Bent front frame cross-member on '07 Solaris T-2499

[chopperbob]

I think this subject has been covered in detail. There are smarter guys
than me on this site that have come up with the causes and also the
fix. The cause is the stresses from the hitch in the area where it attaches
to the A frame. I also have a Lippert frame on my Fleetwood and I had the same problem. It doesent take a lot to fix it. One example is on Pat and Cindys Sunline that has been modified to fit 4 batteries on the front.
In doing so it may have contribited to the rigigity that it needed. Also
thier rear section has a Motorcyle rack that probably added to the strength of the rear. I say dont waste your time at Lippert and take it to
a welder and have him add a crossmember on the A frame and be done with it. It is simple and doesent cost much. Cost me a $100 bill but I know the welder and he is a friend and neighbor. Mine has three crossmembers plus a frame to frame bar welded behind the front header, hell, I didnt even bother to straighten mine! Its over kill, but I left it at his shop and when I came back to pick it up everything was done. When shopping for a TT, you can over research or do like I did which was to walk in and buy,
If I had researched it as much as some did, I never would have bought mine. But Im glad I did becouse of all the good times my family has camping all over this country. By the way, my local rv shop told me when I had my refer recal done the other day that Fleetwood has kept him in business for years.
Bob

[Hematite]

Larry:

They did a professional repair, as you would expect. Did they or you check the tongue weight on the Sunline after they were through? That's a LOT of steel!

[clarkldc]

Rick:

I have not measured the tongue weight at this point. The coach is winterized and on the storeage lot. When I take it out of the lot in the spring I will certainly get the weights done. I also need to put some more paint on the new A-frame and header. The welder painted it, but I think it needs another coat of paint. I also need to check the rest of the frame for any cracks and touchup any rust spots in the spring. We are planning a trip to the Florida Keys in May so we should see how the repair holds up on the trip. This should be a good shakedown cruise.

Larry

[Hematite]

Larry,

If I were you, I wouldn't give it a second thought. You will never have to concern yourself with the header again!

One thing you may notice is that the Sunline tows better. I noticed that after the bent header was straightened and reinforced. I took a trip to Maine with it and it was rock solid and steady. With the bent header it was not as steady on the road, probably flex from the A frame. You will be completely pleased now that the problem is fixed.

[t-2499]

Originally Posted by henryj

I hope all 2499 owners will post their frame solutions as it will be valuable for anyone with new problems to see our long discussion as well as the repairs that were then undertaken. It's likely future readers will have a wide choice of solutions as mine is different from others already posted. I'm not going to flog any particular fix as I personally believe the 2499 is so close to the edge just about anything might be good enough to pull it back. However, in my case blood is thicker than water and I followed the fix recommended by my brother as I posted earlier.

This new 4" channel cross member is welded into the existing A-frame channel approx. 1" in front of the front battery support. The top and bottom flanges are cut at 65 deg. and then cut off completely to kind of dovetail the new channel into the existing A-frame. The new channel cross member is welded on all sides.


A 1X2 tube was also welded right across the front of the trailer from I-beam to I-beam and welded to the A-frame. This piece is about 3" behind the header. They did a particularly nice job here sawing the tube on an angle and capping the ends.


Anyone intending to duplicate my solution needs to be careful of where their wd brackets are attached. Equal-i-zer recommends that the brackets be 32" from the center of the coupler, but 29-32" is acceptable. I was able to get a reasonable 1" gap between the battery support and the new channel cross member by moving the wd brackets to 31 1/2", still well within the recommended window. I also replaced the unnecessarily long top bolt with a 3 1/2" grade 5 because the bolt rather than the bracket was hitting the new channel. An alternative option was to let the new channel cross member replace the front battery bracket--since my battery is sitting on a plywood shelf already this would work. But the mechanic said he had plenty of room for welding and so just as soon left the support in place. Another alternative would be to relocate the battery to the top of the A-frame as Emam has done.

Only others with bent 2499s know what a relief it is to get this job done. I was really lucky to find an excellent shop, Reist Industries in Elmira, ON, that is actually a pretty substantial manufacturing/fabrication facility. After being turned down by a couple of smaller businesses I was pleasantly surprised that they took on such a small job. All cuts were sawed and ground, not torched, and the tube ends were capped, all without asking. I was billed for 1.8 hr. and $45 of steel for a total cost, including taxes, of $193. Remember my header only had at most a 3/8" bow and I just left that there for posterity so there was no additional cost for straightening anything.

Hopefully these days of crazy showers will end and I'll be able to paint the tongue before reassembling everything. Our next trip is to OR at the end of the month.

Henry

Funny to dredge this up from so long ago but, after reading this thread, I had this fix done to my 2005 t-2499. I didn't have any bending or disfiguration of the tounge or header at all. I've towed mine alot of miles, and only a guess would be close. I bought mine brand new, from Kings Mountain RV in Kings Mountain N.C.

I don't know what my tounge weight is, or any of the other parameters are. I will say, my coach is probably very light due to my not leaving much in the unit, and never towing with water in the fresh water holding tank.

I think I did the "fix" because of the if factor, and the whole what can it hurt thinking.

I will say I remember towing one time near Clemson S.C. down a steep hill. At the bottom of the hill I had to turn left. As I turned I noticed the coach rear scrub wheels were hitting and I proceded slowly. Well, the coach wheels were off the ground, and the weight was on the scrub wheels and the trailer tounge. As I turned, the coach slid around to the right (the scrub wheels are caster type)untill the tires touched again. I heard the tires screach like a jet airplane touching down on a runway. I was lucky to do no damage, nor bend the header or a-frame. I don't know why it didn't.

My a-frame is 4 inch and looks like everyones pictures here. Lucky I guess.


So, I just thought I'd post this, and say thanks for all the information. Maybe I saved myself some aggeravation.

[JohnB]

Hi T2499

Yes in this case, prevention is key. If you can reinforce the A Frame before the bending starts, this is a whole lot easier to fix.

John

[t-2499]

That was my reasoning also. I hope to keep this coach for a long time to come.