Heat Shield Fell Off

[jeremywatco]

Hi there,

On my Fleetwood Storm (Ford F53 Chassis) I was driving down the freeway yesterday and heard an awful noise. I pulled over and looked under the coach and there is a metal heat shield about 5 feet long, 12" wide that was tack welded onto the frame in a few spots. Well this was dragging on the ground but still was welded in about 5 spots. I was able to use bailing wire and re-attach it to the frame so I could make it home....

Well... 300 miles later I made it home.. crawled under to see about a permanent fix and guess what? Its gone. The entire thing broke loose at somepoint and is gone.

The shield for the propane tank is still there. This is the 5' extension that goes down the frame

Any idea on where I can get another piece like this? I am sure i was there for a reason.

[wildmanbaker]

If it is "tacked welded" right, road vibrations and air turbulences will work the shields and cause the welds to fatigue and brake at the edge of the weld. It must be welded well to stay attached. The only other fix is to drill and bolt the shields in place. The man facture's welds leave a lot to be desired.

[Bachnr]

We have had the exact same problem on our 2014 Fleetwood storm! The heat shield has been tack welded back twice, only to have now come loose three times! Mine is currently held in place where the welds continue to break with bailing wire.

Others with same issue? How did you fix?

[PastorCharlie]

Its purpose is to keep the heat from overheating the floor and other nearby areas...it's possible to start a fire should the converter and/or muffler get excessive hot from an improper fuel/air mixture.

[DSDP_Don]

Order it from Ford. Your coach is still new with available parts. It was part of the OEM chassis when it was delivered to Fleetwood.

[RedRollingRoadb]

jeremywatco wrote:
I'm trying to figure out what it was protecting... the propane shield is still there... the bins maybe from melting? They are pretty far away

Protect excessive to gas line and wiring harness that runs down the inside of frame?

[jeremywatco]

I'm trying to figure out what it was protecting... the propane shield is still there... the bins maybe from melting? They are pretty far away

[homedad]

On my Storm it was really thin like 1/32”. I thought about welding it but it was too thin for my arc welder. I ended up never replacing it. I would probably just go to a welding shop and have them replace it with something thicker. I believe it was so thin that it wobbled to the point that welds flexed off.

[rk911]

a shop may be able to fabricate one for you otherwise suggest you call Colaw RV Salvage in Carthage, MO.

[wildmanbaker]

On ours, it is just some heavy gauge sheet metal that was welded in place for heat shield. You might want to reinstall a new one as the manufacture does not do anything that coats money, unless they are required too. I you have a Fleetwood dealer near you, go look and see where the shielding was located, if you do not remember.

[Tyler0215]

It was probably under the exhaust. Leave it off,don't worry.