05' 37SP Sierra 5er...photos of cracked frame

savente29 · 03-09-2015, 12:02 PM

I thought I would share my findings (pics included) when I noticed cracks in the fiberglass wall over the kingpin box...but a little history.

I live in SoCal about 30 min east of San Diego.

May 2013 - I bought a used 2010 F350 and and an 2005 37' Forest River Sierra (toy hauler) from a private party. Both in immaculate condition and from original owner.

5er was very low profile so I needed to flip the axles for my steep driveway...local shop did the work plus I had the brakes replaced and wheel bearings repacked.

Maiden voyage a short trip to the river (Lake Martinez, AZ) where it was 122 degrees! When I returned home I noticed one of the tires had a small leak. Inspection showed one of the aluminum rims cracked...had it repaired.

July 2013 - beginning of big 5 week trip covering some 6,200 mile up to Northern Alberta and back.

Day 2 of Canada trip had tire leaking and discovered another aluminum rim was cracked. I was already scheduled to stay over night in Chico, CA as I had an auxillary 50 gal fuel tank added to truck bed...love it.

Decided to replace all four rims and tires....went with steel rims and upgraded to E load tires. The 5er handled way better...the bouncing was gone.

Great trip and no more issues. Family had a great time!

Upon return I noticed the skin under the king pin area wasn't taught anymore...it was kind of wavy and I could hear it shift every now and then while driving (thunder like sound). The trim on the bottom edge appeared to have slipped a little too.

Once home noticed a small crack in the fiberglass wall on the driver side of the king pin box. Didn't think to much of it at the time.

Had a few more trips...

Desert trip winter 2013 (Superstition)
Napa trip spring 2014
Grand Canyon trip Winter 2014

Had 5er serviced and cleaned in preparation for Desert trip 2015...noticed 2 cracks on fiberglass wall above king pin area had gotten longer.

Pulled propane tanks and began to inspect as much as possible.....and found it...

a crack that appeared to go all the way through one of the main support beams from the body out to the nose.

I pulled the skin and saw the front area of the King pin was cracked and uneven as well....looked at welding and the pass side had a full weld....the driver side had only 2 spot welds...I couldn't believe the weld was incomplete and how thin the metal was.

Please take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think.

I reached out to Forest River today and asked for a point of contact to direct me in the right direction for assistance.

Pictures to follow...

savente29 · 03-09-2015, 12:07 PM

Pictures of 5er while unattached...

savente29 · 03-09-2015, 12:09 PM

The crack....

savente29 · 03-09-2015, 12:14 PM

The 2nd crack I found on the front driver side corner....it only had 2 spot welds versus the other side which had a full weld on the corner.

savente29 · 03-09-2015, 12:16 PM

How the cracks looked when hooked to the truck...

firstclark · 03-09-2015, 12:41 PM

That's pretty sad that Engineering or R&D department couldn't see fit to weld the entire plates together or use 3 or 4 welds in place of the two welds in your pic. I guess that's the American way. Good luck. Thanks for pics.

Paulie1138 · 03-09-2015, 01:47 PM

I hope you find a resolve. I am glad you found it out before it catastrophically failed while you were on the road!

DDC · 03-09-2015, 03:12 PM

You should check with the NHTSA to see if similar problems have been reported, this is dangerous to you and other road users also, these frames are built so cheaply but unless the defects are reported they will never be forced to build them safely instead of cheaply. Good luck.

geotex1 · 03-09-2015, 03:16 PM

You want a dialogue with Lippert beginning ASAP.

vasnipe · 03-09-2015, 04:27 PM

That could have been really bad juju.

Q.A. ???
We don't need no Q.A.!
Where was the NDT/welding inspector? Out having a cup of coffee?
As noted above, document everything and get with the factory and raise Sam about this.

Rodgers · 03-09-2015, 04:53 PM

I would definitely get Lippert on the line. I would also get Forest River as well. This is a Quality Control Issue and should have never been assembled to that camper. This was a line or final inspector that didn't do their job This is a duel quality control problem If you are a member of FROG Bob Byrne he could get you the contact info and name of the plant manager where the Sierra 5th wheels are built.In Indiana

TURBS · 03-09-2015, 06:28 PM

Let's us know what they say.
Good luck.

SKnight · 03-09-2015, 06:51 PM

Good luck with Jeff Johnson. He took forever to respond to me and supposedly hasn't responded to my dealer either.

AquaMan · 03-09-2015, 06:58 PM

10yr old unit, 2nd owner, and though you say it looks great, you don't know for sure how it was treated its entire life. I don't see FR or Lippert doing anything, and honestly I wouldn't expect them to. Take your lumps, have it fixed, and continue to enjoy it!

Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

jimmyt11664 · 03-09-2015, 10:35 PM

A quality control issue here. Regardless of age or 2nd owner, this is a factory control failure. I would still go ahead and contact them. I'm sure their is much more damage then you know. I would also contact the NTSA. This would be a safety issue and possibly a recall. If you weren't observant this could have been deadly. I would think that forest river would help you out with a different unit. Each state has different laws regarding this. Good luck.

mustardbucket107 · 03-09-2015, 10:54 PM

Sorry for your bad luck, and thank god you found it before it possibly turned into a tragedy, but i bet the most you'll hear from either manufacturer is sorry, we can't help you. It'll be an insurance issue, they may possibly go fir the manufacturers. To me (and I'm not an insurance adjuster)the trailer should be totaled due to frame damage

Sent from my SM-N910V

AquaMan · 03-10-2015, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmyt11664

A quality control issue here. Regardless of age or 2nd owner, this is a factory control failure. I would still go ahead and contact them. I'm sure their is much more damage then you know. I would also contact the NTSA. This would be a safety issue and possibly a recall. If you weren't observant this could have been deadly. I would think that forest river would help you out with a different unit. Each state has different laws regarding this. Good luck.

