bad
I heard an interesting comment from another owner at the rally, he indicated that if you have a crack in the gelcoat then you have a weld problem.
Not sure if this is the case or not.
I heard an interesting comment from another owner at the rally, he indicated that if you have a crack in the gelcoat then you have a weld problem.
Not sure if this is the case or not.
We are on pur 3rd 5th wheel & if that's the case we had cracked frames on all 3. My last SOB the crack was on the top corner of the bedroom slide.
I added the H trim to my RW & it was only the gelcoat that cracked not the plywood under it.
Travelin' Texans
Former '13 FB owner
Currently rvless!!
I heard an interesting comment from another owner at the rally, he indicated that if you have a crack in the gelcoat then you have a weld problem.
Not sure if this is the case or not.
Don't think that comment could be true in this case. My opinion is that there is almost no possible way the fiberglass skin could not crack at this location since it's only about a 4-5 inch span. Just not made to take that punishment right there.
Absolutely should have been a recall on this to install the small H channel. It's a minor fix but we did not design this flaw. Redwood did!!!
Steve
Our 2016 came from the factory with a vertical piece of molding on that front corner of the side... My last SOB fiver had no moulding until it cracked.. The factory (KZ) repaired and placed the molding vertically. . .
Perhaps Redwood will learn from Keystone now that they are the same family. Montana put the H trim on from the factory in 2005 after having the same issue.
x
Gip,
You are correct and that caulking was fine until this last trip. I thought I would just bring it to the dealer since I have talked with RW but I think I will just pull it apart myself and see what is going on with the frame if anything. First thought was to have the crack repaired and cut the straight line for h trim but I might as well install on a angle instead of going through paint work. I have the welders and tools for the job. I am actually a very good welder except I never did get the hang of tig welding so this repair if needed is an easy one for me and I would feel much better about the repair if I did it myself.
Steve
Steve,
If you need some metal to tighten that pinbox up, let me know... I can either ship it to you from our CT warehouse, or you can pick it up there....
Joe
Steve,
If you need some metal to tighten that pinbox up, let me know... I can either ship it to you from our CT warehouse, or you can pick it up there....
Joe
THANKS Joe.......
I'm going to rip into it this week so I can confirm it's good or bad so we can get on the road again.
Steve
It looked a lot worse then is was! Just the fiberglass cracked and plywood backer was fine. All pin area frame looked as good as it was from the factory so far with no broken welds that I could find. Very light duty in my opinion for the weight that is on the pin but all looked good.
repaired the crack and also cut the other side since it will happen in time.
Steve
Good looking fix Steve . . And it is nice to have an easier fix here nand there . .
We had the same issue with our previous 5th wheel (Big Horn) after 6 years of full timing and many thousands of towing miles. I had been following similar issues on the owner's forum and the manufacturer was providing free repairs even after the warranty period. I contacted them and after emailing some photos they sent me the same document from Lippert and I made the measurements and emailed it back. Within a day I had a letter approving a complete repair process at their factory (3 day repair which included strengthening the front frame area) if I would bring the unit to them. Never had the repair accomplished as wife saw the 39MB a month before the trip was planned and our dealer was ready to deal so we traded the Big Horn to our original dealer with full disclosure of the pin box flex issue. Lippert makes the frames for both Big Horn and Redwood and I really don't know who was paying the cost of repair. I hope we don't have to face this issue again down the road with the Redwood, and if we do I hope they stand behind their product like Heartland did. Fingers crossed!
I took mine in hoping to avoid the crack scenario. Still waiting to see what they say.
