M-Tec Frame

[tsetsaf]

Anybody know anything about M-tec frames. This new rig we purchased has one and it is amazingly beefy.

[Atom_Ant]

Doesn't have to be frames, it can be stabilizers, pin boxes, windows, awnings...... Lippert and Tyco are out to take over the world 🙂

[jims1]

If you want to make a million, start a frame shop in the Elkhart area. Make a fantastic product with more strength than necessary, build for a year or two and Lippert will buy you out.
Move down the road and do again!
Lippert buys alot of small operations that build good products to begin with. After the integration in the Lippert family, the original owners go away, and the product is then manufactured to lessening degree's of quality until you have nothing but junk.

[hone_eagle]

My last trailer was a triple E ,would of bought another in a heartbeat if they made a bigger model.(do they make any now?)
That said nothing wrong with I beams , because just calling a frame a I beam is not enough information,
like how thick are the webs? how wide? material hardness. cross members ?etc etc
I have seen 2 sheet metal 'C' channels tacked together called I beam.
Stacked square tubes like a mobile suite are stronger(stiffer) PER POUND then a I beam ,but a I beam can be just as strong ,but with a weight and size penalty .

[pressure_welder]

this is just my opinion so take it for what its worth of course. Being a pressure pipe welder..... IBEAM shouldnt be used on these campers, MAYBE on the "light" models. The frame under my 2013 laredo is a complete joke and frankly i am just waiting for it to fail, but what does a guy do? not upgrade?. If you guys want to talk beefy, look under a triple E topaz canadian built camper now that is a beefy frame! when we pulled our topaz or backing in on un even ground you hear almost zero groaning/creeks. Pulling the laredo i feel as though all our kitchen cupboards will be ripped out of the walls when we back her around a corner or into a site. If i was making an RV frame it would be either 8 or 10" x 2"x 1/8" square tubing with all ends capped, 3 x 1-1/2" crossmembers. Iam not sure if these companies are trying to make these campers so much lighter to attract more people to buy with smaller trucks, OR just to save money on building materials, or both? as far as iam concerned if your into camping and require a camper of certain credentials you have to pay to play, buy the truck to suit. If your pulling a 30-35' camper dont expect your half ton to pull it! I always get funny looks when my wife and i go to look at campers seriously, and the salesmen wonders why the first thing i do is crawl under the camper to look at the frame!

[hone_eagle]

contact the manufacturer of Bigfoot for the install, Michigan I think,thats what I will be doing this year or next at the latest.

[Atom_Ant]

OK thanks. I does sound pretty close to what the latest 12" I-beam Z-frames are Lippert is manufacturing.

[tsetsaf]

Atom Ant wrote:
Falcon FIT under mine is definitely a "camo" job for Lippert, but it sounds like this was a buy out of M-Tec so it doesn't necessarily mean it has been homogenized into a standard Lippert frame design, at least yet.

If the M-Tec was a good "beefy" frame before, it probably still is. I have heard of them, but have never seen one. Is it an I-beam, C channel, box? What looks "beefy"?

Just curious

It is a 12" tall I-Beam with excellent welds and structural supports. The rig is 44' long and this frame is so solid that I jacked up one side with a bottle jack behind the third tire; a few pumps lifted all three tires! I am shopping for auto-level kits and needed to know who to contact regarding the viability of adding BigFoots to this frame.

The above being said the total trailer GVWR is just over 15k. I was told that steel is significantly lighter and structurally stronger now days... but it is a Lippert 😉

[Atom_Ant]

Falcon FIT under mine is definitely a "camo" job for Lippert, but it sounds like this was a buy out of M-Tec so it doesn't necessarily mean it has been homogenized into a standard Lippert frame design, at least yet.

If the M-Tec was a good "beefy" frame before, it probably still is. I have heard of them, but have never seen one. Is it an I-beam, C channel, box? What looks "beefy"?

Just curious

[hone_eagle]

Lippert is a four letter word in the RV industry and they know it,so its a camo job on every thing they do.
Just hope they do better so as to leave the bad rep behind.

[dbear]

As with darn near everything in this industry, apparently another subsidiary of Lippert.

"July 20, 2011

White Plains-based Drew Industries Incorporated (NYSE:DW), a major supplier of components for recreational vehicles (RV's), reported today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lippert Components, acquired the assets of Elkhart, Indiana-based M-Tec Corporation ("M-Tec") for a consideration of $6 million in cash. M-Tec- who reported annual sales of approximately $12 million - manufactures a bespoke RV Unibody Chassis (up to 45-feet long), metal frames (including a through frame slide out), stamping, and other components for motorhomes, travel trailers and mobile office units..."
M-Tec news release