Rear of Heritage Glen is Opening

[Murbella7]

The whole back section of my HG 28RLT is opening up at the bottom, showing sunlight through it. So far the back wall seems to be pivoting at the top and opening at the bottom, moving away from the side wall. The opening (so far) is just about half an inch. I don't know how these are attached but I would think the walls are attached to the steel frame.

Is it possible that the frame has broken allowing the wall to move? What can I do? I will post some pics when I can get out to it when the rain stops.

[Blender]

Yes def post pictures

[Murbella7]

The Pics....

Looking forward from the rear, the right side is not quite as bad as the left side pictured here.

[NWVIBE272]

Originally Posted by Murbella7

The Pics....

Looking forward from the rear, the right side is not quite as bad as the left side pictured here.

Yikes, it looks like you are getting an unwanted conversion to a toy hauler rear end.

[Jfkmk]

Ouch! That doesn’t look good.

[Blender]

Did you add or upgrade turbos on your TV? Geez, seems like you yanked the king pin out of the trailer with the side walls?

Just kidding, this is not a good thing?? I to have a heritage glen now I’m worried. Hopefully the manufacturer will make it worth your weight in gold!

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by Blender

Did you add or upgrade turbos on your TV? Geez, seems like you yanked the king pin out of the trailer with the side walls?

Just kidding, this is not a good thing?? I to have a heritage glen now I’m worried. Hopefully the manufacturer will make it worth your weight in gold!

The unit hasn't really done a lot of road work, maybe around 60,000km, but a lot of that is bouncing on non-highway roads, with potholes. I can only assume that the gussets that were supposedly welded to the frame at these main stress points have broken away.

The thought of the fixing cost is horrifying. Maybe I'll just get a long freight strap and wrap it around the rig.

[Ida Ratherbe Camping]

What it look like underneath by frame? Would be a long swim and then drive back to factory if your location is right.

[Murbella7]

I haven't crawled underneath yet. Will need to drop the underbelly skin to see anything. An yes, it would be a long swim to the factory. Knowing a little about local repair places here, it still might be worth it. Large refrigerated semi trailers repair shops are probably the best option. Quality work and experience with big boxes. I had one of those guys repair my nose cap after putting a hole in it. Great work and fantastic paint match.

[Dan50]

Looks like water intrusion.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by Dan50

Looks like water intrusion.

Sounds like you are suggesting that water has affected the glue and that it was only the glue holding the back on. That would be weird and dangerous.
I would hope that there would be a metal frame welded to other frame parts with the covering overlayed.

[Dan50]

I would be interested to know.

[VinceU]

Looks like a classic case of delimitation, longer it waits the worse it gets. Quit guessing and get it fixed. Now have three surfaces rotting. Pro trailers shop should be involved

[llr]

Originally Posted by Murbella7

Sounds like you are suggesting that water has affected the glue and that it was only the glue holding the back on. That would be weird and dangerous.
I would hope that there would be a metal frame welded to other frame parts with the covering overlayed.

I don't think that is the case. I just did a factory tour for my unit and the walls are completely assembled and vacuum bonded in another building and they said the only aluminum is around the door and slide openings and I couldn't see any on the edges, although I could not see the top and bottom of the side walls and did not see any back walls. I did not see how they attached them together and didn't think to ask. I find it hard to believe it is just glue but it is possible.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by llr

I don't think that is the case. I just did a factory tour for my unit and the walls are completely assembled and vacuum bonded in another building and they said the only aluminum is around the door and slide openings and I couldn't see any on the edges, although I could not see the top and bottom of the side walls and did not see any back walls. I did not see how they attached them together and didn't think to ask. I find it hard to believe it is just glue but it is possible.

I don't think it is glue. VinceU is probably right, the ply is delaminating. That's what scares me because any repair on a problem like this will be expensive but delaminating could mean a complete replacement of the rear and possibly even parts of the side walls. I will be looking for quotes this week.

[Murbella7]

An update: the wall is only coming away on one side, thankfully. So far the suggestions from potential repair shops have not been entirely insightful or overly helpful. I have two solutions, so far.

The first is from a guy who works on semi trailers/fridge trucks etc, (he repaired the damage to the nose of this 5'er brilliantly), is to rip up the carpet inside, (not as dramatic as it sounds), apply a glue of mystical properties (as most are) to affected area, use some obscure method to re-compress the section (probably back the thing into a wall), install a bracket inside and bolt the rear wall to it and the floor, then re-lay the carpet. This is how I (with my limited knowledge of these things) would do it.

The 2nd idea from a 'certified and respected' caravan/trailer repairer was to simply use his version of super glue applied to the area, recompress the box and use coach screws to anchor that wall back in place. That quote was twice the other and to my feeble and ill-informed brain goes, less effective in the long term. Just as well I am trying to sell it, eh.

I have decided to look for another option, closer to home but don't expect a lot of differences, just less travel.