Did I screw up my frame?

[Sgould]

New to the forum and would like some advice. I recently purchased a fleetwood wilderness 295bhds 32' fifth wheel. I absolutely love the camper, so much so I had the slides out as soon as she was home (in the rain). We are getting snow soon so I wanted to bring the slides in to avoid that whole mess. I wanted to clear the water from the top so I decided to use the front gear to lift her up a tad to make the water run off the slides, controversial I know. So I did so. The only problem is that I forgot to raise the rear stabilizer jacks. When the camper was almost all the way extended it made a loud pop/bang noise. It was hard to tell if it was from the axels, front jack, or somewhere else. I immediately remembered the rear jacks and brought them up. I went on and got another loud crack/ pop this time not as loud. At this point the trailer is not crazy high in the front or anything. The water ran off and I pulled the slides in without issue. No noticeable cracks on the xterior or interior. Also did a quick sweep of the fram pe and it looks ok. I then had to run to work. Needless to say my mind is running wild. I fear that I have damaged the frame or something major. I am hoping it was just a slide adjustment or leaf spring noise? I have no clue really. Do you think I did any real damage? Thx for any help.

Steve G

[Splashers3]

I have never seen anybody raise l/g to get water off their slides...agree with Paul, Slide Toppers....ours work fine...just retract and water showers down outside of trailer....you just have to stand clear!

[Paul_Clancy]

Two words. Slide toppers. Good call on the tire replacement.

[Bull_Rider]

Did you have wheel chocks in place, like Rotochocks? That would make a popping noise.

[laknox]

Sgould wrote:
Thanks to all for the reply! I decided to stick with the original size tires and purchased Maxxis st235 80r16 E tires. The ridiculous back and forth between LT vs ST was too much for me hahaha.

Maxxis have a good rep, but don't discount LTs.

Lyle

[Sgould]

Thanks to all for the reply! I decided to stick with the original size tires and purchased Maxxis st235 80r16 E tires. The ridiculous back and forth between LT vs ST was too much for me hahaha.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Tires with sidewall cracks = Doesn't sound good!.:(

Check the dates as indicated to hasten the decision for replacements.

Then do a search (here) for all the tire info, and you will have lots of reading material..:W


~

[Sgould]

The tires are original. So they are old complete with sidewall cracks.

Sgould wrote:
Power king tow max, are these tires any good?

Old-Biscuit wrote:

lakeside013104 wrote:
I would sooner think that the rear stabilizers were "talking" to you due to the excessive strain that you were applying to them by raising your front landing gear while the rears were extended down. Check to see if the rears extend and retract without binding and or making any kind of weird noises.

This is the first lesson of many you will have as an RVer. No problem, we have all had many types of booboo experiences and there will be others to come. Learn by your mistakes and be sure to ask and tell of your experiences on this RV.net forum.

Probably in the future it would be just as easy for you to retract your slides normally and let the slide seals sweep any excess water off. That is what they are designed for. In case of “solid’ debris, pine needles, branches, leaves, or pine cones, it would be best to manually sweep these off with a broom before retracting your slides. Happy camping to you.

Lakeside

X2

IS this a New trailer with NEW tires?
Yes....run those tires for 2 yrs. then upgrade to LT Load Range 'E'

'New' to you but a used trailer......check the DOT tire date (on inside sidewall----4 digit number. First 2 are week/second 2 are year of mfg. EX: 3713 37th week of 2013)
If they are 2 yrs or older.....upgrade to LT Load Range 'E'

[Old-Biscuit]

We Cant Wait wrote:
Raising the nose of a TT/5th whl/MH is pretty much common practice to dump water off the top of a slide before closing the slide to prevent water running down the slide wall once the slide is closed and soaking the carpets etc.

7 yrs. of FT travel and I never did or need to raise the front.
Nor did I notice it being done by others.

It's OK to do.......but I don't see the necessity.
Water runs off slide out roofs when RV is level. And the slide out wipers will squeegee the top/sides when retracting.
I can only remember a few occasions where we had to towel down the sides as they were retracting and that was during heavy downpours.

[Old-Biscuit]

Sgould wrote:
Power king tow max, are these tires any good?

