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Old 12-14-2011, 10:53 PM   #1
Kat
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Lippert Frame Defects on Wolfpack

Lippert Frame Defects

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Noticed frame failure 2 months ago.This is on a 2008 Toyhauler Cherokee Wolfpack W295 that was bought new and never had more than 2 quads in it weighing 900ibs total. Never towed behind it either. I had the front cross member replaced and they welded a plate on the face of the rear cross meber, They also added gussets between the pin box and the cross members. All of this original steel was .097" It was replaced with .250" steel .Also replaced the bedroom wall that was cracked from the frame pushing through. I have called Lippert
Michael Locke, Customer Service Supervisor Lippert Components Inc
Customer Service Division Plant 39 ,866-524-7821 ,574-534-7161 Fax (mlocke@lci1.com) and
Forest river (bmiller@forestriverinc.com) Bob Miller ,Phone: 260-593-0023
Fax: 574-970-6879, and have been given the same answer as everyone else. Sorry out of warranty. My repair bill was $5400.
Working my way up the food chain as we speak.
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Old 12-15-2011, 01:51 PM   #2
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Too bad! and there are people out there that say Lippert is building RV trailers just fine! .097 wall for frame materials?!!!! ya they are trying to cut corners.

good luck!
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Old 12-15-2011, 03:20 PM   #3
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who ever welded that

from one who welded long ago
looks like some thin metals used there
and wow look at that weld
who ever welded that
and who ever passed it
should be very embarrassed

I know it was not the weld that broke
but
that weld bead is a sad one
either a F+ bead
or at the best a D-

my best friend still welds for a living
he and all who work with him
turn out nothing but A welds

my bet would be that whoever
welded that seam in the pictures
is NOT a certified welder
any fool can drag some rod !!!!

wishing all a blessed day
from
Mountainman
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Old 12-15-2011, 04:44 PM   #4
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Kat, thanks for the pictures. It's scary seeing and reading about the Lippert frame failures. We have the 285 toyhauler and I when I see pictures like yours, makes me wonder if and when something like this will happen to me. We have nearly pulled our 285 10,000 miles and a lot of that mileage has been on the back roads AZ and NM.

Good Luck...
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Old 12-15-2011, 08:08 PM   #5
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Lippert Frame Defect

Thanks for you reply guys. I was just in shock when i noticed this failure. I was a certified welder for DOD for about twenty years and know what a weld should look like and not to mention that being around steel most of my life I got a good idea of what size steel should have been used on a main structural member that is design to see lots of abuse from the road. .097" just don't cut the mustard. I have tv stands in the house that is every bit of that. I guess it's all about the mighty dollar and not or safety. If anybody has the e-mail address to the CEO of forest river or Lippert please provide. I am searching all over for it. Also please check your rigs out. A good indication is when the distance between the rails of your bed are diffrent when hooked up because of the load ( with jacks in the up position ) and when leveling side to side it makes the reading off.
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Old 12-15-2011, 08:37 PM   #6
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Lippert Frame Defect on Wolfpack W295

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Old 12-15-2011, 09:44 PM   #7
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Did you contact the Government department responsible for vehicle safety as this kind of junk on the road has a detrimental effect on every road user, these companies must be held responsible for their bad products and bad workmanship.
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:19 PM   #8
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Is Forest River still using these frames? Very shoddy looking welds at best! I can't believe the frame material is only .097. I am a certified welding inspector thru the American Welding Society. A couple things I see here. The cracked welds are all starting from stress risers. Also some of the welds have excesive reinforcement. More is not always better. Also some of the welds show lack of fusion and cold lap. Really baffles me these made it by any quality control.
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:28 PM   #9
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Wow! Just did a search on this subject and Lippert seams to have alot of issues!
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Old 12-16-2011, 01:10 PM   #10
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Cherokee Wolfpack WP295 Frame Failure

Just lodged a complain with NHTSA today and also send an e-mail to WA. state department of transporation with pictures. Hope this will catch some attension.
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Old 12-17-2011, 06:49 AM   #11
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Big Mistake???????

