Broken weld on a six month old 33RSE Limited

[Highgturn]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bruce and Jenna:
Warning on a dangerous problem. Anybody else have this?

The text below comes from an email I sent to PI this evening.

Just now I made a disturbing discovery. I used one of the sliding LP trays for the first time, to install a refilled LP bottle. The tracks broke off the wall at the welds. Both welds. I shudder to think of the consequences should this tray have broken free while traveling. An LP bottle scraping along the road, held on by the LP line. Until it broke free and I ran over it with the trailer and maybe the trailer tires.

I'm surprised that the LP bottle does not have a backup strap or some other fastener for just such a disasterous event. Even the TV is fastened with screws and a strap.

I will have the tray welded at the shop that will fix the windows. And tell him to check the welds on other tray.

Gotta tell you I feel nervous now about this coach. The plumbing leaks and the window leaks were bad enough. But failing welds on a new coach, particularly on the LP system, is a safety hazard for me and a big liability issue for PI.

Very sincerely,

Bruce J. Brod </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Bruce,

The first thing I would ask you is did the weld simply pull away from the substrate or is the metal of the tray's support bracket torn? There is no way a properly penetrated weld in this particular application would simply fail. I as well as others, I'm sure, would be very interested in seeing some close up pictures of the failed weld. What you describe sounds as if the bracket was tacked in place and someone forgot to go back and complete the weld. How does the appearance of the weld compare to the one on the other side? In my opinion, if the weld is properly penetrated there is no need for a safety device under the propane tank. Although, I agree that a catastrophic failure of both sides of the bracket's weld is a very serious safety concern, I would be very surprised if this is not an isolated incident.

[Bruce and Jenna]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Highgturn:
Bruce,

The first thing I would ask you is did the weld simply pull away from the substrate or is the metal of the tray's support bracket torn? There is no way a properly penetrated weld in this particular application would simply fail. I as well as others, I'm sure, would be very interested in seeing some close up pictures of the failed weld. What you describe sounds as if the bracket was tacked in place and someone forgot to go back and complete the weld. How does the appearance of the weld compare to the one on the other side? In my opinion, if the weld is properly penetrated there is no need for a safety device under the propane tank. Although, I agree that a catastrophic failure of both sides of the bracket's weld is a very serious safety concern, I would be very surprised if this is not an isolated incident. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bob is correct, the bracket was tacked in place and someone forgot to go back and complete the weld. There was no torn metal on the body or the bracket. The bracket on the other side was welded properly. I took pictures, but have not uploaded them ˜cause I have a relatively slow satellite connection.

I took the coach to a welding shop and they fixed it right good. I have not heard from PI on this yet.

So I see that my post generated a lot of comments in this discussion and the Appreciation and Positive Thinking thread. Personally Jenna and I remain quite happy with our trailer, in which we have been living FT since July. Even tho I have gone thru, and am not finished with, a long list of problems. Which I have not posted on this forum. It's OK.

But this weld failure is different. It's not a design problem. Rather it was a failure at quality control, i.e. the QC person did not notice a critical and easily observed mistake in construction. I would expect PI to review their QC procedures to avoid such a costly omission in the future. Such is the process of CQI (Continual Quality Improvement). Which PI must already follow or they couldn't build such high quality coaches today.

That is all. Thanks for the comments.