Thinking Frame Flex

[RK & Jen]

I have attached two pics from our 2018 3790RD. One showing floor separation from the wall on left side of the closet. The other pic is the short wall behind the recliners has come loose from the wall. Are these caused by frame flex? Thanks.

[jetskier]

Originally Posted by RK & Jen

I have attached two pics from our 2018 3790RD. One showing floor separation from the wall on left side of the closet. The other pic is the short wall behind the recliners has come loose from the wall. Are these caused by frame flex? Thanks.

My wall behind the recliners has come off just like yours. It's Keystone's way of building a trailer that was never intended to be towed around under dynamic conditions. I haven't figured out a clean way to repair it, but I only noticed it recently.

Take a pic on the outside by the closet and slideout. It appears all the screws that are fastened to the framing sheared off or are loose.

On my trailer, the stud in the wall on the front side of the opening broke and I fabricated an angle to draw the stud back in. I noticed it after a trip on Memorial Day weekend. Before we left, it was fine. After it's the offset in the pic below. The pic with the bolt heads on the outside is after the repair. I used a piece of steel angle vertically on the inside over the aluminum trim that houses the slide motor/gear boxes. The large bolts are tapped into the steel frame below and I was able to draw the wall stud back inline.

Keystone's fix is posted here somewhere. It involves pounding a couple 2x2 shaped to fit in the lower 2x8 aluminum member that goes under the slide and sits on the side of the frame on an angle. Then they use long lag screws (not good for dynamic situations) to draw things back together.

[jetskier]

I did more investigating on the wall behind the recliners. I looked in the side baggage compartment under the living area and discovered they didn't screw the floor (rim joist) to the wall panel on the OD side. The door side was screwed adjacent to each floor joist. I pulled a screw from the door side as a sample and went to The Home Depot and bought a box of #14x2-1/2" self tapping screws. I drilled the rim slightly larger than the screw and then tapped the member in the wall so it would draw in easier. It sucked the 1/8-1/4" gap back to flush. QC failure on Keystone's part.

Here are some before and after pictures. It took less than an hour to fix. I still need to reattached the panel on the front of this area. It's completely off where it meets the wall.

For other owners: if you have a rear storage, you might want to check this area.