dodge guy wrote:
There was a member here years ago that had the same thing happen. He had a Mobil welder come out and repair it with new steel and a coupler.
It was dutchmensport. I'm sure he'll be along at some point and comment on what he did. I'd repost one of his photos off the internet but since they're photobucket images, you can't anymore (unless a PB member pays their ransom). But you can view the photos by doing a google search "rv.net a-frame break dutchmensport" and clicking on images.
I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often considering the vertical dynamic forces involved. If you look at how they weld the A-frame to the I-beams, the weld quality isn't that great and sometimes not complete (fully welded along the joints). We had a previous brand new TT into a gov't certified inspection facility and the owner said it was the worst frame he'd ever seen (Lippert), including the substandard welding. The Spree line of TTs employs this weak frame design to start with, and has I-beams made from 3 pieces of mild steel welded together which looks like a regular cold rolled I-beam. These 3-piece I-beams flex a lot more when travelling down the road and thus puts more stress on the I-beam to A-frame connection. Also, the OP's TT is over 33' which likely increases the stresses between the I-beams & A-frame. There are some other makes & models out there with the same type of frame besides KZ.
Don't know the model year of OP's Spree, but I do know that in 2014, KZ looked at switching to BAL/Norco frames and they produced a run of Spree Connect TTs (lower cost line of the Spree) in the earlier part of that year with them but they apparently couldn't get a commitment for enough quantity and went back to the Lippert frames. Wasn't long afterwards that KZ sold out to Thor and not sure if that had anything to do with it as well.
I absolutely would not hire anyone other than a reputable certified welder to do the repairs or a frame & axle shop that has one on staff. Might be a good idea to have the entire frame and suspension inspected for any other damage . It might also be a very good idea to add some strengthening in the I-beams above the spring hangers as this is a high-stress area and fatigue cracks in the I-beams can sometimes occur.
Another thing to consider is to add shock absorbers to tame the bouncing while traveling on roads. We added them on our Spree and they made a huge difference.
