[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by Ozzie Cozzies

It shouldn’t take years to resolve this with a GOOD lawyer. I’m a retired structural engineer and screwing a piece of plywood to the walling and severed stud would not be acceptable to me. The wall stud works in flexure (bending) - wind blowing against it. The wall stud also is required to carry tensile and compressive forces set up by the torsional effects of a central fifth wheel hitch and the outer bow of the rig (floor/walls/roof) Refer to Daryles previous post on flex frame/wall repair. I am experiencing exactly the same problem with my rig - currently under repair. So guys, merely screwing a piece of plywood to the wall studs to cover the hole is not a solution. There will most likely be future problems - particularly the outer skin under the torsional effects under travel - it will tend to ripple and buckle. I’d suggest suing CW, and returning the rig for repairs by Keystone (CW to pay) which would involve removing the internal and external linings, reinstate the wall stud and internal and external linings. Why accept a half baked repair? If you are going to repair it, do it once and properly.

I think the forces you describe would be applicable to the sub frame or other high load bearing structures. Walls in this case are not subject to such extreme conditions. It is the overall combination of aluminum frame and laminate which makes the semi-monocoque design effective. Yes, the structure is compromised but not critically. If the wall relied upon the frame solely, it would be of a different design. Regaining rigidity of the compromised span is necessary. It can be accomplished without major rework.