Best Fiver these days

[steelshooter]

I hope I am not opening to big of a can of worms here. It has been years since we were looking at RV's. The wife thinks we need to research a new fiver. I know years ago a lot of people said stay away from this model or that one. Don't buy anything with a Lippert frame. So we are getting back into the market and I would like suggestions from you folks on how the different brands stack up. About her only must have is a dual entry camper. I would like to stay under 38 feet but those seem hard to find. Currently we have a 2007 Fleetwood Regal 325RKTS. Let me know what you think, Or tell me about your rig.
Thanks

[ford_truck_guy]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Simply put they are trying to do too much with too little!

Can't argue with this ! It is all too common..

[Cummins12V98]

Simply put they are trying to do too much with too little!

[cummins2014]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
So if you are a welder you should know thinner metal at a weld can fail. NOT from the weld but simply that's a stress point with thin metal as specified bu the trailer mfg. Light n Cheap!!!

So you are saying lightweight frames can’t be made strong ?

NOPE, I am saying too light weight for the application can be a problem.

No idea, I don't design trailer frames . I have built a few utility trailers , I guarantee you they don’t fail , but they are not lightweight . 😄 And the welds are good .

IMO light doesn’t mean cheap if it’s designed ,and welded correctly . I think that’s where some of these trailers get in trouble poor welding, lack of bracing in some of the critical points .

[Cummins12V98]

Me Again wrote:
One of the best frames was the Young's Welding frame that NuWa/Hitchhiker used for many years. Front over hang was manufactured with REAL channel iron.

You could tell it was a Young's frame if it was painted white!

[Cummins12V98]

cummins2014 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
So if you are a welder you should know thinner metal at a weld can fail. NOT from the weld but simply that's a stress point with thin metal as specified bu the trailer mfg. Light n Cheap!!!

So you are saying lightweight frames can’t be made strong ?

NOPE, I am saying too light weight for the application can be a problem.

[ford_truck_guy]

cummins2014 wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:

Me Again wrote:
One of the best frames was the Young's Welding frame that NuWa/Hitchhiker used for many years. Front over hang was manufactured with REAL channel iron.

Whats REAL channel iron , thats a new one, I would assume channel thats rolled instead of bent ?? Yes rolled channel has the flanges getting thicker as it gets closer to the web, giving it more strength . Depends on the application I guess if you think it takes REAL channel .

Technically. there is Bar Channel... "C" Channel ( most used ).."U" Channel... MC Ship Channel ( dual certified), A "ROLLED" channel is fabricated and in my eyes, not as strong as the bend would be a weak spot .

When I was young and innocent, 🙂 I was working for the family business and my job one summer was Hydrostatic testing tubing welds and cuts... if I got soaked, it was bad :S

To many to list hot rolled ,cold rolled ,MC ,standard etc etc . A-36, A-588 the list list goes on. Most likely ALL trailer frames use standard channel A-36, but I don't know for sure or if they get special rollings. We got special rollings that we fabricated for solar panel posts that you see in those big solar fields out of Las Vegas ,we cut ,and punch literally hundreds of thousands of those posts . If you looked at them they looked just like guardrail posts, but were lighter in the flange, and web.

Yes, TOO MANY to list, with a wide range of sizes.. Been cutting and selling that and other steel, aluminum, stainless, tool steel almost all my life..

Then you know all about S1,S2 , D2 tool steel , A-588 weatherIng steel etc etc :B

I do.. along with 01..06..L6..A2.S7...PGFS ( Precision Ground Flat Stock ) ...01 drill rod.. and others
Got 10 warehouses full of all that.. Although I don't enjoy dealing with the mold makers, most are on contract with the government, or auto industry and pay horrible...

[cummins2014]

ford truck guy wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:

Me Again wrote:
One of the best frames was the Young's Welding frame that NuWa/Hitchhiker used for many years. Front over hang was manufactured with REAL channel iron.

Whats REAL channel iron , thats a new one, I would assume channel thats rolled instead of bent ?? Yes rolled channel has the flanges getting thicker as it gets closer to the web, giving it more strength . Depends on the application I guess if you think it takes REAL channel .

Technically. there is Bar Channel... "C" Channel ( most used ).."U" Channel... MC Ship Channel ( dual certified), A "ROLLED" channel is fabricated and in my eyes, not as strong as the bend would be a weak spot .

When I was young and innocent, 🙂 I was working for the family business and my job one summer was Hydrostatic testing tubing welds and cuts... if I got soaked, it was bad :S

To many to list hot rolled ,cold rolled ,MC ,standard etc etc . A-36, A-588 the list list goes on. Most likely ALL trailer frames use standard channel A-36, but I don't know for sure or if they get special rollings. We got special rollings that we fabricated for solar panel posts that you see in those big solar fields out of Las Vegas ,we cut ,and punch literally hundreds of thousands of those posts . If you looked at them they looked just like guardrail posts, but were lighter in the flange, and web.

Yes, TOO MANY to list, with a wide range of sizes.. Been cutting and selling that and other steel, aluminum, stainless, tool steel almost all my life..

Then you know all about S1,S2 , D2 tool steel , A-588 weatherIng steel etc etc :B

[ford_truck_guy]

cummins2014 wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:

Me Again wrote:
One of the best frames was the Young's Welding frame that NuWa/Hitchhiker used for many years. Front over hang was manufactured with REAL channel iron.

Whats REAL channel iron , thats a new one, I would assume channel thats rolled instead of bent ?? Yes rolled channel has the flanges getting thicker as it gets closer to the web, giving it more strength . Depends on the application I guess if you think it takes REAL channel .

