Metal Fatugue of Stone Guard - Page 2

tomsm · 02-02-2009, 03:32 AM

'rocco - My guard was also very close to the tires. I used a piece of typical AC wire to pull it forward, but only because it was vibrating and making noise.

If yours is not causing a problem, you might consider just carrying a piece of wire with you in the event you need to install chains. You could temporarily pull it away from the tire, tie it off and remove the wire when you're done with the chains. Then hope that flexing it like that doesn't start vibration problems...

fun time · 02-02-2009, 07:39 AM

UDDATE: Just came back from looking at two more Journey's/Meridians. The first was an 03 36Journey and sure enough big time problem. His guard is very loose, within an inch of his wheel and you can plainly see how loose it is. My guess is it would not be long before it would fall off. We will tackle the fix for this one in the next couple of days. The owner thanked me for pointing this whole thing out so thanks to the OP for bringing this to light.
The second was an 06 Meridian 36. All was good with this coach. So, it appears that either the more use the coach gets maybe the more prone to the see the problem develop. The newer coaches seemed fine that I inspected. Just an observation. Thanks again to the OP and all of you on this thread for your comments.

Navy Flier · 02-02-2009, 02:03 PM

On my previous coach, a 2003 Horizon 36 I had this exact problem except that within 1,000 miles it departed the coach; plate, bracket and all. I later had some warranty work done at the factory and replacement of this item was among that work. The factory replaced the bracket and plate and added a support bracket from the outer bottom corner to the frame. This elimanated the vibration and thus the resultant metal fatigue that caused the original bracket to fail. It gave me no problems for the next 55,000 miles. What the factory did was what I had in mind but the bracket failed quicker than I expected.
The original problem was caused by air turbulence when encoutering right crosswinds.

MaverickBBD · 02-02-2009, 08:23 PM

Well now I know what that noise was as we were on the freeway north of Las Vegas last March. I went out and checked and the bracket looked good. The bolts looked gute 'n tight but no plate. How I managed to throw it and not tear thing up, loose a tire or do damage to the toad is beyond me. Now something else for the 'to do list'.

mycoolbeans · 02-03-2009, 04:14 AM

I have had exactly this same problem from day one. I have a 2004 Winnebago Journey 36G. My wife has complained of the noise that this plate makes when going down the road. I tightened three bolts when this first occurred. It helped for awhile. My wife kept complaining about the noise from the back near the shower/rear wheel. I, in my stupidity, thought that she was hearing something else. We traveled from Pennsylvania to Florida in January and the noise was ever present. Finally, I got off my lazy duff to check it out. Guess what? The exact problem that you have described. I'm lucky the damn plate didn't come off and cause tire damage or some accident. I have noticed that one of the bolts is detached from the L-bracket. Frankly, I am sick and tired of Winnebago's response to most technical questions I've asked. Lest you come to think that I am anti-Winnebago, I would simply like to state that this is my 5th Winnebago. I've had a class-c Warrior, a class-a Brave, two class-a Adventurers, and now the Journey. I am not impressed with how Winnebago treats its clients and further dealerships, unless you purchased your vehicle from them, are just as bad. The dealer from whom I've purchased this unit has treated me very well, but he is located 300 miles from my home. If Winnebago doesn't get its act together, they are going to join the other rv manufacturers that have gone under. I no longer have blind allegiance to this company. I agree that this is a safety issue. Everyone who has read or reads this post should write to Winnebago requesting a recall and repair of this defective design issue. Instead of metal, I was contemplating some type of heavy duty rubber something like the material that mud flaps are made of. I don't know if this would work or not. Thanks for you post, all who have had this problem should contact Winnebago and complain. At least it would be a good catharsis. Also, fix your plate.

Tom N · 02-03-2009, 05:19 AM

Is there a possibility that this plate contacts the ground, on some unlevel sites, when dumping your air???

-Tom

theroc · 02-03-2009, 05:38 AM

Tom N- I know that mine won't touch the ground. I'm currently on a site that is relatively unlevel and my air is dumped. My full-length guard in the back is touching the ground but this propane tank guard is still a good foot above the ground.

Tomsm- Thanks for the advice, Tom. I haven't considered trying to move the guard with a wire. From my observation, it doesn't seem that flexible to pull back too far and I hesitate putting too much stress on it for fear of weakening the fasteners, etc. as being described.

I'm still wondering if anybody else with a 34 footer has this guard as close to the tires as mine is (1 inch or less) or if mine is somehow mis-mounted. Thanks.

Suncircles · 02-07-2009, 02:16 PM

Thanks to everyone for their input on what problems they had or observed with regard to the stone guard between the right rear wheel and the propane tank. I was hoping that it was not a universal problem, but......

Navy Flier had the factory install a bracket on his stone guard to reduce its vibration. I was unable to locate such a bracket so I used a carriage bolt to attach the outer, lower edge of my "new" bracket to a diagonal frame brace in front the propane tank, as shown in the following photo:

I drilled a hole in the diagonal frame brace, inserted a 3.5" carriage bolt as shown and, using nuts and locking washers, secured the stone guard to the frame brace without putting any strain on the stone guard. I now have added the inspection of the stone guard to my pre-trip check list. Only time will tell if this a fix to the problem.

Suncircles

SteveG · 02-07-2009, 03:57 PM

Suncircles, thanks for the photo. Looks like you solved the problem.

Does anyone have a photo of the factory installed bracket? Thanks, SteveG

Izzyblueye · 02-08-2009, 06:54 AM

suncircles: What you have done looks like it will work. However, I wonder about some flexibility or breakaway should a ROAD ALLIGATOR get caught up in there? Been there--done that.

B.C. · 02-08-2009, 07:38 AM

Suncircles has the right idea. Stop the vibration. My fix is similar except I put a bolt through a piece of 1/2" conduit and then used a nylock nut to secure the whole thing.

Suncircles · 02-08-2009, 10:18 AM

Don't the photo fool you. The stone guard looks like it is within 1 inch of the tires. The photo was taken with the air let out of the suspension. I should have mentioned that the stone guard is still about 3 inches from the tires.

I like the 1/2 inch conduit idea also!

Suncircles

theroc · 02-08-2009, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by B.C.:
Suncircles has the right idea. Stop the vibration. My fix is similar except I put a bolt through a piece of 1/2" conduit and then used a nylock nut to secure the whole thing.

Sorry to keep hijacking your thread, Suncircles. Thanks for mentioning the distance your guard is away from your tires. Mine is not anywhere near 3" away ...it's about in inch.

B.C., I notice from your profile that you have a 34H. Can you answer my question as to the distance your guard is away from your tires? Do you have more than an inch clearance? TIA.

SteveG · 02-10-2009, 12:24 PM

Is this the Stone Guard on our 2004 36G Journey in the photo below mounted between the tires and the end of the propane tank (has three oblong holes)? If so, the mounting connection looks solid. If there is suppose to be something else dangling from what's shown then obviously that part is gone, gone.

Thanks, SteveG

Suncircles · 02-10-2009, 03:43 PM

SteveG:

Yes, that is the stone guard. "Pluck" the bottom of the stone guard like you would pluck a string of a guitar. I think you know where I am going. If a solid sound, then you are OK. If you here any rattle sound, then first check the three bolts an the top end of the guard (attaching it to the chassis) to see if they are loose. If they are tight, then check for the fatigue cracking just below the L bracket across the top of the guard.

I believe the stone guard in your photo is the only part. Winnebago reps did not indicate to me that there was anything else attached to the guard.

Suncircles

B.C. · 02-11-2009, 08:32 AM

scirocco22,
My coach is setting up on the jacks at the moment but I would say that there is about 2" clearance to the tires when when traveling. When I bolted up the guard I did pull it forward about a half inch to keep tension on it while traveling.
I say, "If it takes chains to get there I ain't going", so clearance is not a problem for me.