Frame Flex???
I have a 2013 3300CK Heartland Sundance fifth wheel. The caulk along one side of the upper deck just will not stay 'together'. I touched base with Heartland and followed instructions to measure deflection. 3/4" on the door side and 1/4" on the other side. Next step from Lippert... have service shop pull the filon and inspect the upper deck... take photos of all of the welds.
So - I take it in to an independent service center (San Antonio) and give them the information. Theoretically, they check the welds. Call me and tell me... there are no weld problems. Then, they call and tell me they found the problem and are reinforcing it. They took NO photos of the exposed upper deck. The only 'proof' of the problem are a couple of videos. From the wrong side of the RV. They would start from wt on the landing legs & 'lift' the pin box and you can see a 3/8-ish board start from 3/4" below the sidewall and as they lift the pinbox, the board rises behind the sidewall.
They decided to reinforce the framing of the sidewall with a vertical piece of plywood at the very front pocket of the front cap... and to add more and longer screws up through the bottom to better anchor it.
They said... fixed & good to go. I go in and check - NO. Unfortunately, I already paid them $2K. Same problem, same area. Duh! :S I see no way their 'fix' would deal with the measured deflection from pin box to landing legs. I have an engineering background and would like to think I'm a reasonably logical and handy person. I should also mention... I'm a single woman and RVing solo. Am I missing something (aside from the typical mechanic's 'no need to listen to female')??
Suggestions welcome - I've only been RVing for a year & I'm still learning the 'lingo'.
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The RV is still at the repair shop & they have promised to get it fixed right. My problem is whether or not they can find and fix the issue.
So - I take it in to an independent service center (San Antonio) and give them the information. Theoretically, they check the welds. Call me and tell me... there are no weld problems. Then, they call and tell me they found the problem and are reinforcing it. They took NO photos of the exposed upper deck. The only 'proof' of the problem are a couple of videos. From the wrong side of the RV. They would start from wt on the landing legs & 'lift' the pin box and you can see a 3/8-ish board start from 3/4" below the sidewall and as they lift the pinbox, the board rises behind the sidewall.
They decided to reinforce the framing of the sidewall with a vertical piece of plywood at the very front pocket of the front cap... and to add more and longer screws up through the bottom to better anchor it.
They said... fixed & good to go. I go in and check - NO. Unfortunately, I already paid them $2K. Same problem, same area. Duh! :S I see no way their 'fix' would deal with the measured deflection from pin box to landing legs. I have an engineering background and would like to think I'm a reasonably logical and handy person. I should also mention... I'm a single woman and RVing solo. Am I missing something (aside from the typical mechanic's 'no need to listen to female')??
Suggestions welcome - I've only been RVing for a year & I'm still learning the 'lingo'.
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The RV is still at the repair shop & they have promised to get it fixed right. My problem is whether or not they can find and fix the issue.
