Bent front frame cross-member on '07 Solaris T-2499 - Page 9

HappyCampers · 08-07-2008, 05:57 PM

Wow, I've been really busy the last few weeks (plus a 10 day vacation) and haven't been keeping up on my site reading. Yikes!!! If anyone in my area has any issues with their trailer let me know. My buddy is a really good welder/fabricator that is currently laid off from Harley Davidson, and has some time on his hands. He and I totally overhauled the first 10 feet of frame on the Airstream I had, and that was a job for the record books. If I can help anyone just let me know.
Lowell

henryj · 08-07-2008, 07:32 PM

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

hiller64 · 08-08-2008, 05:34 PM

I have been out of town so I just picked up on this discussion but today I made a quick check of my 2007 T 2499 and could see no obvious signs of bending. I have the old tyle Resse hitch with the trunion bars hung from chains below the A frame . I woder if part of the issue might be with the dual cam hitches tending to pull the frame at an angle. Any thoughts?

Not sure why I haven't seen this issue with my 2499 but I may not tow as much as some of the club members so I have yet to develop the problem.

Hiller

**Tweety** · 08-08-2008, 06:14 PM

Hiller, Don't know if you read all 11 pages of this discussion or not. You might want to check out page 9 and consider doing at least the preventitive fix that we had Lippert do to Tweety. It is what they recommending.

hiller64 · 08-08-2008, 08:45 PM

Tweety

you are quite correct I did not read all 11 pages before I posted.
I'll check out all the posts and see what is recomended.

thanks
Rich aka hiller

Bobo · 08-10-2008, 08:58 AM

Here are the photos I promised of my reinforcement.

New Battery Crossovers - twice the size and thickness!

2"x4" Box steel welded in behind front header!

3/4" x 2" solid steel running from mainframe to mainframe and welding in 4" c-channel A-frame including parts of header "where it is hammered up to c-channel for welding at factory" tying in everything to one solid header.

For technical questions, feel free to contact the repair facility.

Marketview Heights Garage
1030 East Main St.
Rochester, NY 585-546-4940
Ask for Doc Wiggins

Hope this helps anybody get ideas for their reconstruction.

Bobo

Poppy & Nana · 08-10-2008, 12:35 PM

Bobo - would you mind letting us know how much the repair cost?

henryj · 08-10-2008, 03:07 PM

I really like those battery brackets! I think that's the preemptive fix that the other 7000 lb. owners should be looking at. I don't know what your mechanic did, but I would recommend cutting them at 65 deg. to fit exactly into the A-frame. That way the weld alone isn't holding the stress.

I remain convinced, but can't test it anymore, that the 2499 needs the extra help underneath that Bobo and I also added, especially for the more badly bent ones. It's a cheap investment for the peace of mind on a coach that most of us plan on keeping for many years.

Henry

Bobo · 08-10-2008, 03:40 PM

The cost was $600.00. Took a little more time due to fabricating as he went along. Now it is nice and solid. We do plan on keeping the camper so we went with a heavier fix than what has been shown for a long term solution. I gave Doc's contact info if someone wants him to do their repair or brainstorm with him. He is one of the most honest mechanics I have ever worked with. A rare find.

Bobo

kanyonkitty · 08-23-2008, 04:40 PM

SUNNY is GONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sold him..............naw, just kidding he was towed away by my son to go get fixed, lifted and drag wheels(these are just for "what if"). Now while he's gone, I need to go out, do some measuring and mark my new tire placement in the RV Port, and reposition the rubber fatigue matting.

kanyonkitty · 08-27-2008, 07:42 PM

Sunny is temporarily home, so I can go camping, then he goes back to the fix it man for the lift and skid wheels.

OK, my fix, I forgot to write down the sizes of the metal pieces that Ryan used to reinforce the frame, but I'm happy with the way it looks, as it really does not jump out as a "FIX" to a frame problem. Is it as good as what others have had done

I don't have a clue, but Ryan fells it will do the job. I took some real quick pics today, but they are not great, but here they are anyway:

This pic is of the support near the snap up brackets

This pic shows the end of the metal that now runs under/behind the header.

This pic shows the front of the header brace, it's a bit hard to see

This is a slightly better pic of the new support (coppper tubing needs to be worked with)

This is yet another lousy pic of the new support.

I will get new/better pics ASAP, and also get info about the metal used in the repair. And then get to sanding and painting.

Man I hope this fix is going to do the trick

**JohnB** · 08-30-2008, 09:38 PM

Kitty

It "looks" like he used 2" x 2" x 1/4" thick angle iron by the battery and 3 x 3 x 1/4" angle iron across the header.

When you are out looking, see where he welded it and did not weld it.

Glade you can go camping. You need it.

