2019 Minnie Drop 190BH Bent Chassis

[tsperry]

I have noticed recently that my slide out has been dragging on the floor and that my left rear compartment door would not latch. Upon further investigation I noticed that my chassis is very bent on the left side and slightly bent on the right side. Has anyone experienced this problem as well? I am not sure of the cause or what the repair should be. Any suggestions would be helpful.

http://www.winnieowners.com/forums/m...icture3541.jpg

http://www.winnieowners.com/forums/m...icture3542.jpg

[Eagle5]

Hi tsperry,
I cannot find any Threads wherein a bent chassis has been reported. Perhaps you could check-in with your local dealership on this one? Please let us know what they say.
Thanks, Eagle5

[reeman]

Slight bending of the overall frame was a good part of the reason why we had a pro trailer shop modify our Winnie Drop 1780 to distribute the point load of the frame to the axle differently than a factory torsion axle setup. And is the exact reason why we went away from a single point load torsion axle setup.

The work was well worth the costs as the trailer now tows beautifully and 4200 lbs of springs on a trailer that averages 2800 point load produces a ride which is much better than a stock rubber suspension setup. We still have the 3500 lb brake and spindle setup so we did not change the tires away from 14 inch load range D. We could have changed over to six bolt 12 inch drums but that would have meant new rims and tires. The cross axle we installed is a 5000 lb rated one so it should never bend the way 3500 lb ones do on many single axle trailers. Our neighbour has a 19 foot Autumn Ridge BH which came with a 3500 axle and they had it bend going down back roads, so the problem with bent axles and frames on single axle TTs is certainly not unique to Winnebago products to say the least!

With your trailer specs of 3800 gross on a dry weight of 3160 loading the trailer tow profile might be a little dicey if any weight is placed in the back storage compartments or inside the trailer past the axle.

We did notice a slight frame bend starting after using the trailer off road and is the reason why we changed out the axle setup. We bought the 2016 1780 used and it had already started to have a slight bend in the axle and the frame so we knew that we would need to replace it, just it happened a little sooner than we hoped after a long trip over the back roads.

I will never go back to a TT with a single torsion axle unless the axle is rated at least 40% over the gross and even then the I will want to make sure the single point is heavily reinforced to spread the point load over a longer part of the trailer frame than the setup created by lippert for the winnie drop trailers!

We might put a set of mini air shocks on the setup in future if we start taking the trailer off road again but so far what we have found is that the trailer behaves much nicer with springs that are not too heavy for the application but robust enough for the loading characteristics of this particular trailer.

I encourage you to talk to a good trailer shop who has dealt with these issues in the past. Tom Cat here in Victoria BC has over the years replaced a few trailer axles with exactly these issues and were stellar at helping us to sort out our frame and axle issues. Trailer dealers are not a good place to have these issues sorted, professional axle shops are by far and away the best place to go IMO.

Here is a pic of the finished new single axle setup they engineered and installed on our Winnie Drop 1780. Changing out an axle does not change the hitch ratings or the trailer weight ratings so going with a slightly higher axle rating than factory only increases the loading safety factors.

I sincerely do hope you can easily sort out the issue with the frame starting to bend before it becomes irreversible.

[Eagle5]

Thank you Reeman - Excellent report on how best to proceed. It does make sense to go to a professional trailer repair shop.
Eagle5

[DEWEY]

Been there, done all that. Just traded in our 2017 Winnie Drop 170S, and after 4 axles, and a sagging and cracked frame. Single axle "light weight" trailers suffer a slew of maladies. Too light a frame, too light an axle and too light on quality and especially engineering.

That said, all axles were replaced under warrant, and Norco BAL sent frame repair "mending plates" to correct the frame. You may want to call them. Essentially the mending plates double up on the frame from about 8" before and 24" beyond the axle mounts. You'll have to grind off the old axle mounts. Installation instruction are included, or just take it to your favorite shop. It's a bolt on repair so no welding skill is required and that's a good thing as these frames are high strength low alloy (HSLA) frames which require a special welding process in order to prevent weld cracks.

Happy to say we traded in a "debugged" Winnie Drop, and if the new owners can dodge those potholes and train tracks, and not go off-roading in the city of Montreal, it should last them for awhile. We have a lot of good memories with that old gal.

[reeman]

Originally Posted by DEWEY

It's a bolt on repair so no welding skill is required and that's a good thing as these frames are high strength low alloy (HSLA) frames which require a special welding process in order to prevent weld cracks.

That is precisely why we went to a trailer shop who have first class tradespersons that are trained in modern frame welding and fabrication. HSLA has been the standard on trailer and automotive frames for a very long time so if someone does not understand welding temp procedures for high strength steels they should have no business in touching trailer frames. Even bolt hole patterns are important considerations on HSLA designs not just how to control the weld temperature so as to not soften the steel or how best to rebraze and temper a weld and the area around the weld so that it maintains strength.

I would not recommend just hiring just anyone who has a portable welder unless they are trailer specialists. Or drilling holes in frames without carefully reinforcing the metal around the holes. Over torquing bolts can cause cracks around thin HSLA just as much as not welding the steel and tempering it correctly can.

[tsperry]

Thank you all for responding.
Thank you also Reeman - I like the idea of the leaf spring with the additional spread-out support.
I do have a great local custom trailer fabricator and axel shop near me in Anaheim and I will consult him about this and also make sure he aware of the HSLA frame on this unit.

[tsperry]

This is what Winnwbago's response was
I wish I could just decline when I run into a problem!!

"Good evening Mr. Sperry,
Thank you for allowing us to review the concern. As discussed , based on the information provided and review with BAL, Winnebago will respectfully decline participation. Our recommendation would be to have the unit inspected by a service center. We would happy to provide your service center with the part numbers for the parts they would need to order. Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Bokamoso M.
Customer Care Specialist, Winnebago Towables"