King (front) bed causing front body to separate from cabinets

[gba1787]

I recently purchased a 2011 HW277 and I love it. My wife and I recognized an issue on our maiden voyage... When one of us climbed into the king bed, the front noticeably pulled away from the two cabinets adjacent to it. When we got off the bed, I could pull it back into place. I had her do it again and watched from outside and noticed the front lean forward and it was visible. It left a gap between the body and the door. We slept on the Queen side for the trip.

I probably would have freaked out had I not met another HW277 owner prior to the voyage. He showed me how his had done it as well. He also showed me his fix...

So, the two HW277 that I have seen both have this issue. I contacted FR and spoke to Roger. He said he may have heard of this happening a few times and recommended tightening up the screws along the cabinets and maybe adding a few more.

Anyone else have this problem? Any additional fixes before I commit to trying one?

[GalsofEscape]

yes - we had a 2011 HW277 and had our front wall flex out when the front bed was extended. It flexed enough so the door had trouble fitting properly and the tenting would not reach the door. We had a bubble level on the side wall - the bubble showed level when we set up, but as soon as we pulled the bed out, the bubble would move showing the flexing and the travel door would not shut. We used cargo bars to support the bed until we could get it to a repair shop over the winter. They put extra bracing in it, it helped but was not a complete fix and they proposed more work for alot more money. I talked to Rockwood about the issue, sent them pictures. They recommended a different place to take it for repair and depending on what was wrong - they "may" help with the cost. As the area had gotten wet a couple of times from an issue with the gray tank - I felt that they would blame the flexing on water damage and not pony up any money, so I no longer wanted to deal with it and we traded it in.

[spurticus]

Yikes, I have not yet seen this in our HW27KS. I will pay close attention though next time we are out.

Please share any fix you come up with.

[Fishhawk1650]

I have this on my 2014 HW276 as well. I later discovered part of the problem is due to flexing of the Sid wall, starting with the front step. The entire door side kinda rolls down in the section between the door and the king bed.

The movement has been greatly reduced after using a stabilizer jack on the frame between the door and the King bed side.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...abilizer/34337

It has made such a difference in the door and the flex of the cabinets. The cabinets no longer pull away from the wall.

I'd really be interested in seeing what options exist for supplemental bed support.



2014 HW276
2003 F150 Supercrew

[gba1787]

Sorry to hear that I was correct in my assumption; this is an issue which is pervasive. I think I may have fixed my particular issue. I forgot to take photos. I met back up with the other owner I spoke of. He and I did some assessment and discovered that the cabinet on the king bed side next to the door had pulled away from the floor. In addition, because of this, the king bed wall angled away from the opposite side cabinet.

We installed four brackets on the inside of the cabinet, nearest the door, at the floor. We also installed one inside the opposite cabinet. On that same cabinet, we took an angle iron cut to size, recessed holes and installed connecting the countertop to the king bed wall. It actually looks stock, matching the look of the bed rail framing.

I will open her back up and take pictures this weekend.

I think she's stronger than stock now!

[GalsofEscape]

Hope you have no more issues. Do keep an eye on it, the way the door fits is a big clue. Now I do wonder if the area having gotten wet from our gray tank issue contributed to the severity of the flexing as ours seemed to be so much worse than what you are seeing.

Here is the degree of flexing we were getting. The first picture is the travel door with bed in, the second is the bed extended. The third is the separation of the front wall from the cabinet (road side) with the bed out.

[cabranch47]

I had the same issue with my HW27SC. The front wall pulled away from the street side cabinet about 1/4". I took the counter top off, tightened the screws from the cabinet to the wall and added some more. I then put some angle brackets from the cabinet frame to the wall. I also added some angle brackets to the cabinet frame on the other end by the door. The wall pulled back in and no more problems. Good luck with your fix.

[gba1787]

Pics of fix to follow.

[gba1787]

Angle iron at top of base cabinet attached to front wall.

[gba1787]

Bracket underneath counter of base cabinet attached to front wall.

[gba1787]

Brackets at base cabinet next to door and front wall.

[GalsofEscape]

This really should not be happening.

[gba1787]

Stronger than stock! The angle iron was drilled out to recess the screw heads. There were ten screws. Even looks stock.

The brackets have three screws into each side. On the base cabinet, we removed the wood tack strip that was held on with small furniture staples and two screws. We installed four brackets in that cabinet.

The same bracket was used under the base cabinet with the angle iron. Just one seemed sufficient to assist with the angle iron.

[gba1787]

Originally Posted by GalsofEscape

This really should not be happening.

No, it certainly shouldn't be happening. It does seem to be pervasive. Fortunately, it was an inexpensive fix. It would have been nice for Forest River to have made this right either through a recall fix or other means.

[gba1787]

What's a bigger shame is the lack of support from FR service. My call ended with Roger saying, "I may have heard about that happening before."

[goatsac]

This happened to me on a used unit I bought a couple years ago. After taking it back to the dealer and they, along with my wife, making multiple calls with no solution, the dealer fab'd up a brace that slides into two holders on the tongue and supports the king bed. There are also two "extra" support poles that attach to fab'd mounting plates at the forward edge of the underside of the bed, which go into the existing slots for the stock bed brace.

Essentially we have the original supports with an extra lateral support at the middle of the bed, and two more braces that support the end of the bed. It works but it is a pain to get the front bed out on setup.

I wish this problem would not have happened in the first place. This might be getting traded in...

[gba1787]

Unfortunately, as much as I love my HW277 and the design of them, there is a flaw in the bracing through the sides and cabinet. You don't see this on the back bed because the two side walls flow forward as opposed to where the door is up front. That one cabinet toward the front by the door doesn't give enough tie in and starts to allow flexing. That flexing, unchecked, creates bigger issues. Reinforcing that area at production would save a ton of heartache. I hope folks find this post and make the necessary fixes instead of having to trade in and out of Rockwood.

[vinmaker]

I have had the same problem with both of my HW units. I think it is just a problem that we all need to get used to. If you look at the leverage a king bed makes when someone is in it, you can see the forces pulling on the wall. The only real solution would be to run a support pole from the bunk to the frame directly below. That would take away the angle.

[gba1787]

I am used to it and have adapted and overcome it, that doesn't make it right. There are some fixes available to FR that wouldn't be cost prohibitive.

[spurticus]

After looking inside the cabinets that are against that wall, I can say I don't feel too good about what I saw. Some screws were loose and there weren't that many there to begin with. I will definitely have to keep an eye on this. I hoping by putting the bed support poles in the middle notch, the bed is getting firm level support and not stressing the wall. Dang, it just seems like there is always something to have to potentially deal with on these things.