? Stress fractures on exterior of coach

[Judo_x-ray]

Just bought a 2003 33' Bounder from a private owner this spring. I noticed 3 or 4 small 2/3" cracks running along the right side of the coach about in the middle. I questioned the seller and his reply was " they are just stress fractures. You find them in most older coaches." My husband says the coach pulls to the right. He had the frontend lined up and replaced all 4 shocks. He says it is better but still pulls right some. By the way the coach is very clean and has only 21,000 miles on it. My take is the someone took the backend over something or a large curbe, maybe. Just wondered what you guys think?

[big_jim_2]

My 2003 diesel bounder developed a narrow crack at the corner of the slide about 5 years ago. It is about 6 inches long. I make sure it is sealed all the time and has not changed in many years!

[wolfe10]

Actually, I would not accept a coach alignment that pulled to either direction on a moderately crowned road.

CASTER is uses to compensate for road crown, with a half degree or so more caster on the right side.

Only on reality TV would you find acceptance of is SHOULD pull to either side on moderately crowned road with no side wind.

[Judo_x-ray]

DSDP Don wrote:
I did alignments for many years and set them to spec, not so that if you fall asleep you steer away from traffic.....never heard of this. Doesn't even make sense!

Cracks can be caused by several things. Often what you're seeing is the fiberglass cracking from age, off gassing, or even direct sunight during storage. Stree cracking usually manifests itself near the corner of windows or slides where the framing is moving and cuasing the fiberglass to crack.

A photo of your cracking would make it easier to identify what's going on.

Lastly, if you've had the coach properly aligned and it still pulls to one side, swap the front tires.

Thanks Don. They did that when they lined up the front end.

[Ava]

I agree with DSDP Don about the pulling to the right. Mine was aligned and the problem was still there and swapping the front tires cured it.

[GREGORYJ]

Many highways surfaces have a crown or are sloped slight to the left towards the ditch, for rain to run off, which could explain some pulling to the left at times. I've owned 3 motorhomes totaling over 90,000 miles and never had one constantly pulled to the left or any direction. I would also recommend to try swapping front tires and see if any changes are felt. Be sure they have correct and equal air pressure. The cracks are likely not related and probably from age or stress cracks.

[DrewE]

I've sometimes been misled into thinking that a vehicle was misaligned because it was pulling one way or the other only to discover that there was a steady sidewind or that it was merely due to the crown of the road. If the pull goes away or changes direction in the lefthand lanes of a divided highway, then the crown of the road is a suspect.

I've also had pulling due to sticky brakes. If it goes away (or reverses the direction) when braking, that's pretty good proof of what the cause is.

Of course, it's also entirely possible to have a pull to one side due to improper alignment or similar things. I don't mean to discount that possibility in any way, merely to caution that I've occasionally been fooled by other things.

[DutchmenSport]

"When they do alignments they set it to pull to the left somewhat."

In 1970, I was 15 years old and worked for a dollar an hour at my uncle's gas station. (think Goober on the Andy Griffith show).... Anyway, my uncle always aligned cars with a slight pull to the right. Personally, I never understood that.

I think, in the days before "specs" were suppose to be followed, it was a common practice, but not today from any reputable service repair shop. I do know, I fought with my Chevy dealer repair shop a couple years ago when my truck began pulling to the right. It drove me nuts. I hated fighting the wheel. Never did figure out the cause, except after they did a tire rotation, it was worse. The told me to keep driving it, and sure enough, over the next year, ... well ... it doesn't do it any more. Drives straight as an arrow!

Tires seem to be wearing even, but who knows? Original tires, maybe one had a weak spot or something, until it wore down, or who knows what. But all is well now.

[DSDP_Don]

I did alignments for many years and set them to spec, not so that if you fall asleep you steer away from traffic.....never heard of this. Doesn't even make sense!

Cracks can be caused by several things. Often what you're seeing is the fiberglass cracking from age, off gassing, or even direct sunight during storage. Stree cracking usually manifests itself near the corner of windows or slides where the framing is moving and cuasing the fiberglass to crack.

A photo of your cracking would make it easier to identify what's going on.

Lastly, if you've had the coach properly aligned and it still pulls to one side, swap the front tires.

[midnightsadie]

ceawl under that rig and look for broken welds .

[rgatijnet1]

Any alignment that does not include ALL four wheels is just not complete. You need to make sure that the thrust angle of the rear axle is properly aligned with the front axle to be sure that the vehicle is tracking straight down the road.
And in spite of what SOME mechanics will tell you, that don't have the equipment, the rear axle is adjustable.

[Dennis12]

When they do alignments they set it to pull to the left somewhat. That way should you fall asleep of something else come up. It will pull to the right instead of hitting someone head on. The man is probably right with the stress cracks, especially if he did a lot of rock climbing in it.