2013 Freightliner Maxum Chassis cross member cracked
I have a 2013 Winnebago 42u with a Freightliner Maxum chassis. I was walking through my bedroom to my rear bath & I could hear something under the coach that sounded like there was something loose & hitting on to something underneath, with the coach leveled on jacks & slides out. So I went under the rear area behind the tag axle & had my brother move around in the bedroom area. What I found was the chassis cross member above the tag axle oil canning. So I bumped it with my fist & the sheetmetal filler between the upper & lower cross member beam popped forward, which in turn stopped the oil canning sounds. So upon further inspection I found that several of the spotwelds that held this panel on to the beams to form the cross member had cracked & pulled away from the beams.
Freightliner has a 5 year warranty on the frame & cross members. So I took the coach into San Diego Freightliner last week & had them inspect & decide what needed to be done to repair this. They in turn contacted Freightliner & discussed this with them. The repair is going to be complete replacement of the cross member. Unfortunately the part/parts are on back order & expected to take up to 2 months to get it & repair. I thought this was just a filler panel, however Freightliner seemed very concerned & I was told it is a pretty important panel. The good news here is that it is going to be repaired correctly & we previously planned to be in the San Diego area at least until June.
I have many years experience in aircraft structures & auto restorations.had this not been under warranty, I was thinking of adding a doubler over the damaged area & welding it on to strengthen the panel & stop the cracking.
So I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience? Also if you have a strange sound under your coach you should do a little investigating to see just what it is.
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Dan Sees, , 2013 Winnebago Journey 42e, 2014 Featherlite Car Hauler 3110 17.5', 2008 Mazda MX5,
2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser,2018 mercedes Benz GLA 250
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