Cracked Frame

Has anyone had a problem with a cracked frame?

I took deliver of a new 2005 TM 2720 in March 2005. Today, while gettigng ready for the second season, I saw a line of rust. I thought it was just a streak from rusty water, but it is a crack down the entire outside of the box tube and also along the bottom and just barely upe the inside face. Slightly more than one half of the stee has failed. The failure appears to have started at the edge of the weld that attaches the swing away hitch to the main frame.

I sure am glad I noticed it before we took it out.

How often do most owners examine the frame for cracks? What do you do about them?

I'll be on the phone Tuesday with Dinuba RV to see about some warantee work.

[Bill]

Wow! The photo says it all. Start with Dinuba, but since TM fabs their own frames at the plant in TN, my guess is that you will be referred back to the factory PRONTO.

Never heard of this problem. Please let us know how the solution progresses.

Bill

I'm real nervous about how this is going to play out. I am not willing to tow the TM in it's current state. I will not assume that level of liability. I can only guess what happens when one side of the frame completely fails while towing.

Either someone has to come to my house to fix it or someone that knows what they are doing needs to come to my house, load it onto a hauler and properly secure it for transport. I don't think it can be hauled with any weight on the swing away tongue. And I don't think the front jacks are designed to carry the weight of the TM bouncing on a hauler. There would need to be some cribbing or some other way to support the front of the frame without using the swing away tongue and without using the front jacks.

[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

Has anyone had a problem with a cracked frame?

I took deliver of a new 2005 TM 2720 in March 2005. Today, while gettigng ready for the second season, I saw a line of rust. I thought it was just a streak from rusty water, but it is a crack down the entire outside of the box tube and also along the bottom and just barely upe the inside face. Slightly more than one half of the stee has failed. The failure appears to have started at the edge of the weld that attaches the swing away hitch to the main frame.

I sure am glad I noticed it before we took it out.

How often do most owners examine the frame for cracks? What do you do about them?

I'll be on the phone Tuesday with Dinuba RV to see about some warantee work.

To the best of my knowledge, this is actually the second reported instance of a cracked tongue...here's the thread of the other instance I suspect it's probably not coincidental that both your and Russ-Bett's cracks are in the vicinity of the hinge point for the swing tongue. Out of curiousity, do you ever swing the tongue with the weight of the trailer on it?

I check my tongue for anything unusual before each trip...and any rust would be very unusual given my dry climate. Like most folks with the swing away tongue, so far so good...no noticeable problems.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by RockyMtnRay

Out of curiousity, do you ever swing the tongue with the weight of the trailer on it?

Ray makes a really good point here - one that I hadn't even considered. I haven't talked to the factory about it, but after some reflection it seems obvious that no weight should be put on the tongue (as, for example, with the tongue jack) when the tongue is unlatched and swung open. Not only does ALL of the tongue weight (rather than half) come down on one side of the frame. But it twists the frame member sideways, in a direction that it is not designed to resist.

I have to admit I have done this myself, without even thinking. Pull the pin on the swing tongue and swing it around to the side. Then put the bogey wheel on the jackstem, crank the jack down to take the weight off the stabilizers, and move the trailer with the entire tongue weight on this out-of-position support. BAD BAD BOY! I won't do it again.

New rule, folks! If you have a swing tongue, NO WEIGHT ON IT unless the tongue is swung closed and pinned in travelling position! I just reviewed the Owners Manual, and it doesn't seem to say anything about this. But I bet it will ...

Having said all that, I have no idea whether this was the cause of PopBeaver's failure.

Bill

I agree with Bill, now that the subject comes up. I might have moved the TM with the tongue swung out of the way. It sure sounds like a real NO, NO. I'm glad this has been brought up. Even if it was not the cause of his frame cracking. We all should take it as a learning tool.

Good luck resolving the problem.

Jack

I have always had the front of the TM supported by the two front jacks before taking the weight off the wheel and popping the pin to swing the toungue around.

It never occurred to me to keep weight on it. Maybe some of the engineering classes I took so long ago actually sunk in.

My son is about to graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was VERY curious.

Even though Dinuba RV is closed on Mondays, I received an email from Stan indicating that he would forward the picture to the factory. By 12:44 today I had a request from the factory, via Stan, for additional photos. So far that is better than I had hoped, seeing as I knew that Dinuba RV was closed.

[jimwilly]

Reading this thread about the cracked frame got me to wondering. I just traded for a previously owned 2003 TM3023. I ditched my Coleman, which we have really enjoyed. My question - Our Coleman had a wheel under the front jack that allowed me to move the camper slightly, especially when parked in the garage on concrete. My TM does not have a wheel under the jack. It never occurred to me until now. Since I am a new TM owner, having not used the TM yet, the wheel, or lack thereof, just occurred to me.

Should I have a wheel under the jack or is that not something TM uses?

Thanks for any comments. I jsut love this forum!

[DanSTL]

Originally Posted by Bill

Ray makes a really good point here - one that I hadn't even considered. I haven't talked to the factory about it, but after some reflection it seems obvious that no weight should be put on the tongue (as, for example, with the tongue jack) when the tongue is unlatched and swung open. Not only does ALL of the tongue weight (rather than half) come down on one side of the frame. But it twists the frame member sideways, in a direction that it is not designed to resist.

I have to admit I have done this myself, without even thinking. Pull the pin on the swing tongue and swing it around to the side. Then put the bogey wheel on the jackstem, crank the jack down to take the weight off the stabilizers, and move the trailer with the entire tongue weight on this out-of-position support. BAD BAD BOY! I won't do it again.

New rule, folks! If you have a swing tongue, NO WEIGHT ON IT unless the tongue is swung closed and pinned in travelling position! I just reviewed the Owners Manual, and it doesn't seem to say anything about this. But I bet it will ...

Having said all that, I have no idea whether this was the cause of PopBeaver's failure.

Bill

Reading through this , are people using the scissor jacks to hold the weight? I thought they weren’t made for holding weight?

Also once you swing hitch over without weight I’m reading it’s still not a good idea to put the weight back down on electric hitch . So how do I utilize the swing hitch safely, think answer is hydraulic jacks under the frame the whole time (or some other way to prop up), do I have it right?

Maybe swing-away hitches aren't all they're "cracked" up to be.