John

precorguy · 09-03-2008, 08:21 AM

hi all!

great pics of the improvements ---- i have decided to kill 2 birds with one stone ----- going to take our sunny to the dealer and have the axles flipped, a piece of steel welded to the header and also across the A frame in front of the batteries - this should give us the extra strength - i hope --- will be using the pics as reference.

once that is done i am going to finsih the enclosure of the bottom of the trailer (tanks) with heat to extend our camping season.

i keep looking at our 2553 to see if there is any pending happening - so far so good (knocking on wood) and i hope that we can get through the season and have her fixed.

thanks so much for alerting us to these issues!!!!!

henryj · 10-01-2008, 12:32 PM

After towing about 7000 miles on a 5 week trip to the west coast, I am happy to report that reinforcing the 2499's A-frame has indeed done the job of preventing the wd bars from twisting the C-channel. We daily faced any number of frame bending situations from gas stations, to transitions from main roads to side roads and uneven ground and tight turns in campgrounds and sites. Also typical was a high crown in going from a highway to a scenic turnout. All of these situations create the kind of alternate loading and unloading of the wd bars that constantly work on the A-frame and the header until something gives--just like bending a piece of metal until it breaks. The reinforced 2499 handled all these situations while also towing beautifully straight and stable on curving mountain roads--all that tw is good for something. So, while I will probably never tow again without recognizing these road "hazards", I can at least say that the 2499 can indeed be fixed and my confidence has been restored. After 2 years and 20,000 miles my 2499 now really is better than new... no thanks to Lippert.

I was able to get the frame cleaned up and painted before we left for OR so here is a picture of the final product.

Henry

kanyonkitty · 10-02-2008, 04:31 PM

OK, hopefully, I got some better pics of "My Fix"

Looking forward from underneath trailer:

The "L" thats under the header, there are welded in spacers so the "L" stays attached straight to the maind frame rails and the tongue frame (Yes, I need to paint !!)

Looking at the rear of the additional C channel and L rail that were welded in behind the header

Top of C channel that was added behind header, between the tongue rails

Front view of the L added to the bottom of original header

The L bracket is welded to everything it contacts under the framing. YES, I know get to painting

Pic of L welded & crossing under main frame & tongue frame (ugh, yes RUST)

The L, with spacers welded to the tongue frame, and the C channel that was also added

Looking from the rear, the L bracket and the C channel

One more shot of the fix (now to work on the rust)

I hope these pics explain my "FIX". AND I hope my fix IS the FIX ?????

Now, anyone want to come help me sand & paint ?????????

henryj · 10-02-2008, 07:50 PM

Kitty,

The object is stop the A-frame from twisting and there's more than one way to do that. I think you'll find that "your fix" is more than adequate and, like me, you'll gain confidence in it too as you start towing again and realize that everything is indeed staying in place. Your header had a good bend to it so I like the channel in behind there. That will reinforce the header area plus keep the A-frame in its place. The angle iron underneath is added insurance, but also provides some good frame support especially if your header was bent enough to create even a small amount of droop.

Henry

frank · 10-02-2008, 08:02 PM

Kitty,

I haven't been staying completely on top of the frame issues, so it's hard to give you an opinion on "it being the fix." I can say that, in my opinion, those additions are substantial and should give quite a bit of lateral bracing. In my mind that should alleviate a ton of lateral movement in the a-frame.

Anyway, one thing did jump out at me here:

The area I circled in yellow - it appears that the wires are almost wanting to rub on the edge of that C channel. I would like to see you insulate the edges of that channel to prevent any abrasion of the insulation on that wiring. Something as simple as a piece of hose slit and placed over the edge will be just fine.

And will you paint that thing already!

- Frank

kanyonkitty · 10-02-2008, 09:12 PM

OK, I "think" I'm starting to feel better about my fix, you guys are the best. Now Frank, I will take care of those wires as I noticed that too.. I had to cover/protect the propane line when the extra front cross support was installed.

As for painting, well it's on the list and will be sooner than later, as my other stuff on the list can be done even if it's cold outside. I guess just sand/wire brush as best I can, then a primer and Rustoleum ? I hate crawling under Sunny on my back as I get a car-sick feeling, but I'll have to do it, UNLESS one of you guys would like to come do it for me, HAHAHAHAHA

Kitty

This group has the nicest, most helpful, friends I have ever met and yes sometimes these great friends cause me to sped extra $$$

**Sunline Fan** · 10-03-2008, 07:24 AM

Where's George?

frank · 10-03-2008, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanyonkitty

As for painting, well it's on the list and will be sooner than later, as my other stuff on the list can be done even if it's cold outside. I guess just sand/wire brush as best I can, then a primer and Rustoleum ? I hate crawling under Sunny on my back as I get a car-sick feeling, but I'll have to do it, UNLESS one of you guys would like to come do it for me, HAHAHAHAHA

We've had some pretty good luck with Rusoleum's "Rusty Metal Primer" - it's a brick red color and is pretty darn durable. Then whatever sheen black topcoat you feel matches up the best would be just fine.

With the couple extra inches under there now, hopefully it will be much easier to get around!