Back leveling jack has cracked frame - Page 2

heikejohn1 · 05-06-2022, 04:03 AM

Guess not

I give up, my photos did not show up

**JRTJH** · 05-06-2022, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heikejohn1

Guess not

I give up, my photos did not show up

Are you using a phone, a tablet or a computer to upload photos? The process is slightly different with each, so let's start with the basic question of, "What are you using?"

heikejohn1 · 05-07-2022, 02:04 AM

I'm using my desktop computer.
Photos were saved from my phone to the computer.

heikejohn1 · 05-07-2022, 02:32 AM

Maybe this time?

**sourdough** · 05-07-2022, 07:07 AM

Is that some sort of mounting plate that the jack is attached to? All mine are bolted to the frame. It does appear to be at an angle but bolted solidly to that plate, would that be correct?

heikejohn1 · 05-08-2022, 02:51 AM

Yes, the mounting plate is solid.
The crack is in the part between the frame & mounting plate. Right where its welded to the frame. (picture 1) There is a tack weld that has broken, right where there is the rusty discoloration.

**JRTJH** · 05-08-2022, 04:17 AM

I see the location you describe, don't think it's much more than "LCI amateur welding attempts covered by some uncleaned slag prior to the "world class powder coat finish".....

In other words, "cheap welding on cheap steel, done with inferior technique and covered with cheap paint so it would look good until off the dealer's lot".....

What would concern me more is the hack job (no other way to describe it) used by Lippert to cut the bracket so it fit the trailer rail. It looks like somebody was using a plasma cutter while coughing (or sharing a doobie with the crew)...

BTW, what is that square tube above the bracket with the plywood sticking out of it? Looks about 3/4x2" or so ?????

If I were you, I'd have a "professional welder" (not the dealer's new hire) take a look at it and give you an opinon. It wouldn't be hard to pull the coroplast in that area and tack that one "rusty spot", but I'd be concerned with penetration, or lack of it, in the rest of the bracket as well.

Good part is, even if it separates, you've only got 6 bolts and one electrical connector to undo, so it won't stop your trip if the weld does start to separate on a trip. Just pull the jack and go back to "old fashioned blocks to level" for the rest of that trip.

Now, if it was an "integrated hydraulic system and affected your slides as well as that jack, you'd have reason to be concerned with the next trip being a possible disaster. With your system, not so much.....

I've seen some shoddy, crappy metal work, but that bracket and how it was "cut to fit" is one of the classics, at least for me.....

ADDED: As for the "angle the jack sits at not being perpendicular to the ground", several years ago Lippert started installing front landing gear and rear stabilizers at an angle to try to reduce the "rocking when moving" issue. They reasoned that if the jacks "push against each other's forces" it would add to the stability. So seeing your jack "at an angle" doesn't mean it's bent or damaged, rather that it probably is part of the opposing jack "system" and the other jack is also "angled close to the same attitude" They work as a pair to help reduce movement of the trailer as well as individually to "lift to level"..... After seeing the "hack job cutting" on the bracket, I wouldn't be surprised if the angles are not "precisely measured with close tolerances on both".... More like, "hey, is it break time yet?" work than "jig, weld and recheck" work.....

heikejohn1 · 05-09-2022, 02:07 AM

All other jacks are straight, so was this one.

We just noticed the angle after we picked it up from a RV repair place when we had a water heater replaced and an ac unit added.

"Square tube above the bracket with plywood sticking out?" I don't see it, which photo are you referring to? More photos?

**JRTJH** · 05-09-2022, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heikejohn1

All other jacks are straight, so was this one.

We just noticed the angle after we picked it up from a RV repair place when we had a water heater replaced and an ac unit added.

"Square tube above the bracket with plywood sticking out?" I don't see it, which photo are you referring to? More photos?

I circled the part I called, "the square tube with plywood"....

Javi · 05-09-2022, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

I circled the part I called, "the square tube with plywood"....