Bought a 2012 Wolfpack 305WP in November...our first RV. It's still at the dealer awaiting go ahead from Forest River to replace the roof along with many other defects in material and workmanship. Regret not taking an experienced RV'r with us to look it over BEFORE we bought it. Now we have to worry about the frame disintegrating!!!!!

Be following this closely.....good luck!
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Old 12-17-2011, 07:20 AM   #12
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it is a crying mountain shame

Quote:
Originally Posted by cenfl View Post
Regret not taking an experienced RV'r with us to look it over BEFORE we bought it.
it is a crying mountain shame
that I would say that we are just about
at that place in time
if one that does not know better
they should take someone with them to inspect
I just sold an older Super Chief motor home
owned it for years
never looked under it much
the parts of the frame that I did see occasionally
were big very big and heavy duty looking
today we want something very light it seems
yes
better on gas etc etc etc

things can be made lighter and still be strong
but
it is far more of a challenge
takes some ((true)) engineering
and all said plant workers
must be on top of their game
at all times

gess tomorrow I'am going to craw under our trailer
after some of the readings regarding frame issues
I'am trully not looking forward to it

a blessed day wished for all
from
Mountainman
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Old 12-17-2011, 01:20 PM   #13
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rather disappointing

yes just went out and did a visual
inspection of welding on our frame
at least on the points I could get to
while just bending down a little
I would give the welds a straight D rating

it is rather disappointing
that with the frame
being so very important
kind of like our legs are to us
that more quality time is not being spent
so as to ensure a (good sound foundation)

while tooling around on the internet
I did come across one company
that made a lightweight aluminium frame
and in their video they showed it off much
and for good reason I think
all of the welds used looked ((excellent))

seems like most of the equipment used
in the building of motor homes and trailers
these days are of good quality
these are the things that most see and look for
kind of (((a shame)))
that when buying a new rig
one possibly should have to crawl underneath ???

I know that when my mother and father bought theirs
they never thought of doing that
and should not have to

IF
this thread or others like it
causes the factories to step it up a notch
regarding building the best frames that they can
that would be a good thing

a blessed day wished for all
from
MountainmanB
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Old 12-17-2011, 03:54 PM   #14
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You can bet every manufacturer takes pictures of their best welds to show to the public. The rest are done by welders just out of school and are getting experience in that factory before moving on to a better paying job.

Hob
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Old 12-17-2011, 04:15 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hob View Post
The rest are done by welders just out of school and are getting experience in that factory before moving on to a better paying job.

Hob
not to sure about that Hob
I took welding years ago
and everyone before completing 1/2 the training
could lay down a good bead
or
if using drag rod
could make it look smooth and proper
plus pass all of the required testing
bending of welded materials etc etc
vertical, horizontal, overhead welding etc etc

so
we either have some welders
that really were not schooled
or
schooled ones who are pushed beyond their means
or
ones who could just care less

note
welders are not needed much at this time
for every welding position that opens
there are probably 20 or more in line
it took my friend who is a lifelong welder and supervisor
over a year to find the job he now has

these are all A rated certified welders
where my buddy works
they make between 17-24 dollars an hour
with 20 being average
this is in SO Calif

((you should see the welds that he
and
ALL that work with him lay down))

so for many welders
landing a full time job putting RV frames together
may be as good as it ever get's ??

one can hire all of the certified welders
they want nowdays
for 20 bucks an hour
with many of these having 5 to 20 years
or more experience

I have welded
and I think that a welder deserves
at least 30 dollars an hour
but
most welding jobs just do not pay that
I think that full time welding is boring
and who knows what it does to ones health ???


Mountainmanman
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Old 12-17-2011, 04:59 PM   #16
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I'm from IL originally. My home was 10 miles from Caterpillar Tractor in Peoria, IL. You should see what they hire as welders and make them go through an apprentice course. The apprentice course used to be 2 years long for Cat. I was a farm boy and could weld as good as the union welders at Cat. They made more money than I did but their welds looked worse than mine and sure didn't hold any better. My dad was my teacher and all he ever welded was farm equipment but his welds never broke or cracked within an inch of his welds and he made sure I could weld as good as he did.

