I have been looking at small TT's with one slide and was wondering what would be the difference in the chassis(frame) construction of the various models. I was not able to see much info on the frame construction, I beam vs box vs c section or the thickness of the steel. I see axle ratings of 3500 lbs or 4000 lbs each on some. I am assuming if the axle rating is 3500 lbs each that as long as GVWR of the trailer is less than 7000 lbs fully loaded every thing should be good. So my question, is the chassis construction pretty much the same or are some more robust than others? The ones that I saw that looked good from just the web sites were the ORV Creekside 18RBS 23 ft with 78 gals of FW. Coachmen Apex Nano 208BHS 25 ft 50 gals of FW. Coachmen 192 RBS 22ft 49 gals of FW. Hemisphere HyperLyte 23RB 26 ft 52 gals of FW. I never go to FHU CG's so FW is important to me.

The ORV will have the strongest frame. Doesn't mean the others are not going to last a long time. It mainly depends on the type of usage. Remember if you have a 7000 GVW and two 3500# axles, you need to subtract the tongue weight form the TT's loaded weight. If your 7000 GVW TT weighs 6800 lbs all loaded for camping and has an 800lb tongue weight, then you only have 6000 lbs on the axles.

All of the Forest River products you list will be on an LCI frame. Manufactured I beam and stamped or bar type cross members, with all welding done by a pre school class in Elkhart IN. That's an exaggeration but not far from the truth. Those LCI frames are like shooting C raps, you may win, you may lose, you may break even.

X2. The ORV-Northwood chassis will be far more robust. It's why I bought mine. Large heavy-gauge I-beam, cambered chassis with reinforcing at suspension points. The other trailer I was considering was a Cougar (Keystone RV), but it's chassis was basically sheet-metal, and much smaller with lighter axles.If you stay on highways, the lighter frames are fine. If you venture off-highway much, they aren't. Both of my prior TTs had frame failures (sagging frame on the Jayco, broken welds on the A-frame on my Weekend Warrior) so chassis design was was high on my requirements list.

When I was trailer shopping, I noticed that shorter trailers usually ended up with relatively stronger frames. That cheap I beam works fine for 20 or 25 feet, but gets weaker the longer you go.

TurnThePage wrote:When I was trailer shopping, I noticed that shorter trailers usually ended up with relatively stronger frames. That cheap I beam works fine for 20 or 25 feet, but gets weaker the longer you go. I thought this may be the case. If they use the same cross section and same thickness it should be stronger. Is there anyway of finding this info out? Bert mentioned LCI, who else makes these frames? who makes the frames for the ORV trailers?

Chassis strength of 20 -26 ft trailers with one slide

JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Oct 04, 2019
Your wanting tech infomation we don't have...and also bashing all LCI frames is total BS.
Having owned a Fleetwood...Thor and Skyline built trailers which was bashed by a few individuals at that time, mine had no issues.
Thousands of satified LCI customers vs those that had issues some years back.

You will have to go to each trailer mfg and ask them those type questions. When I look at frames I go underside and see for my own self how its made and the type of steel extrusions the frame rails are made of.

And of course the trailers with the best frames is the one owned.

I would advise anyone looking at "lite" models to R&R their frames to their satisfaction.
Gjac
Explorer III
Oct 04, 2019
Does anyone know who makes the frame for the Coachmen Apex Nano? Also where do you find the specs for the construction or the frame, thickness of the steel, where supports are located etc?
deltabravo
Nomad
Oct 03, 2019
Ditto on ORV / Nash / Arctic Fox have very stout frames.

I won't buy any other brand of RV after seeing how cheaply LCI frames are, compared to the stoutness of the frames Northwood and ORV use.
trail-explorer
Explorer
Oct 01, 2019
Gjac wrote:
who makes the frames for the ORV trailers?

Northwood (no S in their name) and ORV are sister companies. They have their own frame / chassis shops that build the frames. In other words, they build them themselves.

Not sure why so many people think they are called Northwoods... might be the same reason people call Camping World "Camper Land" or "Campers World"... LOL

One shop (factory / facility, what have you) builds the frames for ORV and AF / Nash / Fox Mountain.
Vintage465
Nomad
Sep 29, 2019
Gjac wrote:
TurnThePage wrote:
When I was trailer shopping, I noticed that shorter trailers usually ended up with relatively stronger frames. That cheap I beam works fine for 20 or 25 feet, but gets weaker the longer you go.
I thought this may be the case. If they use the same cross section and same thickness it should be stronger. Is there anyway of finding this info out? Bert mentioned LCI, who else makes these frames? who makes the frames for the ORV trailers?

ORV Frames are made by Northwoods. ORV and Northwoods, while somewhat related are separate companies. They have a "separate set of books" or so to say. ORV contracts Northwoods to make the frames for their rigs to ORV specs. I'm not sure that ORV and Northwood are as related as Ford and Lincoln Mercury(yes I know there is no more Mercury). I think it's more like General Motors, Chevy and Buick, same parents, different kids.
Gjac
Explorer III
Sep 28, 2019
Who else makes frames beside LCI? Do any other trailer builders make their own frames like ORV?
SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Sep 27, 2019
Bert Ackerman wrote:
All of the Forest River products you list will be on an LCI frame. Manufactured I beam and stamped or bar type cross members, with all welding done by a pre school class in Elkhart IN. That's an exaggeration but not far from the truth. Those LCI frames are like shooting C raps, you may win, you may lose, you may break even.

Not much of an exaggeration. Working at the local burger joint one day, welding frames the next. Of course using a glue gun (MIG) don't take a boatload of skill anyway. The key is actually laying down a weld where it's supposed to be.
carringb
Explorer
Sep 27, 2019
Gjac wrote:
TurnThePage wrote:
When I was trailer shopping, I noticed that shorter trailers usually ended up with relatively stronger frames. That cheap I beam works fine for 20 or 25 feet, but gets weaker the longer you go.
I thought this may be the case. If they use the same cross section and same thickness it should be stronger. Is there anyway of finding this info out? Bert mentioned LCI, who else makes these frames? who makes the frames for the ORV trailers?

ORV frames are made in house at the Northwoods (Arctic Fox/Fash) chassis plant.

When I was shopping, it was very apparent that others were not using the same heavy gauge materials as Northwoods. If the particular models you are looking at do have similar looking frame, they may be similar in strength. However LCI frames usually won't have gussets at the spring mounts or shocks, and may crossmembers may installed further apart. Remember that LCI only builds to spec. It's up to the RV makers to decide what extra features are included. Some LCI frames are just fine, and do include all the extra strengthening details.
Gjac
Explorer III
Sep 27, 2019
TurnThePage wrote:
When I was trailer shopping, I noticed that shorter trailers usually ended up with relatively stronger frames. That cheap I beam works fine for 20 or 25 feet, but gets weaker the longer you go.
I thought this may be the case. If they use the same cross section and same thickness it should be stronger. Is there anyway of finding this info out? Bert mentioned LCI, who else makes these frames? who makes the frames for the ORV trailers?
TurnThePage
Explorer
Sep 27, 2019
When I was trailer shopping, I noticed that shorter trailers usually ended up with relatively stronger frames. That cheap I beam works fine for 20 or 25 feet, but gets weaker the longer you go.

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Chassis strength of 20 -26 ft trailers with one slide

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