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10-12-2021, 06:10 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 4
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Underbody touching axle, floor joints flex
We bought a 2021 Palomino Solaire Ultra Lite 294DBHS a couple months ago. Anyone else’s travel trailer under body touch the axles? The way it’s cut and bolted up looks like it was meant by the factory to do this. Also, anyone else able to feel the joints between panels in the flooring flexing? It’s like they forgot to brace the underside of the floor throughout the entire area in line with the slide (kitchen, living room, etc).
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10-12-2021, 06:41 PM
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#2
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 27
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I have no experience with your model camper but it doesn’t look right to me. Have you crawled under there and tried to push it up to see if it will go up? Normally they have some screws/bolts throughout the center that holds it up flat.
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2019 Wildcat 34 WB
Tv 2020 f250 6’3/4 bed
Tv 2012 ram 2500 6’
B&w patriot 18k
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10-12-2021, 07:20 PM
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#3
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 4
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There are no bolts in the center to hold it up anywhere. I have gone underneath it and pushed it up, but there is no way with the outer bolting to push it up. It’s almost like I would have to unbolt the whole thing, push it up flat, re-bolt it around the outer edges in new holes, and cut the excess. Not to mention, all of the holes for piping that have been foamed, would have to be re-cut and refoamed as well.
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10-12-2021, 08:10 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Space Coast of Florida
Posts: 4,019
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Looks like it is full of water?
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2016 Siverback 33IK, Towed 50K+ mile
2018 Ford F-350 Lariat 6.7L V8 Diesel 4WD Crew Cab
"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."
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10-12-2021, 08:13 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 103
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No, the under belly should not touch the axles. The axles will wear through that plastic.
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2015 Salem CSMT27RKSS
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10-12-2021, 08:15 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 426
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It is very common for the water tank bottom to sag downward several inches . And yes on my toy hauler the tank rode on the axle when full . I added straps to reinforce the hanging brackets on the tank . Is your fresh water tank directly above the bulge
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10-13-2021, 01:21 PM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Plano Texas
Posts: 6
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Is that a big blob of spray foam between the Frame and cover in the first picture? Looks to me like they cut a piece to long. One person started screwing from one end and someone else from the other end and when they met there was a large winkle so they put is over the axle to support it and sprayed it in. Looks like warranty work to me. But since the axel does not spin it will not wear through the material it will chafe it with the axel going up and down.
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2016 Salem Hemisphere 312 QBUD
2019 F250 Diesel
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10-13-2021, 01:42 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Posts: 102
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Mine did not quite touch the axle, but sagged close like that. I verified that nothing was pushing down on it to cause this.....just another unfortunate example of crappy workmanship. I will warn you to watch out for your fresh water tank. Mine was only held in place by two thin pieces of strap steel....that is until it fell out. That underbelly kept it from bouncing down the road behind me. When i fixed it, i pushed up and straightened the plastic underbelly so the sag isn't as bad over the axle now.
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2020 Palomino Solaire 316RLTS
2017 F-250 6.2L
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10-13-2021, 02:13 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Central New York
Posts: 327
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That is a torsion axle. It does not move. Just the ends where the wheel hub is located. Probably holding up the underbelly to some extent.
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10-13-2021, 02:31 PM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Phillipsburg, NJ
Posts: 35
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They forget a lot of things. I try not to buy these Rv’s new. Await someone else’s headaches get remedied. If that’s even taken care of by a previous owner. Sadly Rv’s are cranked out so fast and possibly with limited number of techs due to Covid. QC goes the way of south
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10-13-2021, 02:43 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Where the stars at night are big and bright
Posts: 970
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thundr
We bought a 2021 Palomino Solaire Ultra Lite 294DBHS a couple months ago. Anyone else’s travel trailer under body touch the axles? The way it’s cut and bolted up looks like it was meant by the factory to do this. Also, anyone else able to feel the joints between panels in the flooring flexing? It’s like they forgot to brace the underside of the floor throughout the entire area in line with the slide (kitchen, living room, etc).
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We have a 2015 Palomino SolAire. The under body doesn't touch either of the axles and the floor is rock solid in line with the slide. Do you have a water leak somewhere you don't know about?
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2015 Palomino SolAire 20RBS
2022 Silverado 2500HD LT Duramax 4WD
2015: 18 days; 2016: 21 days; 2017: 19 days; 2018: 26 days; 2019: 8 days; 2020: 0; 2021: 10 days.
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10-13-2021, 09:40 PM
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#12
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 72
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Bracing Underbelly
My 2017 Lacrosse had the same problem this year. In fact the underbelly cover came loose on one side from over half of the retainers. Before I fixed the problem, I looked at the undercarriage to make sure all my tanks were not drooping due to failing tank brackets. Tanks were fine, but all the electrical wiring and heater duct work are running loose on top of the black plastic underbelly cover. What I don't understand is there is a large rectangular hole on all frame crossmembers specifically designed to run the wires and ductwork but Forest River doesn't use them! I guess it is quicker and cheaper to just run the wires and plumbing on top of this plastic cover and let the underbelly cover support the bouncing weight. All that bouncing is what caused the underbelly cover to pull loose from the factory retainers and allowed the cover to droop! I used fender washers and self drilling bolts to repair the ripped holes where the factory retainers were on the cover. I then bought 1"x 8' x 1/8" aluminum flat bars {bought at Lowes for under 12 dollars each) and ran them every 3' down the I-beams the full length of the trailer (34')to further support the underbelly cover. I used self drilling hex head screws and washers to fasten the bars to the frame on each side of the trailer. I did make a wooden support to temporarily hold up the underbelly prior to the repair. I feel confident that this will be a permanent fix for future sagging and should further support the loose wired and ductwork bouncing on top of the underbelly cover. Hope this helps!
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10-14-2021, 09:17 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 648
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Following
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10-14-2021, 06:35 PM
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#14
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 4
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UPDATE:
So the answer is just lazy workmanship. There are no tanks above this area. And all of the hoses and wires are run through the frame properly. There are a couple of crossmembers before and after the axles that ultimately I will get the proper self tapping screws and pull the underbelly up to them to get off of the axles. The freshwater tank is at the front of the camper and the other tanks are at the rear And they appear to be well mounted. So that is good news! As for the floor, there just really is no support in those areas of this camper. The beams are very wide apart so there is going to be some give in between them. Maybe in the off-season I will pull the entire underbelly and add some reinforcement to the floor above. But that is a project for another day.
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10-14-2021, 06:39 PM
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#15
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Scoundrel
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Montrose, Colorado
Posts: 2,802
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When I first started reading this thread yesterday I expected that there was a problem with one of your tanks. Glad it turned out to be nothing.
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2024 Geo Pro 15TB, 400W Solar, 2 Golf Cart batteries
2015 F-150 5.0L V8 XLT Crew Cab, 4x4, Tow Package, 36 gal tank, 3.55 locker, 1891 payload, Integrated Brake Controller, Roadmaster Active Suspension
Wooden Spoon Survivor
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