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Old 10-15-2022, 10:04 AM   #21
OldJimi
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Rames14 - whew, some interesting reading in that link. If I had read that before, I would probably have stayed with a standard 5th wheel hitch just to avoid the issue, however, one finds plenty cracked weld Lippert frame stories out there with other hitches.

I sold my kayak before starting out on this adventure, was 11.5' and I just wasn't sure how I was going to haul it around.

Thanks for all the info, and to all the others that contributed, I guess I am going to adopt the make 'em prove it stance.

Got to run now, get busy checking out and photographing the welding quality ...
 
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Old 10-15-2022, 11:59 AM   #22
twindman
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I have had frame flex 3 times. Once with my 2006 Montana. The wall between the washer/dryer cubbard and the closet would bow out about 3 inches when on truck or on landing gear(I can't remember which). Welds right at the point where the frame goes up and then forward for the bed room.

Then on my current unit, the back wall was creeping back about 3 inches. Dealer 'fixed' it and I think they put in bolts/screws from the back wall into the side wall aluminum 2x4s. After about 2 more years, it started to slip again. I looked in there and the 2x4 had pretty much a hole about 3 inches in diameter from multiple screws being inserted, stripped out, and new ones inserted and stripped.
This time the took the lower side area off at the back and 2 or 3 2x4s were broken away from the bottom area, which I think caused the back wall to shift. Also, at this time the front had frame flex again and the took the front cap off and fixed it.
So in 16 years, i have had 2 frame flex in the front, back wall loose, and sidewall welds also broke off.
I HAVE been to Alaska twice and put on 130,000 miles in 16 years to 47 continental states tho, so that may have caused some of this.
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Old 10-15-2022, 02:21 PM   #23
OldJimi
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Twindman, do you suppose that stretch of road between Buckshot Betty's and the border caused any of it?
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Old 10-15-2022, 04:48 PM   #24
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No comments on Frame Flex or even full timing ... but!....


Welcome to the forums! And congrats on getting your Montana! And congrats on full timing!

Happy travels!
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Old 10-16-2022, 10:13 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rames14 View Post
Tony, frame flex is different from the sidewall cracks. Ron Marlin (same unit as OP and mine, developed a sidewall crack. But, it wasn’t frame flex.

With all due respect I beg to differ. Frame flex is a generic term that doesn't apply to just an RV. Walls dont crack for no reason. Frame flex isn't confined to a cracked or broken weld. The frame itself can twist and flex due to poor engineering. Something has to cause a stress fracture. Physics, mechanical engineering, would suggest that the the big hole cut in the wall flexed causing a stress fracture. Otherwise what else caused it? Not trying to argumentative but would love to learn from this if there's another reason.


Good luck OldJimi
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Old 10-16-2022, 10:34 AM   #26
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Tony, it may just be terminology to you, but frame flex in the Lippert/Keystone vernacular refers to broken welds. The stress cracks I referred to are not broken welds but a stress on the outer skin. They do not reweld, but put expansion joints in to fix them. One is structural and the other cosmetic. Just repeating what Montana said at rally. If you consider it all frame flex, it’s your call.
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Old 10-16-2022, 10:42 AM   #27
Carl n Susan
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I agree with Foldbak, the aluminum frame in the walls are known to break welds just as the steel frame under the trailer. Historically it was the Lippert frame that resulted in the term "frame flex". But today there is plenty of evidence of the same kind of breakage in the aluminum frame from Montana. To me, Frame Flex is now a generic term for any breakage regardless of the source.
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Old 10-16-2022, 10:45 AM   #28
Mikendebbie
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I wonder why we dont call it
Frame flex for the lippert frame and
Box flex for the house that is attached to the frame
I think flex and broken welds can happen in both systems
Can you experience one without the other?
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Old 10-16-2022, 09:06 PM   #29
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Haha 8 miles huh? We just bought the same model. 2022. Were 60 and are talking about doing it full time in another 5 years. Truthfully I didn’t even think about the medical complications.
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Old 10-16-2022, 09:28 PM   #30
OldJimi
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Congratulation on your new Montana! We are about to leave the nest, so to speak, We are taking it to St Augustine to the dealership for warranty work tomorrow, and have schedule a couple of side visits that will keep us away from our home area until December, coincidentally, just in time for med refills!!!
We are glad to be getting out and about - that's why we bought it. We plan to stay a bit along the Suwannee River, in Florida's spring country. As a boy, Lithia Springs was my favorite place in the world, time to maybe relive a little bit of that natural delight again.
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