Looks like a sleeve for a crank.. probably for the slide that's over the jack...

I'm missing the plywood reference..

Here is the bracket

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...All%20Products

**JRTJH** · 05-09-2022, 07:51 AM

Attachment 39686I see what you mean, that it may be the "crosslink timing bar" for the two slide rams. Looking at other photos posted, it does look that way. The part that "tricked my eyes" with the "plywood reference" is this part that I circled again.

It looks like the part I've circled is "laminated with about 5 layers" Unless Keystone started using wood on the timing bar, that ought to be a square steel tube. And it may be steel and I'm "seeing things that aren't there"... Anyway, the texture of that part of the structure "looks like wood, not metal"... I could be completely off on what I'm seeing, but....

As for the replacement jack bracket, the one you linked to is the bolt on bracket that's a part of the "aftermarket leveling system" designed for dealer installation. The "factory installed brackets" would have to be cut off his frame and the frame "worked with a grinder to remove all the old bracket metal/weld" or the new bracket wouldn't "fit flush"...

If it is a "bent bracket" if the welds held, the actual I beam may be twisted or bent. From all I've heard, that's not a repairable item, so, it might be an "easier fix" to put shims behind the 6 jack bolts to bring the jack back to 90 degrees if that's the main concern. I don't see any actual "weld damage to indicate a crack" rather just the rust which may be "discoloration from inside the welded bracket"...

Now, all that said, if there's a way to prove the dealership did the damage, I'd be pushing for a "complete fix at their expense", even if it meant a replacement trailer because of the bent chassis rail (if that slim possibility even happened), but if it's going to get into a "he said/she said" kind of argument, nobody may win in the end...

Tough decisions to be made.

ADDED: Looking at the OP's photos "kittywampus" may have been my downfall. Here's his photo "upright" and it does look like the "plywood part" is the crosslink bar. Doesn't explain the laminations or the scratches on the bottom of the bar, but it is the crosslink timing bar between the rams.....

Javi · 05-09-2022, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Attachment 39686I see what you mean, that it may be the "crosslink timing bar" for the two slide rams. Looking at other photos posted, it does look that way. The part that "tricked my eyes" with the "plywood reference" is this part that I circled again.

It looks like the part I've circled is "laminated with about 5 layers" Unless Keystone started using wood on the timing bar, that ought to be a square steel tube. And it may be steel and I'm "seeing things that aren't there"... Anyway, unless I'm seeing things that aren't there.... The texture of that part of the structure "looks like wood, not metal"... I could be completely off on what I'm seeing, but....

As for the replacement jack bracket, the one you linked to is the bolt on bracket that's a part of the "aftermarket leveling system" designed for dealer installation. The "factory installed brackets" would have to be cut off his frame and the frame "worked with a grinder to remove all the old bracket metal/weld" or the new bracket wouldn't "fit flush"...

If it is a "bent bracket" if the welds held, the actual I beam may be twisted or bent. From all I've heard, that's not a repairable item, so, it might be an "easier fix" to put shims behind the 6 jack bolts to bring the jack back to 90 degrees if that's the main concern. I don't see any actual "weld damage to indicate a crack" rather just the rust which may be "discoloration from inside the welded bracket"...

Now, all that said, if there's a way to prove the dealership did the damage, I'd be pushing for a "complete fix at their expense", even if it meant a replacement trailer because of the bent chassis rail (if that slim possibility even happened), but if it's going to get into a "he said/she said" kind of argument, nobody may win in the end...

Tough decisions to be made.

ADDED: Looking at the OP's photos "kittywampus" may have been my downfall. Here's his photo "upright" and it does look like the "plywood part" is the crosslink bar. Doesn't explain the laminations or the scratches on the bottom of the bar, but it is the crosslink timing bar between the rams.....

I sometimes forget I'm not always talking to folks who have my life experiences and leave out details that I think are a given... Like that you'd have to remove the old bracket and grind the welds flat..