Technically. there is Bar Channel... "C" Channel ( most used ).."U" Channel... MC Ship Channel ( dual certified), A "ROLLED" channel is fabricated and in my eyes, not as strong as the bend would be a weak spot .

When I was young and innocent, 🙂 I was working for the family business and my job one summer was Hydrostatic testing tubing welds and cuts... if I got soaked, it was bad :S

To many to list hot rolled ,cold rolled ,MC ,standard etc etc . A-36, A-588 the list list goes on. Most likely ALL trailer frames use standard channel A-36, but I don't know for sure or if they get special rollings. We got special rollings that we fabricated for solar panel posts that you see in those big solar fields out of Las Vegas ,we cut ,and punch literally hundreds of thousands of those posts . If you looked at them they looked just like guardrail posts, but were lighter in the flange, and web.

Yes, TOO MANY to list, with a wide range of sizes.. Been cutting and selling that and other steel, aluminum, stainless, tool steel almost all my life..

[cummins2014]

ford truck guy wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:

Me Again wrote:
One of the best frames was the Young's Welding frame that NuWa/Hitchhiker used for many years. Front over hang was manufactured with REAL channel iron.

Whats REAL channel iron , thats a new one, I would assume channel thats rolled instead of bent ?? Yes rolled channel has the flanges getting thicker as it gets closer to the web, giving it more strength . Depends on the application I guess if you think it takes REAL channel .

Technically. there is Bar Channel... "C" Channel ( most used ).."U" Channel... MC Ship Channel ( dual certified), A "ROLLED" channel is fabricated and in my eyes, not as strong as the bend would be a weak spot .

When I was young and innocent, 🙂 I was working for the family business and my job one summer was Hydrostatic testing tubing welds and cuts... if I got soaked, it was bad :S

To many to list hot rolled ,cold rolled ,MC ,standard etc etc . A-36, A-588 the list list goes on. Most likely ALL trailer frames use standard channel A-36, but I don't know for sure or if they get special rollings. We got special rollings that we fabricated for solar panel posts that you see in those big solar fields out of Las Vegas ,we cut ,and punch literally hundreds of thousands of those posts . If you looked at them they looked just like guardrail posts, but were lighter in the flange, and web.

[GDS-3950BH]

cummins2014 wrote:

GDS-3950BH wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
So if you are a welder you should know thinner metal at a weld can fail. NOT from the weld but simply that's a stress point with thin metal as specified bu the trailer mfg. Light n Cheap!!!

So you are saying lightweight frames can’t be made strong ?

You know what they say fellows, a weld can look good and be bad and look bad and be good, but Lippert wins the award for the worst in show category consistently. I sit here having a beer under the awning of someone I met yesterday and leaned over and took this picture. Nice huh? 5 seconds with a grinder by Lippert or even the RV manufacturer might have at least made it look like someone showed a little bit of pride.

For sure not a very pretty weld, probably a pretty sound weld, don't see any undercut, doesn't look like its cold, but hard to tell from the picture . It almost looks like it was run downhill , if so thats a no no in my book, always want to run vertical up, not down . Yes pretty welds mean nothing, but in reality if he is a good welder ,then his welds are going to look pretty good. Its usually going to have some undercut if its too hot, or if its not laying in there pretty flat ,looks rounded so to speak ,then its probably too cold, or a lot of splatter. Depends on the rod or wire. Got the heat set right, and its laid in there right, it does not have to be pretty.

Its hard to tell from the picture, is that the hanger bracket for the leaf springs. ?? I see more bad looking welds on them then anything, that ,and they are usually pretty visible. Most everything else is usually covered up .

Thats the top connection of the 4" tube bumper to the machine welded main frame rails top flange.

[ford_truck_guy]

cummins2014 wrote:

Me Again wrote:
One of the best frames was the Young's Welding frame that NuWa/Hitchhiker used for many years. Front over hang was manufactured with REAL channel iron.

Whats REAL channel iron , thats a new one, I would assume channel thats rolled instead of bent ?? Yes rolled channel has the flanges getting thicker as it gets closer to the web, giving it more strength . Depends on the application I guess if you think it takes REAL channel .

Technically. there is Bar Channel... "C" Channel ( most used ).."U" Channel... MC Ship Channel ( dual certified), A "ROLLED" channel is fabricated and in my eyes, not as strong as the bend would be a weak spot .

When I was young and innocent, 🙂 I was working for the family business and my job one summer was Hydrostatic testing tubing welds and cuts... if I got soaked, it was bad :S

[cummins2014]

colliehauler wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:

colliehauler wrote:
Sadly Cummins 2014 most people don't know the difference between a good weld and a bad one, no experience.

I spent over 42 years looking at welds, I have seen just about everything. I have seen welds we needed x-rayed , mag particle testing etc.

Where I worked we had to X-ray or pressure test every weld and provide documentation.

We got involved a little on the pressure testing, but we were mostly structural , that didn't need any testing other then out individual weld test for our people, and sent in to be tested . Knowing they could pass weld tests.

[colliehauler]

cummins2014 wrote:

colliehauler wrote:
Sadly Cummins 2014 most people don't know the difference between a good weld and a bad one, no experience.

I spent over 42 years looking at welds, I have seen just about everything. I have seen welds we needed x-rayed , mag particle testing etc.

Where I worked we had to X-ray or pressure test every weld and provide documentation.

[cummins2014]

Me Again wrote:
One of the best frames was the Young's Welding frame that NuWa/Hitchhiker used for many years. Front over hang was manufactured with REAL channel iron.

Whats REAL channel iron , thats a new one, I would assume channel thats rolled instead of bent ?? Yes rolled channel has the flanges getting thicker as it gets closer to the web, giving it more strength . Depends on the application I guess if you think it takes REAL channel .