Reese DC question - frame height

Finally heard yesterday that the TT will be off the production line Feb. 2nd. Dealer did not have info. on the A-frame so is contacting the plant again.

I may give the idea of putting backing plates inside the A-frame tubing a re-think. I guess you just cut the end covers off and weld new ones on?

You mentioned that you shouldn't do vertical welds on a frame. I haven't heard that before. What is the reason behind that?
Distortion? Is it everywhere or just in higher stress areas? Does it matter if it's gas or MIG welding? Can you do a stitch weld pattern vertically?

mrekim wrote:

myredracer wrote:

Are those studs just threaded into just the 1/4" radiused plate and is it welded on?

Right now the studs are threaded in, but they will be welded from the back. and ground flush. The photo was really to show what the ground down radius looks like. In your case, I was thinking of a plate like this as the shim you mentioned for the DC frame mount.

The plate is not welded on. I guess it could be. There are some rules for welding on frames - like no vertical welds, so a welded solution would have to be done by someone who knows there stuff. I was looking for a solution where I didn't have to modify the frame any more.

If you have a backing plate inside the frame you could sandwich the plate between the DC and the frame too.


There are some photos of how it will be installed here:

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27245286/gotomsg/27437823.cfm#27437823

I'm not suggesting you do it this way, it's just to give you some ideas.

Even with the 1/4" external plate, the internal backing plate is way less work than what I have done.

myredracer wrote:

I just can't see them holding in the 1/8" A-frame wall that long.

They would not hold well for me. Not even with locktite. For a 1/8" frame I would at the very least use the rivnut kit Reese offers. I'm not convinced that just the rivnut kit is enough though.

myredracer wrote:

I was thinking of using a re-enforcing plate on the inside of the A-frame and through-bolting from the outside

1/4" does not affect the geometry at all?

I think the inner plate is a good approach. I think it's still a good idea to have a lot of surface area flush to the frame. If you use washers to make the bottom of the DC mount flush to the frame then the washers (I think) present a point load to the face of the frame should the DC mount try to rotate. I don't know if the inner plate helps in dealing with that point load or not.



I don't think the 1/4" affects the geometry. At least not between the DC and the snap up. Remember that the 1/4" Plate is acting as a shim to deal with the radius too. If you don't used it, you're still going to need something to space the mount out 1/16 to 1/8". The snap up bars seemed to line up fine in my case.


If you're opening up the end(s) of a tube frame, you may want to consider something like this:


Eastwood Internal Frame Coating


Do you know how you new A-Frame will be built yet?