Mystery Wires... Any thoughts?

[bedpan]

Hey folks,

Was climbing around underneath doing some clean up and prepping for a trip on our trailer and found 2 mystery wires. I am trying to figure out what they are used for. As best I can guess they are grounds, but the placement just does not make sense.

The trailer in question is a s 2018 Sundance 241BH.

Two wired floating next to the frame with Lug ends on them on the passenger side near the rear tire. There is a bit of a bolt sticking out that I wonder if they are suppose to be bolted to for ground. Tracing the wires back they wrap around the frame then go up through the floor into the area of the fuse panel, furnace and fridge.

Next time I am out working I will try and figure out how to access that area from the inside of the trailer and trace them out.

Any thoughts in the mean time?


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[GordonThree]

For addressing the entire frame cancer some system like POR 15 is worth investigating.

For your present repair I would use DeOxit or WD Technical to remove corrosion, along with a wire brushing.

Once electrically reassembled myself I'd hit with a rust converter and enamel spray paint (Rust-Oleum works for me)

[bedpan]

I have never seen por15 before so doing some reading on it.. Is it a waste of time to not do the full 3 part system? Or can I just clean up and paint?

bgum wrote:
POR 15

[time2roll]

Verify where the other end connects and reconnect. I would clean up the frame and get new wire and terminals.

[bgum]

POR 15

[BillyBob_Jim]

dougrainer wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
I'm not impressed with the lack of paint on the frame either. 2018 and it looks 30 years old.

That is what a RV looks like after it has been delivered to the dealer during the Winter Months and the dealer failed to adequately wash the under carriages to remove road salt/chemicals. This is why OEM's REQUIRE the dealers to thoroughly wash the under carriages of RV's when they are delivered to them during the winter months. AND, this type problem is NOT a Warranty issue but falls back to the selling dealer for repair. Doug

It looks like every Lippert frame I have ever looked at after a year or two, no matter if it was towed down salted roads or was delivered to Georgia in July, and spent all its time there. Some worse, some better, they all rust like that usually starting at all the welds. The LCI powdercoating is a total joke. I have a pair of Lippert fold down steps right now that are less than a year old on my bench, and the awesome powder coat finish is peeling off in sheets.

Lippert = Garbage.

[bedpan]

New to this... Would you get a separate rust inhibitor product or use a spray paint with rust inhibitor in it? Is there a brand that people recommend?

Cheers,

Mike

mgirardo wrote:

Spray paint would just hide the rust. Rust will continue to form under the paint. Use a rust inhibitor first so no more forms, then you can top coat it with spray paint.
-Michael

[mgirardo]

bedpan wrote:
So that being said, whats my best recourse to get this thing cleaned up? I was planning on hitting it with the pressure washer this week. Letting it dry and then grab some spray paint and go to town over the whole thing...

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Mike

Spray paint would just hide the rust. Rust will continue to form under the paint. Use a rust inhibitor first so no more forms, then you can top coat it with spray paint.

-Michael

[RCMAN46]

I agree looks like ground wires. I would be concerned how did the one become disconnected and why.

[bedpan]

Full disclosure... The corrosion is my fault. It was not super pretty when I got it but not this bad. We did a trip in March and ended up hitting bad weather coming home with lots of salt. We got back late and I was straight back to work. I never did get the trailer washed... Again... My fault..

So that being said, whats my best recourse to get this thing cleaned up? I was planning on hitting it with the pressure washer this week. Letting it dry and then grab some spray paint and go to town over the whole thing...

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Mike

[dougrainer]

SidecarFlip wrote:
I'm not impressed with the lack of paint on the frame either. 2018 and it looks 30 years old.

That is what a RV looks like after it has been delivered to the dealer during the Winter Months and the dealer failed to adequately wash the under carriages to remove road salt/chemicals. This is why OEM's REQUIRE the dealers to thoroughly wash the under carriages of RV's when they are delivered to them during the winter months. AND, this type problem is NOT a Warranty issue but falls back to the selling dealer for repair. Doug

[SidecarFlip]

I'm not impressed with the lack of paint on the frame either. 2018 and it looks 30 years old.

[dougrainer]

The larger White wire probably goes straight to the Converter/12 volt fuse panel Ground connection. The other is a ground for another appliance or Ground buss bar. BOTH are chassis/Frame grounds for the 12 volt system. The ground lugs on the frame need REPLACED, not cleaned and the ends of those wires need to be cut back and stripped to expose clean wire. Doug

[bedpan]

Thanks Gordon...

The rain stopped just after I posted and I went out to investigate...

I had to take the whole fuse panel and 12V converter out to get into the area but I was able to track them down. They both go to the same ground bus bar under the fridge..

I guess they wrap to the outside of the frame to make it easier to maintain them? The trailer is less then a year old. Thats a lot of corrosion for the self tapper they were on to lose its head. Oh well. I did wire brush them and re-install on the inside of the frame so they are not as exposed to the elements.

Overall I am not to impressed with the build quality of this trailer. My 2015 Starcraft that we replaced seemed to have a lot more attention to details. Still not built great but just a little better fit and finish.

Again much appreciate you taking the time!

Mike

[GordonThree]

Additional info little one is your shore AC ground and very important for the GFI and avoiding hot skin.

Bigger is the DC converter ground.

[GordonThree]

Ground wires. Clean those up with some Deoxit D10 and a nice new stainless screw into the frame. Clean, paint heavily, repeat in a year or two as rust.

Lack of proper ground frame termination can cause all sorts weird little issues.