1992 Coleman has drooping frame

[Harvey51]

We bought the Coleman tent trailer new in 1992 and it served us very well. It is extra long with a full Queen pullout bed on the front. The frame started to droop in the first few years and I asked a local welder to fix it. He welded a second frame under the original. Now we are lending it to DD and SIL and it drooped so much the door had a gap on the side preventing the latch from working. They had to duct tape it when driving.

Anyone else have this problem and/or an idea for mitigating it?
I have it jacked up a few inches on each end this winter in hope of bending it straighter. I think a piece of wood attached to the side of the door would solve the latch bolt problem better than duct tape.

[Harvey51]

I think this is the one that looks like a crack in one of the photos. Zooming in, it is revealed to be a rusty weld whose shadow looks like a crack.

The outside view of the same part looks like this:

[Harvey51]

Ok, will have a look if I can still get under there. Drifting snow for the last couple if days.

[Beer_Belly]

I'm looking at the right side picture, wish I could see it a bit better. I'm seeing something at the Shackle (Leaf Spring Mount) area, and also above it.

[Harvey51]

Okay, thanks. I will have a welder look at it before letting it go out again.
I somehow wasn’t aware of the warranty. We bought it in Edmonton, 550 km south (nearest dealer) so not easy to take it back and anyway, I suspect the problem arose more than 5 years after purchase. Also, the local welder made it far stronger than when it was new so maybe that was the best solution. Now we are old, retired and camping in a small motorhome. Our daughter & SIL had a great 2000 km trip out of it anyway. I doubt if a 26 year old tent trailer is worth renovating.

[Beer_Belly]

Looks like a lot of rust.....could be totally rusted and weak, I wouldn't tow it if it's that bad.

[SoundGuy]

Harvey51 wrote:
It says Destiny on one side and Royale on the other so probably not the best frame.

So you have a 1992 Coleman Destiny Royale. In your original post you said -

"We bought the Coleman tent trailer new in 1992 and it served us very well.

The frame started to droop in the first few years and I asked a local welder to fix it."

Since this Destiny series trailer carried a 5 year Coleman warranty on the frame that raises the question as to why you didn't take it back to the selling dealer and have the frame properly repaired under warranty rather than a local welder. :h Since your manufacturer is now out of business the only suggestion I can make is what I've already offered - take it to a qualified welder and see what he can do to resolve this issue for you.

FWIW, I went back through my collection of Coleman brochures and found that Coleman dropped the C-channel frame completely for the 1994 model year so all models produced that year and all following years had a full box frame that carried a lifetime warranty, avoiding exactly the problems you're now having with your 1992 C-channel frame.

[Harvey51]

It says Destiny on one side and Royale on the other so probably not the best frame. I think it was probably an extended version of a trailer with a smaller bed on the front instead of our big queen without bothering with a stronger frame. I now recall that the frame did crack years ago. I welded it myself but it made little difference so I took it to the welding shop, and was told the frame seemed to be too week so much stronger steel C beams were welded underneath. It was never overloaded but certainly went on roads with potholes and I remember a bad rural railroad crossing thump. Sorry about not posting photos last night; it was dark when I got the idea to ask on rv.net.
The side with the door scarcely shows the immediate problem with the door bolt lock (usually there is a noticeable gap in the top right half of the door) - the jacks must now be compensating for the droop.


The back left shows the extra beam:


And so does the end view from back right.


This view from the back shows most of the beams and it seems to sag over a long length rather than in one spot.


Here is most of the right side.

[SoundGuy]

Coleman at that time was the only popup manufacturer that used fully boxed frames on all models, from the tiniest to the largest, so this trailer must have taken an awfully big hit to cause this kind of damage. ** Considering the degree of error described by the OP I wouldn't be coming to an internet forum for suggestions from complete strangers but have a qualified welder take a look and see what he suggests, the concern being whether the trailer as is currently even safe to tow in this condition.

** EDIT:

I've got a complete copy of Coleman brochures so I checked 1992 and found that back then the Destiny series did indeed have a C-channel frame while the American & Pioneer series did have the full box frame. You haven't told us which model you have but if it's a Royale, Cedar, or Roanoke with a C-channel frame then I wouldn't be surprised that it cracked. 😞

[All_I_could_aff]

I’d be looking for an actual crack in the frame, or a broken weld. Either that or perhaps it was way over loaded with cargo and or extremely bumpy road.