Forum Discussion

ice2fire's avatar
ice2fire
Explorer
Nov 10, 2015

Metal stress surprises

Our TT is great for getting us backwards and forwards from Ontario to Arizona. However it does have a fault: The angle iron bars which hold up the black and grey tanks (two bars per tank) were poorly welded to the I beams running down the length of the TT. There are 8 welds. Over the last four years, four of these have come adrift. Difficult to reweld because of gas pipes and other underneath stuff in the way.

I went around the 8 welds and added metal right angled corner strips. Using small ones, about 4" long. To my surprise, 2 of these split right at the corner and we were lucky the tank didn't come loose.

So I bought two longer thicker (1/8") strips and cut them down to an appropriate length.

I've just done an under the bottom inspection, and found one of those split right at the corner !! Those tanks must sure wriggle around a lot !

I guess I'm going to have to get even thicker right handed corners made at a welding shop and try them.

Any other suggestions ?
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    Nov 11, 2015
    Another possibility is that the tank is not secure in the framing structure and is bouncing around putting a lot of stress on the welds. Is the tank secured to the framing structure or does just the weight of the tank keep it in place?
  • ice2fire's avatar
    ice2fire
    Explorer
    Nov 11, 2015
    Chuck_thehammer wrote:
    just a question to think about..

    are they cracking because of the weight of the full tanks
    or
    cracking because the total Frame is flexing.. causing the cracks.


    The latter. Travelling 2,700 miles means a lot of flexing. We almost NEVER have full tanks. At the worst they are only about 1/4 full. We're frugal, careful people with fluids. We boondock for 2 nights, then a campsite where we dump black & gray tanks. Fresh water tank is under the bed. Trailer is really only used for about 4 weeks a year.
  • Chuck_thehammer's avatar
    Chuck_thehammer
    Explorer
    Nov 11, 2015
    just a question to think about..

    are they cracking because of the weight of the full tanks
    or
    cracking because the total Frame is flexing.. causing the cracks.
  • ice2fire's avatar
    ice2fire
    Explorer
    Nov 11, 2015
    boogie_4wheel wrote:
    Shorten the angle iron about 1/4". Weld a piece of flat bar on each end of the angle iron, and have 2 holes in the flat bar, one on each side for bolts. Now bolt the angle iron tank supports to the trailer frame.
    My gray did similar, this seems to have fixed it. It allows a tiny bit of flex that the trailer experiences while moving. I've always got water in a tank; fresh on the way out, the others on the way home.


    The welds that HAVE held are like this. Pity they didn't do that to all of them.

    Good idea though. I'll remove the bars that have a problem and do this and replace. Thanks.
  • bobndot's avatar
    bobndot
    Explorer II
    Nov 11, 2015
    Never travel with tanks filled! This is exactly why I always travel empty



    I will now think about that every time I'm driving behind an RV . :E

    :B
  • boogie_4wheel's avatar
    boogie_4wheel
    Explorer
    Nov 11, 2015
    Shorten the angle iron about 1/4". Weld a piece of flat bar on each end of the angle iron, and have 2 holes in the flat bar, one on each side for bolts. Now bolt the angle iron tank supports to the trailer frame.
    My gray did similar, this seems to have fixed it. It allows a tiny bit of flex that the trailer experiences while moving. I've always got water in a tank; fresh on the way out, the others on the way home.
  • Mike_Up's avatar
    Mike_Up
    Explorer
    Nov 11, 2015
    DutchmenSport wrote:
    Never travel with tanks filled! This is exactly why I always travel empty. I'd rather travel empty than face a challenging repair that might not work.


    I never travel with the fresh water tanks empty.

    Everywhere we go, there are no water hookups. The few I've tried, their water was terrible, yellow from rust or sulfur. When that dries up on the bottom of the tank, after you thought the tanks were drained, you end up with yellowish brown sledge. Now you need to take the fittings out of the tanks and clean the suction hole, and the flush the hoses connected to it. Did it to many times after refilling at campgrounds. Now I test the water before I fill the tanks. If dirty, we just use the campground showers for the rest of the trip.

    If my trailer would of had the thermal package, it would had been a terrible time taking the bottom cover of the camper off so that I can access the tanks, to clean out the suction hole, fittings, and hoses.

    IMO, it's better to take it to the dealer and let them repair or re-enforce the tanks. They've done it before and know how. If it's ungodly expensive, then I'd just do it myself.
  • RVcircus's avatar
    RVcircus
    Explorer II
    Nov 11, 2015
    It sounds like the weight is flexing and cracking the welds. Is it welded along the bottom edge? I would think welding along the top would hold better, but without seeing the setup I could be wrong. If you're having trouble welding is there enough room to get some self tapping screws in there? Maybe try to get some fasteners in there and re-weld the areas you can?
  • DutchmenSport's avatar
    DutchmenSport
    Explorer
    Nov 11, 2015
    Never travel with tanks filled! This is exactly why I always travel empty. I'd rather travel empty than face a challenging repair that might not work.
  • midnightsadie's avatar
    midnightsadie
    Explorer II
    Nov 11, 2015
    if those are broke? I,d be checking all welds on the frame. I,ve seen frame welds broke on fifth wheels.

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