flexing in 5thwheel area - Montana Owners Club

Lyle · 10-19-2008, 01:57 PM

has anyone had a problem with the hitchpin area flexing even after having the reinforcement put in place. i have a major problem and the dealer seems to have problems with keystone being able to address it and help them fix the flexing. please contact me ASAP. my 3280 has been at the dealer for over a month with nothing. the fix that keystone suggested failed. keystone told the dealer this was the first problem of its kind and the next day another unit made about foud months later is having the same problem. lyle

stiles watson · 10-19-2008, 02:39 PM

If it were my problem, I would be getting in touch with Team Montana. Be level, not rageful, firm but not rude. You made need to take it to the factory to get it solved so they can see for themselves the problem.

bsmeaton · 10-19-2008, 02:50 PM

Welcome to the Forum! It would be helpful to know what year you have.

Just curious how you are able to determine you are getting flex up there? Visual while traveling? Evidence of flex? Damage?

I guess I ask because I can see just a slight amount of flex on mine, but anything beyond slight would indicate something is broke, not weak. These things are rigid frames and if you are seeing substantial movement I would suspect you have some broken welds.

kwolff7 · 10-19-2008, 06:45 PM

Hi..........We have a 2008 Montana Big Sky and had considerable flexing in the fifth wheel hitch area. So much flex that the wall inside the closet cracked and broke. RV Traders, who is a wonderful RV repair facility, got Keystone to pay for the repair under warranty to beef up the front end to get rid of this flex. There was no damage or anything broken...........we don't know if our unit was not built correctly or if it is not built strong enough with the generator in that area.

Lady RV · 10-20-2008, 08:59 AM

Posted by Lyle:

sorry i didn't put the year. new at this game and just screwed up it is a 2003 3280 model. as for the flex it was enough that you could see through where the side meets the underbelly on the door side of the unit just in front of the curve up from the front door. while the unit was still under warranty the kingpin was reinforced but now its the same area but you can see the wall, floor and cabinet moving. i sure can not fault my dealer, he is trying. what keystone suggested was to run screws up from under the support into the wall and the screws came right out. i want to thank those who replied and i sure will be contacting the team montana support first thing in the morning. lyle

Lady RV · 10-20-2008, 09:00 AM

Posted by Stiles Watson:

If I remember right, that was about the time that several had flex problems. After 2003, the frame was improved to take care of the flex problem. You might try to do a search on "frame flex" in the archives to review those discussions. Keystone has been good about dealing with this issue if you can get to the right folks. Perhaps someone who had the problem and the fix will come along and relate their experience.

hazmic · 10-20-2008, 03:00 PM

A friend's son bought a new LAREDO last year and already it has had frame issues so the problem that the Montana's had are back. It has been repaired and problem was not the wields but the very thin metal used in the building of the frame. The square tube that goes across the front is maybe 1/8 thick. With the cap off and using a fork truck Tim showed me what it was doing. Very scary. Tim reinforced it and repaired the damage inside and out. I know the frames are I beams but not very thick. Look at the post about the Big Sky in Alaska and the broken frame.

ols1932 · 10-20-2008, 03:59 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by hazmic

A friend's son bought a new LAREDO last year and already it has had frame issues so the problem that the Montana's had are back. It has been repaired and problem was not the wields but the very thin metal used in the building of the frame. The square tube that goes across the front is maybe 1/8 thick. With the cap off and using a fork truck Tim showed me what it was doing. Very scary. Tim reinforced it and repaired the damage inside and out. I know the frames are I beams but not very thick. Look at the post about the Big Sky in Alaska and the broken frame.

Mick,
You'll remember that mine had 1 3/4" flex when Truck Builders did the repair. The reinforcement they did was marvelous.

Orv

hazmic · 10-21-2008, 06:36 AM

Orv As you can see Tim is very busy. He sure dose great work though. I am going to have a hitch installed next spring by him.

sreigle · 10-25-2008, 07:29 AM

Lyle, we had the same problem with our 2003 3295RK. The dresser along the closet wall in the bedroom would move to where you could see the caulk line 1/4 inch above the dresser, when hitched. When unhitched, the dresser was right at the caulk line. Keystone fixed it at the service center in Goshen, IN. I agree with those who suggest you call Keystone directly and talk to them. Good luck. We never had any more problem after they fixed it. Good luck.