Thank God, I never followed through with farming. The work was too hard for me and you had to do too many things well to be a successful farmer. I ran away and joined the Air Force which ended up helping me get a college education among many other benefits. I hope you are correct about the welders today because 50 years ago they weren't great shakes. I can weld with gas, Mig, Tig and stick. The only weld I have a problem with is the stick welder. Just never could get the hang of it. Once I got good stick contact I could do okay but the start looked like a monkey did it. I agree, a good welder should make more than the $20 you mentioned but I'm running on the things I have seen in the past not the present day welding courses.

I'm starting to ramble now so I'll just shut up and let the thread go on.

Hob
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Old 12-18-2011, 09:57 AM   #17
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those memories of -- the American farmer

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hob View Post
I'm from IL originally.

I was a farm boy and could weld as good as the union welders at Cat.

My dad was my teacher and all he ever welded was farm equipment but his welds never broke or cracked within an inch of his welds and he made sure I could weld as good as he did.

you had to do too many things well to be a successful farmer

I'm running on the things I have seen in the past not the present day welding courses.

Hob

oh yes Hob

those memories of -- the American farmer
when I was a young boy
we went on vacation to Oklahoma
my uncle there was and still is a farmer
at that time he owned one of the largest tractors made
he plowed his fields and many others also
I was amazed as a little guy
that in his large garage
that man repaired most everything he owned
including that beast of a tractor

I gess
that when our lifes and family lifes depend on our work
there will be quality work done at all times

if
we were welders in a plant somewhere today
we should remember to be grateful that we have a job

yes -- a job in the greatest country on earth
made in America

a blessed day wished for all
from
Mountainman
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Old 12-18-2011, 10:49 AM   #18
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"a job in the greatest country on earth"
=========================
Sadly, the US can only look back on the time when it was indeed the greatest country on the planet. Now it is just another country that cannot pay its debts, and its citizens have nothing to look forward to but a declining standard of living, more crime, and more civil unrest as more and more people become desperately impoverished. It is truly sad that the politicians have mismanaged the country so badly. Of course, wasting a trillion dollars of taxpayer money on a fraudulent "war" didn't help much. Just think what that money could do today to build infrastructure and put people back to work. So make sure you give Bush a call and thank him for that.

I know this site is supposed to be all up-beat and happy-happy, but everyone also needs to be realistic and face the fact that the economy is going nowhere, and a lot of economic pain is coming. We are extremely fortunate to have the money to indulge in buying expensive toys while so many others struggle to feed their families. In this Christmas season, make sure you do what you can to help the less fortunate. We have much more than we deserve.
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Old 12-18-2011, 11:35 AM   #19
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Sorry, it's still the greatest country on earth, with the best people, most skilled.

