Frame Cracked

[Pinto]

This is on my 2015 Fuzion 325. Has anyone delt with this before? Does the frame warranty cover this?

[JRTJH]

Bad news: No, there is no frame warranty on a 9 year old Lippert frame. That is, unless you might have some "aftermarket extended warranty" (and most of them vary greatly in what they cover, so maybe/maybe not on that possibility)...

Now, looking at your photos, the spring hanger is bent inward significantly, and that is what cracked your frame. Also, looking at your CRE3000 equalizer and the shackels on the springs, the frame rail is bent "upward" where the spring/shackle has hit it repeatedly on both sides of the equalizer AND the equalizer shoulder looks like someone "beat it with a sledge hammer" which probably means that it is also contacting the frame rail.

Since the damage shown is only on one side of the axle and the axle is a rigid beam, the "forces that bent the spring hanger and cracked the frame" are very likely to have been exerted on the other end of the axles and may have caused similar damage to the other frame rail, just not yet visible to the naked eye.....

Have you weighed the trailer recently? That kind of damage usually occurs from overloading and/or travel on rough roads (like down "gravel roads filled with tooth chattering ruts).

it looks to me that trailer has not lead a "smooth highway life" but has been put through the wringer more than a few times.

I wouldn't pull it any further than the closest full service welding shop.....

[ChuckS]

There have been a few complaints with the 2015 Fuzion getting frame cracks in the area you have shown... this link describes one customer complaint to NHTSA with the same year as yours..

https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2015/K...ION#complaints

Also there is a repair for that crack .. even though you have the frame brace already welded in place ( standard OEM ) the frame can still be repaired by the same process...

I would contact Lippert Support for further guidance

This is basically the repair you are looking at...
https://manuals.heartlandowners.org/...e%20Cracks.pdf

[TXiceman]

Which came first? Did the frame fail and cause the spring hanger to shift due to weakened support or did you hit something that bent the hanger first?

In any case, Lippert builds sorry frames for these RVs. Is the problem that the manufacturer does not specify a strong frame or is Lippert just builds junk.

As a retired engineer and having built many frames for equipment, I feel Lippert has some responsibility to question what is obviously a weak frame for the application.

Ken