Georgetown side wall bolts sheared off- and a fix! - Page 2

**Herk7769** · 07-17-2012, 07:43 AM

"STUCK" this as it shows some real talent at a major repair tackle...

Iggy · 07-17-2012, 10:06 PM

Eric
Very nice work. You should be very proud of your accomplishment.

sherman12 · 07-18-2012, 08:24 AM

Wow! what great craftmanship on your part. Forest River should hire you as a consultant! Scary for us less than handy types in what the heck would we do if somthing of this magnitude happened to us? Afraid to say that for me it would probably scare me away from the whole RV scene.

Interacsol · 07-31-2012, 06:54 PM

I have a 2009 GTA350 TSSE Diesel with 16K miles. I am facing the same problem although my wall has not come completely off yet.

On a recent trip to the Oregon Coast, I noticed that the dash seemed to move up and down with respect to the rest structure I see from the driver's seat. At first I thought it was my imagination. As I paid more attention, I could definitely tell that it looked like the whole front end was "bouncing up and down" over bumps or heaves in the road -- the dash is not moving.

I can also see a gap of .25" appear and disappear between my dashboard and the side wall.

Then, I started getting a loud (startling) metallic bang during right turns that I can literally feel with my hand on the sidewall. It sounds like someone hitting the inside wall, under the floor and above the left front wheel, with a hammer. Though I suspected a body problem, I took it to the Freightliner service center last week to make sure that there was nothing going on with the suspension or steering since the noise seems to come from under my left foot when driving.

On inspection today, I found the same woefully inadquate self-tapping screws that the OP mentioned. In the coming days, I will be performing the OP's mod plus adding some additional structural support in left front corner.

I know I bought an entry-level coach but this is ridiculous. Although I have been satisfied with the coach in general and the Freightliner/Cummins chassis in particular, I have lost confidence in the fundamental quality of the construction and I will be trading it on a Tiffen Allegro or Phaeton diesel pusher bunkhouse.

pmsherman · 08-01-2012, 12:03 PM

I noticed the same problem in my 2011 327 on the driver's side. There was lots of squeaking when driving and when I looked at the attachment from the wheel well, I saw that there was over 1/4" between the sidewall and the frame. I could see the threads on the frontmost screw holding the wall to the frame. The dealer repaired this under the factory warranty by replacing the first screw with a bolt and retightening the next 5 screws moving towards the rear of the coach.

The passenger side squeaks too now but doesn't show any space between the sidewall and the frame. This problem was reported before the expiration of the factory warranty and I expect to get it fixed later this year when we return home.

Phil

sherman12 · 08-02-2012, 09:28 AM

I am picking up my 2011 330TS on August 9. Is this just another thing I should be concerned about! Already covered with the dealer the hydraulic line issue (as reported on this forum) and the steps coming loose and the water tank also coming loose. Gee, I have a poll about Extended Warranty also posted on this forum and I wonder if my question to buy or not is being answered by all of "THESE" issues!

Interacsol · 08-02-2012, 04:24 PM

Update:

I completed repairs today. All of the self-drilling screws installed at the factory (3 on the driver's side and 5 on the passenger side) had sheared. I have never driven on anything but paved roads, BTW.

Using the technique described by the OP, I installed 9 stainless through-bolts on the driver's side and 12 on the passenger's side. I had to use a 12-ton hydraulic jack to raise the passenger-side wall back up into place. I also used 50 #14 self-drilling screws to reinforce every place I could find where the sidewall met the floor or firewall bulkhead. The whole project took about 10 hours.

I took it for a test drive today and it felt solid as a rock -- there was also much less body sway when pulling out of parking lots, etc. All squeaks, rattles, and groans have disappeared too. This is how it should leave the factory.

I had concerns about the wall/floor joint last year, before my warranty expired. I described the noise I was hearing to my local dealer and, after a "thorough inspection" they informed me that I was hearing the fire extinguisher by the door squeaking and rattling. One year later the entire front end my coach was close to collapsing to the ground.

To see if your coach has this problem, drive 25-30 mph and pulse the brakes in a rythm to gently bounce the front end up and down on the suspension. Watch the floor/sidewall intersection ahead of the passenger's seat and by your left ankle. My sidewall was moving up and down 1 inch relative to the floor.

This project gave me glimpse of the overall quality of construction. The materials are fine for this level of the market but there was no pride in the workmanship. I won't go into details but I'm not impressed.

jd-ford-hd · 08-05-2012, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Interacsol

Update:
I completed repairs today............................................. .................................................. ..........................................
This project gave me glimpse of the overall quality of construction. The materials are fine for this level of the market but there was no pride in the workmanship. I won't go into details but I'm not impressed.