Back to the original topic Croc.
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Old 12-18-2011, 12:15 PM   #20
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The following are 50 economic numbers from 2011 that are almost too crazy to believe….
#1 A staggering 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be “low income” or are living in poverty.
#2 Approximately 57 percent of all children in the United States are living in homes that are either considered to be “low income” or impoverished.
#3 If the number of Americans that “wanted jobs” was the same today as it was back in 2007, the “official” unemployment rate put out by the U.S. government would be up to 11 percent.
#4 The average amount of time that a worker stays unemployed in the United States is now over 40 weeks.
#5 One recent survey found that 77 percent of all U.S. small businesses do not plan to hire any more workers.
#6 There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States today than there were back in 2000 even though we have added 30 million extra people to the population since then.
#7 Since December 2007, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of 6.8% once you account for inflation.
#8 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16.6 million Americans were self-employed back in December 2006. Today, that number has shrunk to 14.5 million.
#9 A Gallup poll from earlier this year found that approximately one out of every five Americans that do have a job consider themselves to be underemployed.
#10 According to author Paul Osterman, about 20 percent of all U.S. adults are currently working jobs that pay poverty-level wages.
#11 Back in 1980, less than 30% of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs. Today, more than 40% of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.
#12 Back in 1969, 95 percent of all men between the ages of 25 and 54 had a job. In July, only 81.2 percent of men in that age group had a job.
#13 One recent survey found that one out of every three Americans would not be able to make a mortgage or rent payment next month if they suddenly lost their current job.
#14 The Federal Reserve recently announced that the total net worth of U.S. households declined by 4.1 percent in the 3rd quarter of 2011 alone.
#15 According to a recent study conducted by the BlackRock Investment Institute, the ratio of household debt to personal income in the United States is now 154 percent.
#16 As the economy has slowed down, so has the number of marriages. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, only 51 percent of all Americans that are at least 18 years old are currently married. Back in 1960, 72 percentof all U.S. adults were married.
#17 The U.S. Postal Service has lost more than 5 billion dollars over the past year.
#18 In Stockton, California home prices have declined 64 percent from where they were at when the housing market peaked.
#19 Nevada has had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for 59 monthsin a row.
#20 If you can believe it, the median price of a home in Detroit is now just $6000.
#21 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18 percent of all homes in the state of Florida are sitting vacant. That figure is 63 percent larger than it was just ten years ago.
#22 New home construction in the United States is on pace to set a brand new all-time record low in 2011.
#23 As I have written about previously, 19 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 are now living with their parents.
#24 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.
#25 According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5% of all personal consumption back in 1980. Today they account for approximately 16.3%.
#26 One study found that approximately 41 percent of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.
#27 If you can believe it, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards.
#28 The United States spends about 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that China spends on goods and services from the United States.
#29 It is being projected that the U.S. trade deficit for 2011 will be 558.2 billion dollars.
#30 The retirement crisis in the United States just continues to get worse. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 46 percent of all American workers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 29 percent of all American workers have less than $1,000 saved for retirement.
#31 Today, one out of every six elderly Americans lives below the federal poverty line.
#32 According to a study that was just released, CEO pay at America’s biggest companies rose by 36.5% in just one recent 12 month period.
#33 Today, the “too big to fail” banks are larger than ever. The total assets of the six largest U.S. banks increased by 39 percent between September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2011.
#34 The six heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton have a net worth that is roughly equal to the bottom 30 percent of all Americans combined.
#35 According to an analysis of Census Bureau data done by the Pew Research Center, the median net worth for households led by someone 65 years of age or older is 47 times greater than the median net worth for households led by someone under the age of 35.
#36 If you can believe it, 37 percent of all U.S. households that are led by someone under the age of 35 have a net worth of zero or less than zero.
#37 A higher percentage of Americans is living in extreme poverty (6.7%) than has ever been measured before.
#38 Child homelessness in the United States is now 33 percent higher than it was back in 2007.
#39 Since 2007, the number of children living in poverty in the state of California has increased by 30 percent.
#40 Sadly, child poverty is absolutely exploding all over America. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 36.4% of all children that live in Philadelphia are living in poverty, 40.1% of all children that live in Atlanta are living in poverty, 52.6% of all children that live in Cleveland are living in poverty and 53.6% of all children that live in Detroit are living in poverty.
#41 Today, one out of every seven Americans is on food stamps and one out of every four American children is on food stamps.
#42 In 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7% of all income. Today, government transfer payments account for more than 18 percent of all income.
#43 A staggering 48.5% of all Americans live in a household that receives some form of government benefits. Back in 1983, that number was below 30 percent.
#44 Right now, spending by the federal government accounts for about 24 percent of GDP. Back in 2001, it accounted for just 18 percent.
#45 For fiscal year 2011, the U.S. federal government had a budget deficit ofnearly 1.3 trillion dollars. That was the third year in a row that our budget deficit has topped one trillion dollars.
#46 If Bill Gates gave every single penny of his fortune to the U.S. government, it would only cover the U.S. budget deficit for about 15 days.
#47 Amazingly, the U.S. government has now accumulated a total debt of 15 trillion dollars. When Barack Obama first took office the national debt was just 10.6 trillion dollars.
#48 If the federal government began right at this moment to repay the U.S. national debt at a rate of one dollar per second, it would take over 440,000 years to pay off the national debt.
#49 The U.S. national debt has been increasing by an average of more than 4 billion dollars per day since the beginning of the Obama administration.
#50 During the Obama administration, the U.S. government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that Bill Clinton took office.
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