Slide out bent floor
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Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
Forum Discription: Perplexed/need help with a problem - ask here
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13842
Printed Date: 28 Apr 2024 at 1:52am
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Topic: Slide out bent floor
Posted By: Hubcappizza
Subject: Slide out bent floor
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2020 at 3:51pm
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I am on a 2015 forest river our pod 179 it has very large slide out
which includes the fridge and microwave and couch. it’s regular operation for four years has been fine - at full extension it has evidently bent the edge of the floor down approximately 2 inches over the frame rail. Has anybody else had this issue have you taken it to a dealer Has Forest River made any recall or attempt address it as amanufacturing defect? Some have said that they fixed the issue by making the outside edge of the camper with an aluminum frame I have attempted to talk to Forest River directly but have received no information back anybody’s thoughts are welcome Thanks. Peter ------------- 2015 FR R-Pod M-179 - 2016 Taco DC |
Replies:
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2020 at 6:04pm
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Please expand. Is this "bent" only when the slide-out is extended?
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Hubcappizza
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2020 at 7:16am
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No this is Permanent issue.
It might need reinforcement with welding and iron idk ------------- 2015 FR R-Pod M-179 - 2016 Taco DC |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2020 at 7:59am
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We have a 2016 RP179 which was built in 2015. I just looked at ours and there is a little bit of sag at the slide-out, but nothing like 2" I will be looking into adding support there myself. Thanks for the heads-up. If anyone reading this has added outrigger support to the floor, please let us know how this was done. By the way, we are registered for the FROG rally in August if it is not cancelled. While there, I will try to ask someone from the factory about this and get information on what can be done to fix this issue. Since it is well beyond warranty, I don't expect this to be fixed there, but if I can get information, it will be helpful. It would be nice if the factory would strengthen that part of the floor to take the load of the slide-out better or add an outboard support or two in that area of the frame to better support the floor in that area. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2020 at 8:28am
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My 195 has outriggers on it, due to the wider width. Each "gusset" is about a foot long. It's tack welded to the frame and extends to within an inch of the edge. The edge that is up against the floor has a 90 degree bend to form a flange. From the end it looks like a letter T, with onlt half of the T crossed. Then right out at the edge of the camper, they bolt the floor to the flange section. Each "gusset" is about 34 inches apart om mine, so I would think (based on their normal meeting of minimal standards) spacing them out about 24 inches would be a good solid base. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2020 at 12:06pm
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Would you mind posting a close-up picture of one of the outriggers? That would be helpful.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2020 at 1:23pm
Hopefully this works. Now remember, I have a 195 so my outriggers are a couple inches longer than yours might be.  
------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2020 at 2:16pm
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Thank you. That is very helpful.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Hubcappizza
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 8:02am
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Yes thank you. Too bad the 179 does not have that ------------- 2015 FR R-Pod M-179 - 2016 Taco DC |
Posted By: Hubcappizza
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 8:50am
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This is a pic of the floor just to the right of the left hand ottoman. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0TpKDR0v8PyEqdBOvsopU77xw ------------- 2015 FR R-Pod M-179 - 2016 Taco DC |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 10:05am
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Yes, that is much worse than what I am seeing with ours. I have a welder and some angle iron. I am thinking of making an outrigger or two and bolting it to the frame at the front and back of the slide-out. I will see if I can use a jack to raise the side back up first though. Another alternative is to visit a metal shop near me and see if I can get outriggers made and welded to the frame. That would likely be better, but bolting them to the frame would probably work also.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 11:10am
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I would be careful about bolting to the frame. The wall thickness of the frame is only .100 thousandths, or 4/5 of an 1/8. Drilling large holes (3/8 or 1/2) to fit suitable hardware thru would weaken the tubing. It would also put horizontal pressure on the tubing, that is intended to carry weight vertically. A couple good tack welds would be more structurally sound in my opinion. Like I said earlier, probably should space them out about every 24 - 27 inches. Good luck. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 11:41am
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+1 to mjlrpod. I wouldn't try to through bolt to the 0.1 inch frame tube. If you want to attach to the frame without welding to it, then I'd suggest following the procedure that FR did fixing the floor in the video. Weld plates to the supports and TEK screw them to the frame. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 12:16pm
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Okay. I took another look at the video. I was thinking of using 1-1/2" angle iron for this, but it looks like that would not provide enough contact surface for the screws. I will need to see if I can find some plates to use for this purpose. It may have to wait until I can make a trip to a metal shop. As for tack welds, these would not be long enough to allow for 24-27" spacing. The height would only be the same as that of the frame. That is why I was thinking of bolting it. My welding skills are not that good that I would trust trying to weld that close to the floor. However, I will take the advice and use TEK screws instead of bolting. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2020 at 1:13pm
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Okay. I took another look at the video. I was thinking of using 1-1/2" angle iron for this, but it looks like that would not provide enough contact surface for the screws. I will need to see if I can find some plates to use for this purpose. It may have to wait until I can make a trip to a metal shop. As for tack welds, these would not be long enough to allow for 24-27" spacing. The height would only be the same as that of the frame. That is why I was thinking of bolting it. My welding skills are not that good that I would trust trying to weld that close to the floor. However, I will take the advice and use TEK screws instead of bolting the plates if I do this. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Junkinpod