Seriously, I'd just pull it up to the back door and tell a couple of the welders working for me to FIX it.. and they'd cut it off, my designer would draw and program it for the laser and we'd cut and bend another... then they weld the new one on..

But that's another story..

I am still looking at those photos trying to find the broken welds..

**JRTJH** · 05-09-2022, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javi

I ...

I am still looking at those photos trying to find the broken welds..

I don't see any broken welds. I see some of the worst metal work (cutting) that I've seen since welding school (I took a course in gas welding and a course in arc welding years ago at a local high school "adult enrichment night course)... Even back then, the "accountant with 2 left hands" cut straighter lines than I see on that "LCI Professional fitment"....

That said, like you, no cracked welds, and if it's "bent and not the jack that's bent" my concern would be a twisted 8" or 10" frame I-beam, not the bracket...

heikejohn1 · 05-10-2022, 11:02 AM

Some close ups.
Where the rust spots are, that's where the weld is disconnected

Javi · 05-10-2022, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heikejohn1

Some close ups.
Where the rust spots are, that's where the weld is disconnected

Are you in Cedar Hill, Texas ?

I'd take the trailer to a good weld shop and let them fabricate a brace / bracket to add more surface to that bracket... the little rusty stop of weld isn't the real problem... the fact that someone butcherer that bracket with a cutting torch making it fit the rod for the slide fit is the problem.. they cut off 75% of the actual weldment..

Nothing that can't be fixed a couple or three hundred bucks... or a $100 and a 12 pack if you know a good mobile welder..

Or grind off the old one and bolt / weld a new one on place..

**flybouy** · 05-10-2022, 11:37 AM

I think the same guy that did that "expert" cutting did the "expert" welding, Shakes the Clown? Sorry for the sarcasm but jeeze that's bad. A high school kid in metalshop could do better than that. I'm with Javi, take it to a welding shop or get a mobile welder. And take a good look at the rest of them.

wiredgeorge · 05-10-2022, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javi

Are you in Cedar Hill, Texas ?

I'd take the trailer to a good weld shop and let them fabricate a brace / bracket to add more surface to that bracket... the little rusty stop of weld isn't the real problem... the fact that someone butcherer that bracket with a cutting torch making it fit the rod for the slide fit is the problem.. they cut off 75% of the actual weldment..

Nothing that can't be fixed a couple or three hundred bucks... or a $100 and a 12 pack if you know a good mobile welder..

Or grind off the old one and bolt / weld a new one on place..

Guess there is a Cedar Hill in Tennessee. Tennessee is located in NOT TEXAS somewhere north of us I think.

Javi · 05-10-2022, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Guess there is a Cedar Hill in Tennessee. Tennessee is located in NOT TEXAS somewhere north of us I think.

Well, two sides of my family left Overton, County Tennessee in 1835-1840 to fight for Texas Independence, so I can't rightly hold him to account much for being from NOT TEXAS..

Heck there's even a town named after some of them just south of him on 49 and a couple more just across the Kentucky line and a little east of Lake Cumberland..

wiredgeorge · 05-10-2022, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javi

Well, two sides of my family left Overton, County Tennessee in 1835-1840 to fight for Texas Independence, so I can't rightly hold him to account much for being from NOT TEXAS..

Heck there's even a town named after some of them just south of him on 49 and a couple more just across the Kentucky line and a little east of Lake Cumberland..

Just funnin... I went to HS a couple years in E. TN. in a town called Sweetwater (they stole that name from Texas too I guess)...

Do you think there is any town anywhere that doesn't have one with the same name as in Texas?

**flybouy** · 05-10-2022, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Just funnin... I went to HS a couple years in E. TN. in a town called Sweetwater (they stole that name from Texas too I guess)...

Do you think there is any town anywhere that doesn't have one with the same name as in Texas?

Uh, Texas was settled by Europeans well after the east coast so if 2 towns have the same name wouldn't it stand to logic that the one on the east was founded first?

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