Community Forums

PURALIFE · 10-19-2021, 07:34 PM

We are FT RVers. We have a 2013 Fleetwood, Bounder, model 35K, gas. A few month back we took our Bounder to REV in Decatur, IN. The front of our coach cabin, dash and so forth shook, vibrated more than it should when the coach went over road/bridge gaps, semi-rough road terrain (not over holes), just rough road terrain.
REV said it was a detachment from the driver and passenger motor cavity space there is on the cabin wall a section 2"X24"X4" thick which is adhered to the aluminum frame cage that runs from side to side with screws (photo included) used that are inadequate for the job . (Photos included)

Has anyone had this SPECIFIC type of challenge with their coach? There is a correlation dealing with ride and roughness described and how the ride would improve if the cabin wall section was appropriately attached to the metal interior motor cavity frame.

The front cabin/chassis need to be firmly attached to the metal frame in order to move as one with the chassis and the suspension system in order to have a smooth ride.

I will share other photos when I get this resolved. I believe this is a DESIGN FLAW by the manufacture! It can be fixed in several ways; by adhering the appropriate large treated metal screws up and down the metal brace (photo) enough to withstand the movement of the coach cabin. 2) I included a photo of the outside drive/passenger mirror space to refer to. If you place a manufactured piece of metal (painted after) with screws that go through the body of the cabin and attached to the inside metal frame. This will give rigidity, continuity and strength so everything functions as one.

I hope I made myself clear. If not, by all means, I would appreciate your comments, if you have had similar circumstances as specified.

NOTE: PLEASE FLIP PHOTOS VERTICALLY. THE METAL RUNS UP AND DOWN ON THE INSIDE WALLS.

Fiesta48 · 10-26-2021, 06:34 AM

There was a posting several months ago about a complete house unit coming off the frame in a frontal accident. Have mfgr completely check every mount.

RVtravelz · 10-26-2021, 01:40 PM

How many miles on your coach? Lots of rough travel or roads? That’s a new one for me. I will have to look at my 2016 Bounder soon.

PURALIFE · 10-26-2021, 07:31 PM

It has about 70k. We travel in US roads; state rds, country, Fwy, and where semis can travel. It's 35 ft long plus tow dolly, car. It's 13.1 get high.
Is yours a gas engine?

RVtravelz · 10-27-2021, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PURALIFE

Is yours a gas engine?

Yes, it’s an F53 22k lb chassis.

rapid rick · 10-27-2021, 08:25 AM

Good morning all,
This problem your having has been going on since at least 2012.
Before I retired in 2015 I had repaired 9 coaches for that exact problem, and that was just in a radius of 100 miles of northern CT.
The pics that you posted show that the side wall has dropped about 1 inch, +or- the side wall must be carefully jacked back up so that that white area is no longer showing before reattachment.
The origin of this issue is the builder of these fine motorhomes, in all their wisdom, sought to save, literally, a couple of bucks by putting minimal fasteners in a high stress area. Bolting thru the side wall is only necessary in extreme cases, most times the problem can be resolved by jacking sidewall and adding at least 10 -15 self tapping screws to the area where the screws sheared.

Evaluate the area that you are adding screws, to ensure that there is framing where you put the screws, add angle iron if necessary.

This will require predrilling each hole first, you should also find angle iron connecting the floor to the side wall, in the wheel well just above the tire, .check and add screws there also

This must be done on both sides of the coach, as it happens to both sides eventually.
You can search Dashboard goes boom, thread from 2013-2015 for a little more insight. Have fun, overkill is the word of the day...

PURALIFE · 10-27-2021, 10:40 AM

Hello fellow RVers,
Rapid Rick, you are definitely spot on concerning the fixing of the detached cabin to the metal frame of the coach.

I did some fixing which you have recommended. I am wondering. Is the manufacturer responsible for this design flaw?

Any other photos that you have received or sent, would be greatly appreciated. I did go to the link Dashboard goes BOOM!

Thank you so much for the response

US1 · 10-27-2021, 05:22 PM

does this not effect the roof joint?

Alpine36 · 10-27-2021, 05:31 PM

Attaching the house to the frame with self tapping lags is not appropriate, or recommended in any body upfitting manual I've ever studied.
I spent my career building class 5-8 trucks and would have been fired utilizing those building techniques. Best of luck resolving what should have never happened. :(

PURALIFE · 10-27-2021, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alpine36

Attaching the house to the frame with self tapping lags is not appropriate, or recommended in any body upfitting manual I've ever studied.
I spent my career building class 5-8 trucks and would have been fired utilizing those building techniques. Best of luck resolving what should have never happened. :(

Alpine36
Thanks for your input. I was hoping for solutions and or methods to correct the detachment.

I'm worrying if anyone has thought of a class action.

PetesMH · 10-27-2021, 07:35 PM

I had that exact failure on my 2016 Fleetwood Storm. The “official factory repair” requires removing the front cap for good access. After discussing the issues with my dealer and considering my repair options I decided to trade for a smaller coach that we like better anyway. My dealer had offered us a really decent trade value before we discovered the failure and he didn’t change it after. I’m willing to bet that he didn’t repair the frame or discuss it with the next owner though. It’s a disturbing situation.

computerguy · 10-28-2021, 06:52 AM

Seems like a safety issue, no? If it stems from design shouldn’t that be brought up to the NTSB?
No class action suite required and a heck of a lot easier and cheaper IMO

rapid rick · 10-28-2021, 07:56 AM

Good morning all,
US1-I have not seen any issues with roof detachment on any of the repairs, checked them all just in case.

PetesMH-I can not imagine removal of the front cap for this issue EXCEPT to ring up the bill....

Alpine36- I have spent my entire career working on these poorly built pos and can tell you that if motorhomes were built like class 5-8 trucks this forum would be talking about nothing but the weather, unfortunately they are not, never will be. I have built and raced winning stock cars, with overkill in the construction of these cars being paramount if finishing, without breaking is the objective, and you can't win if you don't finish.

With that being said, to repair an existing problem, without rebuilding the entire coach, making it stronger than it was when it left the factory is always my objective. I have made this repair to my personal coach back in 2013 BEFORE the 3 screws sheared, added 10 more to each side, added many more to the wheel well angle and I monitor these areas after each trip and have had no issues. Add this to the other 106 items that I have repaired or remade on my coach since I purchased it new in 2012, I consider the coach acceptable, nothing more. If it was built like a class 5-8 truck... I, quite frankly do not know what I would do with all my spare time in retirement....maybe take up camping

Have a good day everyone.

77Travco · 10-29-2021, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PURALIFE

We are FT RVers. We have a 2013 Fleetwood, Bounder, model 35K, gas. A few month back we took our Bounder to REV in Decatur, IN. The front of our coach cabin, dash and so forth shook, vibrated more than it should when the coach went over road/bridge gaps, semi-rough road terrain (not over holes), just rough road terrain.
REV said it was a detachment from the driver and passenger motor cavity space there is on the cabin wall a section 2"X24"X4" thick which is adhered to the aluminum frame cage that runs from side to side with screws (photo included) used that are inadequate for the job . (Photos included)

Has anyone had this SPECIFIC type of challenge with their coach? There is a correlation dealing with ride and roughness described and how the ride would improve if the cabin wall section was appropriately attached to the metal interior motor cavity frame.

The front cabin/chassis need to be firmly attached to the metal frame in order to move as one with the chassis and the suspension system in order to have a smooth ride.

I will share other photos when I get this resolved. I believe this is a DESIGN FLAW by the manufacture! It can be fixed in several ways; by adhering the appropriate large treated metal screws up and down the metal brace (photo) enough to withstand the movement of the coach cabin. 2) I included a photo of the outside drive/passenger mirror space to refer to. If you place a manufactured piece of metal (painted after) with screws that go through the body of the cabin and attached to the inside metal frame. This will give rigidity, continuity and strength so everything functions as one.

I hope I made myself clear. If not, by all means, I would appreciate your comments, if you have had similar circumstances as specified.

NOTE: PLEASE FLIP PHOTOS VERTICALLY. THE METAL RUNS UP AND DOWN ON THE INSIDE WALLS.

1) Don't panic, It's actually a pretty easy fix that you can do yourself in your driveway in less than an hour. (I did)

2) Go down to the hardware store and buy a bunch of large self tapping screws. The ones with a 3/8" head on them. I used a 1" long stainless version. These are way bigger than what's in there now.

3) Put the coach on it's levelers and jack as shown in my picture below. Try to line up the original bolt / screw holes. (My coach only had 3 small screws installed on each side

)

4) Drill 1" deep pilot holes into the vertical metal with a drill bit that is smaller than the screws. I slid an 8mm socket over the bit so that I could only drill 1" deep. On the passenger side, you are probably only going to be able to add holes at the bottom portion. (notice that the factory didn't put any above there)

5) Put a 3/8" socket on your drill or ratchet with extension and install the new screws. You can see in my picture below that I added many more than the factory did. Bigger too. (see inside the red circles in pic)

6) Gotta love the way the factory slaps these things together. This is better than any warranty fix and way more convenient too. I will be inspecting this area on a regular basis now.