Old-Biscuit wrote:

lakeside013104 wrote:
I would sooner think that the rear stabilizers were "talking" to you due to the excessive strain that you were applying to them by raising your front landing gear while the rears were extended down. Check to see if the rears extend and retract without binding and or making any kind of weird noises.

This is the first lesson of many you will have as an RVer. No problem, we have all had many types of booboo experiences and there will be others to come. Learn by your mistakes and be sure to ask and tell of your experiences on this RV.net forum.

Probably in the future it would be just as easy for you to retract your slides normally and let the slide seals sweep any excess water off. That is what they are designed for. In case of “solid’ debris, pine needles, branches, leaves, or pine cones, it would be best to manually sweep these off with a broom before retracting your slides. Happy camping to you.

Lakeside

X2

IS this a New trailer with NEW tires?
Yes....run those tires for 2 yrs. then upgrade to LT Load Range 'E'

'New' to you but a used trailer......check the DOT tire date (on inside sidewall----4 digit number. First 2 are week/second 2 are year of mfg. EX: 3713 37th week of 2013)
If they are 2 yrs or older.....upgrade to LT Load Range 'E'

Power King Tow Max Tire Posts......LINK
Read an decide for yourself.

Again.......are they NEW or OLD?

[Sgould]

Power king tow max, are these tires any good?

Old-Biscuit wrote:

lakeside013104 wrote:
I would sooner think that the rear stabilizers were "talking" to you due to the excessive strain that you were applying to them by raising your front landing gear while the rears were extended down. Check to see if the rears extend and retract without binding and or making any kind of weird noises.

This is the first lesson of many you will have as an RVer. No problem, we have all had many types of booboo experiences and there will be others to come. Learn by your mistakes and be sure to ask and tell of your experiences on this RV.net forum.

Probably in the future it would be just as easy for you to retract your slides normally and let the slide seals sweep any excess water off. That is what they are designed for. In case of “solid’ debris, pine needles, branches, leaves, or pine cones, it would be best to manually sweep these off with a broom before retracting your slides. Happy camping to you.

Lakeside

X2

IS this a New trailer with NEW tires?
Yes....run those tires for 2 yrs. then upgrade to LT Load Range 'E'

'New' to you but a used trailer......check the DOT tire date (on inside sidewall----4 digit number. First 2 are week/second 2 are year of mfg. EX: 3713 37th week of 2013)
If they are 2 yrs or older.....upgrade to LT Load Range 'E'

[We_Cant_Wait]

Raising the nose of a TT/5th whl/MH is pretty much common practice to dump water off the top of a slide before closing the slide to prevent water running down the slide wall once the slide is closed and soaking the carpets etc.

[Old-Biscuit]

lakeside013104 wrote:
I would sooner think that the rear stabilizers were "talking" to you due to the excessive strain that you were applying to them by raising your front landing gear while the rears were extended down. Check to see if the rears extend and retract without binding and or making any kind of weird noises.

This is the first lesson of many you will have as an RVer. No problem, we have all had many types of booboo experiences and there will be others to come. Learn by your mistakes and be sure to ask and tell of your experiences on this RV.net forum.

Probably in the future it would be just as easy for you to retract your slides normally and let the slide seals sweep any excess water off. That is what they are designed for. In case of “solid’ debris, pine needles, branches, leaves, or pine cones, it would be best to manually sweep these off with a broom before retracting your slides. Happy camping to you.

Lakeside

X2

IS this a New trailer with NEW tires?
Yes....run those tires for 2 yrs. then upgrade to LT Load Range 'E'

'New' to you but a used trailer......check the DOT tire date (on inside sidewall----4 digit number. First 2 are week/second 2 are year of mfg. EX: 3713 37th week of 2013)
If they are 2 yrs or older.....upgrade to LT Load Range 'E'

[YnotTurbo]

We all have done something that made us say UH Oh!!!

[Sgould]

Thanks a ton you guys! Feeling like a real dingus, lesson learned. Everything appears to be functioning fine , I will check the rear jacks when I get home. Also tires were not of my trade. This Rv has hiway master st 235 80r 16 D. Should I stick with this brand? Any help is great, hope I'm not wearing out my welcome hahaha