PLEASE read the thread titled "Check your propane tank mounting bracket welding!"

[NXR]

I posted it on the General Motorhome forum because this problem may not affect just Georgetowns but the two reported failures were both Georgetowns.

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ng-264804.html

Ray

[NXR]

Update: A third Georgetown owner has just posted on another forum that their front propane tank mounting bracket broke loose and they found it hanging and the rear bracket is bent. It's a 2020 GT5 34H5, just like we have.

Click that link to see those pictures.

Ray

[nvs4602]

These should be reported to. NHTSA

https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem#index

[nvs4602]

Bump

[NXR]

Originally Posted by nvs4602

These should be reported to. NHTSA

The person with the latest pics, which he posted today, said he filed a report already. (I think he found it today.) At least one other person from the previous pics said they also would.

Ray

[realshelby]

I have spent a good bit of time under the GT 7 I have doing upgrades. I can tell you that many of the welds that Moreryde does when "upfitting" the F 53 chassis are horrible. Simply a tack weld and not too much of that. Much of the steel is never painted. This is "I don't care" at its worst.
The brackets that the propane tanks fit to are a Moreryde added part.

[NXR]

I'm guessing it is a MORryde structure simply because it makes no sense to have MORryde do so many things but not install the propane tank supporting structure.

So far the reported failures have been on a 2020 and 2022 GT5 34H5 and a 2020 XL. The person with the XL said "I'm guessing (the tank angle was) around 60 or 70 degrees, the tank was about an inch from hitting the road. Very lucky that someone drove by and flagged us down."

Ray

[realshelby]

In the pictures from the link you provided in first post, you can tell this is part of the Moreryde upfit package. Not attached to the chassis, but the upfit package.
Worth a moment to inspect our coaches for this.

[NXR]

That was my guess as well but I cannot know 100%. For example, on our 2020 I know MORryde installs the hitch because there was a recall for under-torqued bolts. But a person with a 2022 GT7 32J7 had a cracked hitch, went to FR, and they told them that they now install the hitch.

I don't think a visual inspection is going to work unless you find an existing break. With the rust and paint a fracture could be starting and you'd never know it unless you caught a glimpse of shiny metal. When I worked in aviation maintenance we used dye penetrant, Magnaflux, and other non-destructuve testing methods to detect cracks that were not visible to the eye.

So far, oddly, all three reported cases have been on the front bracket only. Coincidence or not, I think the only true fix is to run a bolt or two through the bracket horizontally to secure it to the square framing.

Who knows, these failures may actually be caused by a slight forward movement that stresses the tack welds. If so, a bolt will stop that movement. If not, a bolt will keep the tank from dropping if the bracket breaks loose.

I think a full tank of propane and the tank itself only weigh about 200 pounds so I'm thinking about using some small diameter Grade 5 bolts. I do not want to use larger diameter bolts because, well, the holes in the square structure need to be larger as well.

Removing metal via holes can cause cracks to form, which is what we're trying to prevent.

FWIW,

Ray

[realshelby]

Well, I can tell you some of the welds on the MoreRyde upfit on my 36D7 barely count as a tack weld. On supports for the main frame the coach sits on.......
It is like they tack in place but don't come back to weld them fully.
As you likely know, a weld joint should not be the failure point on something like this.
My 36D7 has extensions welded on main chassis frame at rear. I would figure MoreRyde does that as it has to be there for the upfit package. If I were installing those extensions I would want the hitch to act as a guide to spacing and squaring the extensions! On a 32J7 there may not be extensions due to coach length.

[BehindBars]

I checked my Sunseeker that was built in 2019. MORyde’s poor craftsmanship on mine has already shown itself in the breaking of the welds holding the mud flap stiffeners. (Others have had the leveler pump bracket break off the frame on Sunseekers.) However, fortunately my unit’s propane tank is through bolted to the floor above it, rather than being attached to the truck framing, so no welding was involved.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by BehindBars

However, fortunately my unit’s propane tank is through bolted to the floor above it, rather than being attached to the truck framing, so no welding was involved.

Ummm, one guess as to who manufacturers the floor frame structure your tank is bolted to...

Ray

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by NXR

Ummm, one guess as to who manufacturers the floor frame structure your tank is bolted to...

Ray

The LP tank on my Sunseeker is bolted through the floor, not chassis framing. I'm pretty sure that Forest River manufacturers the floor that is set down on top of the frame structure that MORryde added to the Ford chassis. I believe there is aluminum framing inside the floor sheet, and I don't know if the LP tank is bolted through that.

Sorry, I know this is a Georgetown thread, but I wanted to point out that not all motorhome tanks seem to be mounted the same way.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by realshelby

On a 32J7 there may not be extensions due to coach length.

The pic is from the 32J7 with the cracked hitch.You can see the weld for the extension.

More interestingly, MORryde welded a cross brace between the extensions. It's marked with the X.

Ray

[realshelby]

Interesting. I don't have a cross brace on the 36D7. Lot of extension there with no cross bracing as my extensions are much longer than the 32J7.

One thing I want to point out is the position of the mudflap. There are mounting loops welded to the frame to support the chains for the mudflap.
I moved mine forward quite a bit. While less of a problem with this rig, I used to drag the rear of my Berkshire fairly often. Mounted in the factory position, dragging the rear would likely rip the mudflap off the coach. It would hit first and swing to the rear....and be hit by the big loops that are there to touch down first.

[NXR]

When that 32J7 owner had FR look at the cracked hitch they discovered that the bolts were wedged in and did not just fall out when loosened. Maybe there was a problem with the extensions on his so they added that crossbeam to keep the two ends from pulling towards themselves. Or maybe from pulling apart.

Kind of scary no matter what the reason, actually. Was this a one-off defect on his? Is it applicable to other 32J7's? Or what?

FR is supposed to be filing copies of their TSBs with the NHTSA per their 2015 Consent Decree and the law: https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.go...8-2015-tag.pdf

But there are zero under MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATIONS for 2015, 2016, 2019, or 2020 Georgetowns.

The ones they posted for the other model years, except for a roof problem in 2017 and 2018, were bulletins from other component or chassis manufacturers, not theirs.

Yet our dealer once showed us bulletins they got through the FR Dealer Connect portal so they exist.

But other RV manufacturers do file them with the NHTSA.

Ray