Lippert Frame Issues

[philh]

Good friend made fun of the small irritating issues we had with our new Freedom Express. Her Grand Design is built with quality, no issues at all.

Right up until her 2nd blown tire and the guy that changed the tire recommended she have the bearings looked at.

Holy ****... RV dealer not only said it needs to be totaled, but in very strong words recommended it not even leave the lot. Called it a danger to even be driven on public roads.

one axle is offset 3" from right to left. Several significant crack in the frame. Cracked welds, Missing welds. Body is somehow twisted and now explains why the side popped out last year. Tongue on one side is an inch longer than the other side.

First reaction from the factory, it was in an accident. Dealer GM actually came unglued with the factory rep at that point.

[philh]

I got a LOT of photos today. I'll go through and post a few of the interesting ones.

3" was an exaggeration.

Looks like it's about 3/4" side to side axle alignment. Also, one tire sticks out the side of the trailer. Huge crack in the frame... about 2" up the side of the rail. Several missing welds. Some never welded at all, others are just tack welded. One photo baffled me. Where one weld may or may not be is covered up with expanding sealant. I said, WTF is this? She said, you're the engineer, you tell me.

What I hadn't been told before, apparently when the dealer she took it in for bearing repack, literally pulled pieces of bearings out of the hub.

This thing is a mess that should have never been built into a trailer.

[BurbMan]

They do use jigs to assemble these frames, and I believe the generally accepted tolerance for spring hanger placement is within 1/4" +/-. It's almost inconceivable that one side of the tongue could be longer than the other but I guess anything is possible when it comes to these Amish craftsmen....

[Grit_dog]

Lynnmor that is a great comparison!

I don’t know nuthin about TTs, but there are ALOT of brand new ones on the road around here this summer and I’ve seen many bent axles, tires that you can tell the axle is mid aligned just pulling up next to it at a stop light and even a couple that were pigeon toed and still had paper tags in the windows.

It’s a real concern. And hard to understand. I’ve had, personally, a Triton enclosed and now an old Charmac enclosed trailer and they’ve both been beat on pretty good. Should see them bounce when bombing up a forest road in the winter to get to am unloading spot, given er he!! In the truck to keep traction and momentum, not worried about what the trailer is bouncing over as long as you don’t get stuck. Never touched the axles on either trailer. Never tire wear problems.

[philh]

I'll have her send me some pics.

One side of the tongue being an inch longer is unconscionable.

[wanderingaimles]

Plus, the way these frames and axle assemblies are loaded onto a flatbed trailer on top of each other, there is no telling how many get "bumped" out of alignment if they were not torqued sufficiently.

[Lynnmor]

kellem wrote:
Blows me away how axles can be out of alignment from factory but I've seen a few and had one myself.
Can't believe an axle jig isn't used as this would enable perfect alignment 100% of the time and prevent unsuspecting owners from issues such as sway and blowouts.

The frames are built at the Lippert (or other), factory and the axles are completely assembled at the axle company. All the RV factory does is plop the axle on the frame and stuff in a few bolts. If the hangers are off, nobody checks that, it is what it is. Yes, Lippert and others may use a jig to locate the hangers, but you don't want to see that any more than you want to see sausage being made.

[kellem]

Blows me away how axles can be out of alignment from factory but I've seen a few and had one myself.
Can't believe an axle jig isn't used as this would enable perfect alignment 100% of the time and prevent unsuspecting owners from issues such as sway and blowouts.

My 2020 trailer with Lippert frame had front right axle forward 1/4" and sure enough tire was warmer than other 3 via temp gun, not much but enough to warrant my investigation.

Easy fix with leaf sprung frame.....4 bolts and a tape measure but unacceptable from factory.

[deltabravo]

BurbMan wrote:
Would love to see some pics

Ditto.

[BurbMan]

Would love to see some pics of that dumpster fire if your friend has nay