Trailer shell shifted on I-beam frame

[HudsonDave]

I am in my fifth season with our 21' MicroLite. Just noticed there is something going on with how the shell of the camper is attached to the I-beams. Looking at YouTube construction videos my trailer appears to be built like most - two I-beams down the middle with triangle shaped wings welded on to get out to the full 8' width. Most of the 10 bolts on the outside perimeter are bent, some have loose nuts. The worst one actually has the nut missing and the metal wing bent. The angle of the bent bolts suggest a large force from hard braking but I don't recall anything unusual. Anyone else experience anything similar? I am going to try and straighten out the bent wing and of course stay on top of keeping the nuts torqued down. Any point in taking it to the dealer this fall? Nothing else seems out of place - no crooked door frames, etc.

[ependydad]

Is the rest of the frame straight and true? Frame failures aren't super uncommon.

[Lins]

Are all bolts like that? If it's just a couple it could be the give-a-damn level on the assembly line that day.

[D W]

The way that gusset is bent down like that would indicate there was severe stress from the body, such as a sharp turn on an incline.

[HudsonDave]

Thanks for the input everyone - I think those are all possibilities. I also have had more bumpy roads this year than usual. An update to fixing the issue. I was able to straighten out the bent gusset and thread a nut back on. I will try taping on the other "tipped" bolts tomorrow to see if they will go closer to straight. Only 5 out of the 10 are tipped. Guess I will have to keep a close eye on everything. We were planning on a camper upgrade next year anyhow - now we have a better reason to do that.

[BillyBass]

Originally Posted by HudsonDave

Thanks for the input everyone - I think those are all possibilities. I also have had more bumpy roads this year than usual. An update to fixing the issue. I was able to straighten out the bent gusset and thread a nut back on. I will try taping on the other "tipped" bolts tomorrow to see if they will go closer to straight. Only 5 out of the 10 are tipped. Guess I will have to keep a close eye on everything. We were planning on a camper upgrade next year anyhow - now we have a better reason to do that.

if possible trade it in.or I be contacting forest river there No reason that to happen

[BillyBass]

I had a problem with my 2019 with the sink caving in. I took it back to best choice of Irwin PA and they fix it with no problem.