Community Forums

Daytonaman · 03-18-2015, 09:35 AM

Owners of coaches with RR10 (10 bag) Roadmaster Chassis (not a trailing arm issue) have had some failures at the weld joints where they meet the frame. These are 3x3x3/8" and the fix is to re-weld them. The problem does not put the coach out of service and may not be immediately noticeable as the upper control arm mounts keep the axle from moving around. Has anyone else dealt with this repair? I had an estimate of $12-14k to properly repair this job at a major Monaco repair shop. Local welders wanted $150/hr @ min 40 hr of grinding, fabrication and welding; plus no-one wanted to do the job due to safety, liability, and damage to the electronics/and or fire.

Dennis_K · 03-18-2015, 11:06 AM

Any chance you could post some pictures?

Daytonaman · 03-18-2015, 08:54 PM

New to this board; so i'll try to get some up.

Dr4Film · 03-19-2015, 05:43 PM

A member on the Monacoers forum has a Windsor which had some cracks in the frame around the rear axle area.

There have also been members that have discovered cracks in the frame around the same area with other models of coaches.

You would have to join the Monacoers Forum to read about them.

I also remember reading about an Executive or Signature that had cracks in the frame BUT that was because he had a motocycle carrier on the rear end PLUS the weight of the Harley or Honda, I don't remember which one, but with all of the weight cantilevered out over the rear end anything can happen.

Here are the photos that he had posted of the Windsor Frame Cracks.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

zmotorsports · 03-24-2015, 01:54 PM

I have seen two of these fail in previous years. In approx. 2008/2009 model year, Roadmaster added some vertical gussets to these supports on the S-Series chassis to help disperse the load from these vertical 3" square tubes.

I borrowed a coach from my local Monaco dealer back in 2008 and made some cardboard templates for my 2003 Dynasty. I cut the steel out of .375" plate and welded them in similar to the way the newer ones rolled off the assembly line.

I have some pictures of the gussets in my build thread link in my signature plus I did a youtube video showing how I corrected my rear thrust angle and in that video I briefly show and discuss these gussets.

Mike.

Stretch · 04-20-2015, 01:48 PM

I know this not the cricket way to do things but if one was to remove the wheels and tires and could see the cracks as easily as it appears, why couldn't someone grind v knotches across the crack line and grind the area clean and just stick weld the cracks. Then for added strength weld some plate steel across the stressed area? Just curious

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zmotorsports · 04-20-2015, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stretch

I know this not the cricket way to do things but if one was to remove the wheels and tires and could see the cracks as easily as it appears, why couldn't someone grind v knotches across the crack line and grind the area clean and just stick weld the cracks. Then for added strength weld some plate steel across the stressed area? Just curious

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I don't know that anyone is saying that couldn't be done. I know there are people that scream and shout liability, liability and no you shouldn't weld that or only a Monaco facility should repair that. Maybe I look at things in a different perspective.

I tend to look at things like this as if it was welded to begin with, why couldn't it be welded again? Why couldn't it be improved upon? This is pretty much what my entire career has been based upon.

I will admit, that this is a suspension component and all safety measures need to be taken into perspective mainly the qualifications of the person behind the gun but I see no reason it can't be fixed.

Mike.

zmotorsports · 04-20-2015, 02:11 PM

I personally would prefer to use the GMAW process vs. the SMAW process though. Grind down to expose as much of the failed weld as possible as it appears to be in the HAZ of the original weld, at least in the pictures shown above. Also seeing as how these vertical supports are what locate the trailing arms they need to be secured in a manner to keep the thrust angle aligned and also compensate for some movement during the welding process.

Easy repair? No.

Repairable by someone who knows what they are doing? Absolutely.

Able to be gussetted to prevent similar situation from occuring in the future? Absolutely.

Mike.

DMTTRANSPORT · 04-20-2015, 02:19 PM

Liability?.....What about the Liability for not fixing it, $150.00 an hour tells me they didn't want to do it, take it to a Truck/Trailer Body Shop that works on Truck/Trailer Frames. The electronic components wont be damaged if the Batteries are undone.

Daytonaman · 04-21-2015, 10:34 AM

Well all, thanks for the discussion; in the mean time I decided to do the job myself and in the process, learned how service centers handled some of failures
.
One fix was to just re-weld. This was already done and failed again.
A 3x12x1/2" gusset was added across the weld. It separated at the weld.
An approved repair that is being done which involves sliding stronger 2.5 " square inside.
I didn't like this as it is only possible to get 8" of insertion into good frame structure.
I ended up fabricating an exact inserted 2.5" post that went all the way to the top of the main 8" frame rail. I used a woodlike pattern to get an exact fit with no slop. I then had a shop build a duplicate. To strengthen the 3x3 post, I rewelded a another 3x24x1/2" gusset this time around. This job was my own design and took about 100 hrs. Not a DIY.
There have been ideas as to what causes this failure; I feel that the former owner caused this by towing a large heavy truck w/o aux brakes. It seems that sudden stops are what puts enormous stress on that small area.
Alignment was not a problem as the post insert self aligns the original post to the original position.

zmotorsports · 04-21-2015, 10:47 AM

Glad to see you were able to fix the issue.

Some pictures would be great so maybe it would help someone else down the road as this is not that uncommon of an issue.

Mike.

Tomjhall · 06-24-2015, 07:18 AM

I noticed the same type of repair on my 99 Windsor. The pics above look nearly identical to what had cracked on mine. When we inspected my coach I saw this and at first was concerned. I was on a creeper for a long time and could tell it was repaired well and would/could never break again. The repair was re-welded and then "fish plate" was added. They used a very heavy steel plate. I always check it to ensure it's still solid while I am lubing the drive line etc. I think the original design was poor and the welding was also for such a heavy duty coach. Glad it was fixed, I just wanted you to know you were not alone!

jacwjames · 06-24-2015, 01:00 PM

After reading posts like this I've made it a point to pay more attention to these areas. I do my own lube and every time I'm crawling around under the coach I do a complete inspection. After reading these posts I pay particular attention to the axles. No problems to date and with inspections if one occurs hopefully it can be corrected without to much difficulty or cost.

superbird · 10-28-2015, 10:36 AM

Hi
I had both vertical uprights fail on my coach last year. At that time my coach has approx 100K miles. I was able to find Botts Welding in Woodstock Illinois to do the repair. They removed and replaced both up rights on my coach. It was a BIG job that required removal of entire rear axle. I put a post on RV.NET. Search for "suspension failure". I do not know how to post pics here yet. The only cause for the failure was accouple of years ago I got my coach stuck in the mud with my 28 " enclosed trailer on it. The rear axle was up to the rims in mud. I was pulled out with a front end loader. I believe the load on the rear axle was what cause the failure. No more parking on the grass at the dragstrip.

Lee