Delaine and Lindy · 10-25-2008, 12:08 PM

Its called frame flex and its not a new thing. When we were at Camp Keystone in Goshen most of the Montana's were there for the frame flex problem. As suggested call Keystone. GBY....

msieger · 11-02-2008, 05:41 AM

Am I reading this thread as the flexing problem is back? I could swear I see some flexing when running down the road and looking out the rear view. My unit is an 07. Anyone else having issues with that model year?

Mike

49merc · 11-02-2008, 06:00 AM

Yes! I have an 07 2955l and it is going into the dealer Tuesday for them to open it up at look at it. I'm not sure if I really have a problem or not as I would think that there would normally be a little flex but I don't know what is too much. I see about 1/2 inch movement down the road and about that much when loading onto the truck. I called Keystone and they said have the dealer take pictures and detail what they find and contact them and Lippert as there should be some warranty on it. Also the dealer has to send it out for repair because the repairs have to be done in a state certified repair facility. Liability I assume.
Bob

kwolff7 · 11-02-2008, 06:14 AM

You may have flexing.............we knew we had a problem when our closet wall totally cracked in half. We knew something was going on. We took it to Orangewood RV and they wanted to fix it under our insurance. We didn't feel it was an insurance problem at all and based upon lots of other issues with Orangewood, took it to RV Traders in Mesa. When we showed them the closet , they immediately said you probably have a frame flex problem. Nothing was found broken when they took it apart...........they found the frame was flexing because it was not strong enough. We are not experts, but believe that the additional weight of the Big Sky might be too much for the 3400 frame. We are also going to add a support bar from one side of the frame to the other side in the axle area because of frame flex. This was suggested by the dealer. At least one Big Sky frame has already broken where the Mor Ryde Suspension bracket is welded to the frame.

49merc · 11-02-2008, 06:18 AM

So far I haven't found any evidence of any resulting damage in the front area. I've checked the closet area closely. Hopefully what I have is normal.
Bob

ols1932 · 11-02-2008, 09:36 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by 49merc

So far I haven't found any evidence of any resulting damage in the front area. I've checked the closet area closely. Hopefully what I have is normal.
Bob

One way to check is to look at the caulking on the molding going around and down the front end of the basement on both sides. With the rig sitting on its landing legs, note how the molding and caulk lines up. Then look at it when the rig is connected to the tow vehicle and the landing legs are off the ground. If you've got more than 1/4 inch of flex, there will be a gap where the caulk is and where the molding ends up.

Our unit had 1 3/4 inches of flex after seven years of use, full time. We had to have it beefed up by a truck builder who did a magnificent job. It's better than what they're putting out in the factory.

Yes, you want to have it checked immediately. Don't wait until you see cracks in the closet or somewhere else!

Orv

KathyandDave · 11-03-2008, 04:41 AM

Is this flex a twisting of the frame or is it bending under load?

ols1932 · 11-03-2008, 04:52 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by KathyandDave

Is this flex a twisting of the frame or is it bending under load?

Generally, it's bending due to the lack of bracing in the king pin area. When we paid to get ours beefed up, they installed four gussets (metal plates that are welded into the corners to strengthen the frame in the king pin area. In addition, several places in the aluminum structure were welded to prevent movement. You'd be surprised how much the aluminum struts move when the king pin is moved up and down. Also, large bolts were placed through from the area of the propane bottles into the basement area.

Orv

KathyandDave · 11-03-2008, 05:17 AM

Orv, you've got me thinking...is the load of the kingpin transfered to the steel I-beams of the frame via aluminum framing?
Does anybody know where we can see a diagram of the structure?
Dave

ols1932 · 11-03-2008, 07:32 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by KathyandDave

Orv, you've got me thinking...is the load of the kingpin transfered to the steel I-beams of the frame via aluminum framing?
Does anybody know where we can see a diagram of the structure?
Dave

No. The aluminum frame structure is attached to the steel frame. However, when the steel frame flexes, the aluminum has to flex some also. When that happens, screws pull out of the aluminum and everything begins to become loose. When we had ours "beefed up" they showed me exactly what was happening due to the flexing.

Orv

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