I looked at the pictures, and I can't tell with certainty that it was faulty manufacturing. I see a tack weld on one side of the beam, but what I don't see, is the other side of this beam. I also am not sure of where this weld is on the frame, or where the crack is. The crack could be the cause of severe overloading. I hope the OP gets complete reimbursement, but I don't think it will happen.

savente29 · 03-10-2015, 11:32 AM

The trailer was never overloaded or abused under my watch and the previous owner hardly used it...was like new even at 8 years old.

In the picture the edges look pretty smooth to me showing there wasn't a weld done on the back side either but I'll take a closer look....

Update Jeffrey Johnson (FR) forwarded my email to Wayne Bigler (FR)....

Bigler (FR) left me a VM and then followed up with an email asking for pics and directed me to call the frame manufacturer (866-524-7821)...

I sent Bigler (FR) and email with pics and VIN for his review...

I called LCI, spoke with Tara, explained issue, was given Ref # and asked to send email with photos to warranty@lci1.com...

I sent email to LCI explaining my discovery with photos to document my findings...

I just received an automated email from LCI asking for everything I had just sent...

I responded and sent everything they asked for...

Now working on report to NHTSA...

DDC · 03-10-2015, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savente29

The trailer was never overloaded or abused under my watch and the previous owner hardly used it...was like new even at 8 years old.

Update Jeffrey Johnson (FR) forwarded my email to Wayne Bigler (FR)....

Bigler (FR) left me a VM and then followed up with an email asking for pics and directed me to call the frame manufacturer (866-524-7821)...

I sent Bigler (FR) and email with pics and VIN for his review...

I called LCI, spoke with Tara, explained issue, was given Ref # and asked to send email with photos to warranty@lci1.com...

I sent email to LCI explaining my discovery with photos to document my findings...

I just received an automated email from LCI asking for everything I had just sent...

I responded and sent everything they asked for...

Now working on report to NHTSA...

Glad to hear you have some interest from them, also that you are going forward with the report to NHTSA as this is the only way get these types of safety defects recorded and force recalls if necessary, we hear people complaining about safety related things on here but if they do not follow through with a report to NHTSA the problem just continues and someone may die because of it.

savente29 · 03-10-2015, 12:59 PM

NHTSA compliant filed and confirmation number received....details of complaint below and should be available in 72 hours at Vehicle Owners | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

ISSUE - ONE OF TWO OF THE MAIN SUPPORT BEAMS IN PIN BOX IS CRACKED DUE TO MANUFACTURER DEFECT BECAUSE OF INCOMPLETE WELD IN THE PIN BOX OF THE FRAME. DETAILS-WHILE RETURNING FROM A 5 WEEK (6,200 MILE) VACATION IN AUGUST IN 2013 I NOTICED A SMALL CRACK IN THE FIBERGLASS SIDE PANEL ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE PIN BOX (BELOW SLIDE OUT TO LEFT). THE CRACK GREW LONGER OVER TIME AND A SECOND CRACKED BEGAN TO APPEAR (ABOVE SLIDE OUT TO RIGHT); THE SHEET METAL UNDER THE HITCH PIN ALSO BEGAN SAG AND THE TRIM WAS PULLING AWAY FROM THE TRAILER. I REMOVED THE PROPANE TANKS TO INSPECT UNDER THE AREA WHERE THE HITCH PIN AND THE FRAME CONNECT. I DISCOVERED ONE OF THE TWO MAIN SUPPORT BEAMS WAS CRACKED COMPLETELY THROUGH. I REMOVED THE SHEET METAL UNDER THE HITCH PIN AND DISCOVERED THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE CORNER OF THE HITCH PIN HAD SPLIT AT THE WELD; IT HAD ONLY BEEN SPOTTED WELDED IN ONE SPOT. THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE CORNER OF THE HITCH PIN HAD A COMPLETE WELD AT THE CORNER. I WAS SURPRISED TO DISCOVER HOW THIN THE GAUGE OF THE METAL USED IN THE HITCH PIN AREA AND THAT THE INCOMPLETE WELD WAS NOT CAUGHT DURING QC. I FEEL THE LACK OF QA FROM THE FRAME BUILDER (LCI) AND THE RV MANUFACTURER (FOREST RIVER) CONTRIBUTED DIRECTLY TO THE FAILURE OF THE FRAME WELD SEPARATING AND THE FRAME CRACKING IN HALF. I HAVE HAD HEARD OF OTHER FRAME FAILURES WITH LCI AND FOREST RIVER AND BELIEVE THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. I AM GRATEFUL WE DID NOT EXPERIENCE A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE WHILE TRAVELING THAT COULD HAVE COST US OURS LIVES AND/OR THE LIVES OF OTHERS. I HAVE MANY PICTURES AVAILABLE AS WELL.

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