Ever had TT frame failure?

On our 5th trailer and never had a frame failure.

I doubt your "frame" is aluminum. Frames are always steel. You probably have aluminum framing in the walls...and possibly the roof.

Good luck with it. And sadly, terrible roads are not limited to Calif.

Take a magnet to your frame to see if it's aluminum. As stated above it's prolly just the framing in the walls. Perhaps the frame is doing just fine and the structure around it is being beat to death and failing, or collapsing in a way that gives the appearance of frame failure? Either way I hope it's not catastrophic.

Frame problems?? Don't get me started... :M

Some TTs have a frame that has I-beams that are 3 pieces of mild steel welded together and look like a "regular" rolled steel I-beam. These are weak and flex a LOT. I'd love to get into details, but I can't. I do not know if R-Vision trailers have them or not. If it does have this type, it will NOT stand up in the long run and I would fix it up and sell it.

Even if it has a regular I-beam frame, look carefully above the spring hangers and see if there are any cracks in the vertical web. Frames with regular I-beams may not stand up to a lot of rough & bumpy roads. Lippert, which makes the vast majority of TT frames, does not make them all alike and some have more re-enforcing compared to other makes/models. If you want a frame that will stand up to harder usage, Nash and Outdoors RV have an off-road certified frame.

If a frame flexes too much, the aluminum superstructure can be damaged. This photo is what I found in our last TT with a weak frame and shows a failed weld. The weld is poor to start with. I only accidentally found this while doing a mod in the pass-through storage. This was after only a few months or less of ownership and with few miles. Most mileage (around 2K) was from Indiana to the west coast.

I would take the trailer to a reputable frame & axle shop with experience in TTs and get their opinion. If you look at other TTs, the welding of the A-frame to I-beams just doesn't look adequate and the weld quality is not that good. The second photo is an A-frame that came complete failed.

Not surprised to hear that cabinetry failed. They are typically held in place with a handful of screws or staples. I was looking inside our microwave compartment last week and couldn't believe how little there is holding the MW and upper cabinets in place. Added some more screws.

Our Springdale when it was just 2 years old:























Keystone fixed it 100%. I didn't have to claim on insurance or pay anything. New A-frame was far superior to the original.

Moral of the story ... if you are having doubts ... get it checked out. I hit that bump just the wrong way, and ker-splat .... no second chances! Damage done!

If you have ANY doubts about the frame integrity... fix it or junk the trailer.

Looking back, this seemed like a terrible experience, but it really was not. No one got hurt, the trailer got towed to a safe place where the repair could be done, and it cost us nothing for the repair. Granted, it was overwhelming in the moment.... but it always passes. Looking back, it was just another experience under my belt. Would I want to go through something like this again .... ABSOLUTELY NOT! But I embrace the experience!

I managed to put a kink in the frame of my Rockwood trailer from backing too sharply.

CHeck out the toy hauler forum. There's been a number of Weekend Warrior units with frames that bent similar to yours.

Thanks for the info fellas. To clear up a few things, yes the frame is steel, the walls and roof structure are aluminum. I'll definitely take it in to the frame shop for inspection after seeing what happened to your Springdale "DutchmenSport". Did you keep the trailer after the a-frame collapsed?

What about the aluminum wall and ceiling frame? Do those ever fail? I'm thinking if I keep this one, I'll remove the air conditioner from the roof since I never use it. That can't help matters with that 100lb hulk just sitting up there.

I would visit a frame shop before I made any wholesale decisions or tried any weight removal. If/when you wish to sell this RV, an air conditioner will be a plus. Besides, removing it only causes additional risk of water damage.

If you have an accurate laser, you can easily see if things are straight or bowing. I have one that has an exit point of almost exactly one inch from the case side. It is also has a magnetic strip. I can turn it on, stick it on a piece of steel up to 100', and, with a ruler, tell you if it is off 1/8" of an inch. Most frame shops have more accurate devices.

I had the A-frame break off my Weekend Warrior. I was on the way back to the dealer (cross country) to get it we-welded after I saw a crack start. Total failure south of chicago, closing the interstate for 5 hours while 4 heavy wreckers cleared the trailer from the freeway.

I've had cracks where the cross members attach to the sides of the fake I-beam as mentioned by Myredracer.

You will find that many, if not most, trailers have the tongue angled upward. The frames on lightweight trailers are very weak. I have checked mine and others by using a good quality level to check the frame and the tongue and have never found them to be the same. Just think, some use the tongue as a reference and believe that the trailer is sitting level.