Pics of your problem and repairs would have been nice, so therefore I am using (do not take it personally

)one of my favorite emoticons......

cfsoistman · 08-14-2012, 06:38 AM

I'm courious if anyone has contacted FR about this problem or reported it to anyone? There was a recall for a loose piece of trim under the main slides earlier but the whole body coming loose due to poor choice of fasteners and the lack of them as well is a way more serious problem. If enough were reported it may lead to at least an inspection of the fasteners at FR expense.

jd-ford-hd · 08-14-2012, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfsoistman

I'm courious if anyone has contacted FR about this problem or reported it ......"............."...................."inspecti on of the fasteners at FR expense.

X2

Joeprinter · 08-21-2012, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2011George.360

I purchased a new 2011 George 360. Hope I don't have that issue. You coming to the FROG rally in August ? Wonder what Forest River would think ....

Yea I purchased the 2012 360 I really hope they did away with these small screws seems really sloppy.

cfsoistman · 08-21-2012, 06:04 AM

I emailed the link to this posting to John Armstrong, April Connor, and Dan Evans at FR. Don't know if they will look at it but I gave them the chance to see what's happening to some of the coaches produced at FR.

trell · 08-22-2012, 06:55 PM

I am new to motor home and RV's. Please don't take this wrong but what are you saying? Can this happen to my new to me 325S 33.6' and whats the likelihood of it?

Iggy · 08-22-2012, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trell

I am new to motor home and RV's. Please don't take this wrong but what are you saying? Can this happen to my new to me 325S 33.6' and whats the likelihood of it?

Maybe in 6 or 7 years. Watch it now.

You also may have a major accident and total it.

What I'm trying to say is why worry about things that may not happen.
Life is too short to worry about the unknown.
Go out and

Eric52 · 09-04-2012, 03:35 PM

A trip from Pa. to Loretta Lynn Ranch in Tennessee, 28 hrs. round trip. Two weeks ago. A 10 hour round trip to Elkland Pa. this weekend. Everything is solid and still looking good. I think I got her fixed up right.

trell · 09-04-2012, 05:09 PM

sound good all wll that ends well.

wingardc · 09-29-2012, 12:14 PM

We have FR Georgetown 350 - gaser 2009. While traveling in New England in 2011, there were scraping sounds coming from the driver's side wall and then a bang and the wall separated from the floor. My husband checked it out upon our return, saw that the screws had broken off. We contacted the Camping World we bought it from and were told that it was not covered under warranty. So my husband replaced the 3 broken off screws with 6 new screws. This year, in June, the "fix" broke again on drivers side. We were not too concerned and continued our trip. In Aug, in Canada, the passenger side started making odd sounds and two days later a big bang, bang and the wall separated from the floor and I could see the ground below as we went down the hiway. We continued towards the US and in the next few days we could see the dashboard moving from side to side; our chairs we wobbling up and down, there was a snapping sound in the cap, the front door would not close properly, we had a short in the outlets in the cab and the dashboard started to crack. Upon arriving in Bellingham, WA, we contacted a CW who told us it was not covered under warranty. I asked for FR's number and contacted them with a detailed message. We continued towards CA very slowly and the next day FR contacted us and said it was covered and asked us to go to Indiana. That was not possible, so they hooked us up with a repair facility in Fontana, CA. We took our RV there and 6 hours later it was fixed. We were in CA for 9 days and then headed east towards FL our home. On day 4, in TX, the driver's side snapped again. On day 5, in LA, the passenger side snapped again. Contacted FR and they hooked up up with a repair facility in Ocala, FL and that is where the RV is now. Repairs are done but they are awaiting the strip that goes on outside. Question - what guarantee do we have that this will not happen again?

pmsherman · 09-29-2012, 12:54 PM

No guarantee at all. From prior posts in this thread, the best solution is to not use screws to repair the problem. Ask the repair facility to drill out the screw holes, drill the holes through the floor rail that the sidewall is attached to and use stainless steel bolts, nuts, lockwashers, and I'd even add some Loctite on the threads to make sure nothing will come loose again. Stainless steel bolts are much stronger than the same sized mild steel ones that are commonly available.

Phil

RED Baron · 10-01-2012, 02:40 PM

Thanks cfsoistman for sending this proplem some owners have with there sidewall comming loose to Forest River I,m sure many owners will watch this thread to see what Forest River will be doing about this .Please keep us posted
George

sherman12 · 10-02-2012, 08:35 AM

Is this only a problem with the side walls from the front of the rig extending to just behind the driver and passenger seats, about 6ft or so? My 2011 330TS has a bad rattle mid-ship which sounds like it is coming from the floor area under the dinette slide (curbside). The dealer is going to go into the floor from underneath the slide, through the basement so to speak after the camping season ends in November in my neck of the woods.

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