Date Posted: 10 Aug 2020 at 8:29pm
Hi! Owner of 2014 182g here... and I have struggled with a similar issue. when I removed the flooring I found that 2 welds, 2 floor joist had let go. See my original post "Broken Welds on Floor Joists" and subsequent posts, which shows the supports that I had welded onto the frame to support the wall/floor frame. The outer wall of my trailer had dropped 3" on the slide out to the rear of the trailer. The local welder was able to re-weld one of the floor joists, but not the one under the slide (without removing the slide etc). Sounds like you may have a similar issue. Crappy welds!!!! Good luck with your repair.------------- Belinda |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 10 Aug 2020 at 11:08pm
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Thanks. I got my repair completed and posted details in my mods (link in signature). I don't think the welds broke yet as the floor did not seem to be too far off. The outrigger supports I made are to make sure that the floor does not sag too much which would stress the welds even more. We need to make a trip though so I can see if they are working as expected.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Andy
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2020 at 9:59am
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I was concerned about this with our 179 and contacted FR who recommended the outriggers. They made it sound like it might be some type of post production warranty as they said if I took it to the dealer and it was a problem then they would send the outriggers to the dealer who would install them. I hope your dealer is way better than ours! Fortunately things have stabilized and I've not had to do that. ------------- 2017 179 2016 Silverado Z71 |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2020 at 1:16pm
That's interesting. Are you saying that FR acknowledged there was a problem with their construction and that outriggers were their recommended fix and something they have made available to dealers? ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2020 at 1:21pm
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I'm definitely looking forward to FR's response to this.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2020 at 1:45pm
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+1 ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Andy
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2020 at 3:02pm
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That was about 6 months ago via a phone conversation with the R-Pod service department. I don't have anything in writing but that was the conversation. They were aware of the problem and and the outriggers were the solution. Now whether they stick to that admission now may be another thing. Good luck with them. ------------- 2017 179 2016 Silverado Z71 |
Posted By: Columbia Ted
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2020 at 2:50pm
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I have a severe sagging/bent floor on my 2018 R-Pod 179. The dealer
originally thought it might have been caused by water damage but this
doesn't seem right. But I think the weight of the slide out might be the
problem How did Forest River address this? What will happen if no action is taken this season? Would appreciated any comments and remedies. Thanks.
------------- Columbia Ted Adventurer Extraordinaire |
Posted By: Olddawgsrule
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2020 at 4:08pm
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I've stayed out of this one due to Senior Members dis-agreeing with me on the issue of light frames and bad welds. Out-riggers is what they did for me. There are several issues outstanding and most serious can be solved by adding out-riggers to the outside wall. The second is the mod to strengthen the frame at the point of axle mount. With both those done, I don't believe the mod to the axle is required. That's for all you to work out. Lippert did the out-rigger add for me. They knew the issue and didn't even cough at doing it.. Safe travels my friends! ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJduGeZNFgtptH67leItRFQ - Byways no Highways 2017 Tacoma http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=72408 - Truck Camper Build 2004 F150 My Overlander |
Posted By: Columbia Ted
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2020 at 5:13pm
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Thanks for the info. Will implement at some point.How long does it take to make the modifications? ------------- Columbia Ted Adventurer Extraordinaire |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2020 at 8:08pm
I for one agree that the floors are marginal, and said as much. The whole structural design of the rpods is borderline IMHO. I don't think that is due to improper welds, I think that FR's laminated floor sandwich is consciously designed and constructed that way to be as low cost in materials and labor and as light as possible. If it doesn't get wet or or overstressed or heavily used then its Ok, if not then its a problem. We see those problems disproportionately on this forum because most owners are happily enjoying their trailers and not having issues, as least so far. What is the basis for saying that that the axle doesn't need reinforcement if the frame has been reinforced? There have been multiple instances reported of bent axles without frame damage. A stronger heavier frame in no way reduces the load on the axle, in fact it increases it. Which one fails first is going to depend on where the loads are. If they're near the axle then the frame isn't going to be overstressed and the axle will bend first, if they're out at the rear of the trailer than the frame will likely bend first. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Lippert added another frame tube under your existing damaged one, not outriggers to support the floor panel itself? Why would Lippert be responsible for fixing FR's floor problems? ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Olddawgsrule
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2020 at 6:25am
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They did both.. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJduGeZNFgtptH67leItRFQ - Byways no Highways 2017 Tacoma http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=72408 - Truck Camper Build 2004 F150 My Overlander |
Posted By: Diane and Charlie
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2022 at 9:30am
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Hmnnn here in Ontario, dealers say they never heard of the problem. We think we can attach the outriggers but how do you get the weight off to get it back without the sag. Our efforts lifted the wheel? Someone suggested raising and let it settle? Then repair! .?? Anyone with experience? Our sag is 1.5” in middle and we havent used it since late 2019 because of covid…. So only two seasons of travel? Love the damn thing and … lots of great mods but lots of workmanship issues discovered too…. DIANE AND CHARLIE….sad in Ontario! ------------- Say yes to adventure! |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 07 Jun 2022 at 4:00pm
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Can you be more specific re what problem you're having? What is sagging or bent and where? There are several different issues that can happen to these rigs.
Also, better if you start a new topic so the focus is on your particular issue not something else. This is a pretty old thread. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |