What fell off??

[droneb]

Yesterday while driving my W24, I heard a big noise under MH. Turns out it was a piece of metal about 36" x 9" which I retrieved from highway. Upon inspection it seems to be some sort of shield that was attached to the frame parallel to an exhaust pipe. There is an identical one on the oppisite side. The thing has a 3/4 inch lip which had four rusty spots where it looked like it had hung on top of the frame and may have been spot welded.
Now for my questions. What purpose does this serve? Is it a heat sheild? It is a few inches fron the exhaust pipe and there dosen't seem to be anything much out from there. It is several more inches out to the slides. It did have one area that had a greasy spot, like maybe grease from the spinning drive shaft. How critical is this item? It looks like it will be real hard to reattach due to not much space above the frame. It must have been put on before the coach was built. I'm sure I want it replaced, but since I'm planning on having some service work done soon at a place about a 2 hour drive away, will it hurt to drive that far?
Thanks for any help you might offer. I know I don't post much (I hate typing) but I read site almost everyday and really enjoy learning from you guys.

Safe travels to all
Bobby Miller

[Dagwood]

Bobby mine has a similar plate between the exhaust and propane tank. I would have no qualms about a trip to the shopunless it involved hours of stop and go traffic or anything to build up excessive heat. Just leave off the dash acand drag racing.lol
James Wilson

[wa8yxm]

Heat shield.. Depending on where and what it's sheilding determines how important it is. I'd store it for now and talk to the shop at the next service stop.

[K6TBC]

Mine also came off. It is a heat shield to protect the storage bins. I used large self tapping screws to put it back on.

[ROMAD]

The heat shields on my W24 protects the hydraulic lines and equalizing cylinders for the HWH jacks and room slides. If they get warm things may not work as advertised......

[dickfrompasadena]

I had the same problem with the heat shield on my 2007 Bounder 35E. When I parked a Disney and opened the slide something fell to the ground. I called Workhorse (no help) they said it must be something Fleetwood installed. I called Fleetwood (no help) they didn't know what it was. I called my dealer in Hatfield, PA. They checked another coach and said it was a heat shield. They said to have it welded and send them the bill. My coach was still under warrenty. I don't know who paid for the repair but I received the money. Disney gave me a list of repair people and they came to my site and welded the shield. They also welded the other side to make sure I didn't have another event. So far everything has been fine.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dickfrompasadena I don't know who paid for the repair but I received the money. Disney gave me a list of repair people and they came to my site and welded the shield. They also welded the other side to make sure I didn't have another event. So far everything has been fine.

dickfrompasadena, Shielding is an OE Manufacturer install. The chassis does not come with shields other than close to the ABS computer isolating it from the exhaust pipe and I don't expect that there are any more than that. If you had a shield that fell off it is likely that Fleetwood or the dealer would pick up the tab.