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Old 09-17-2014, 07:09 AM   #21
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I just had a conversation with my RV guy. The frame was bent where connection to trailer frame. New A-frame will be 3/6 tube not c-channel. They feel my 800 bars and reece will be fine with new frame. He felt the old frame was too light for my car setup. ( guess I need a bigger Airstream)

This process is just a real kick to me, totally unexpected since I followed all directions.
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Old 09-17-2014, 07:12 AM   #22
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Do you recall recently going through a deep swell....like a steep driveway entrance of river ford, etc? that might have really flexed the 800# bars excessively?
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Old 09-17-2014, 07:27 AM   #23
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I would use lighter bars and back off the preload a bit.

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Old 09-17-2014, 07:39 AM   #24
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No, i go same places every year, same roots, same campgrounds, stay in right lane drive 60mph, i travel alone most of time and just play by rules given me. I am going to try and post via my pc today.
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Old 09-17-2014, 09:10 AM   #25
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If the ball socket is bent toward the ground, (which is what my mind pictures right now), then it was done by the WD.

Either the system is binding up, OR it is set up WAY too stiff.

I see a lot of people on this forum trying to do way too much with WD.

It is very possible to lighten the rear axle way too much with the intent of putting a hundred or two hundred pounds on the front axle of a TV that it does not need.

The 800 pound bars are way too much to begin with, and bringing them up to tight makes everything worse.

I have 1000 pound bars on my 31 foot trailer, it is easy for me to take way too much weight off of my rear axle, 800 pound bars on that little trailer are too much.

It takes an incredible amount of leverage to put 100 pounds on the front axle of a TV, this trailer frame was not designed to take that much stress, and the stress is totally not needed.
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Old 09-17-2014, 02:48 PM   #26
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Yes you are correct and this is the very reason I don't use the electric tongue jack to lift the nose of the trailer and rear of the tow vehicle 3 ft in the air to make it easy to over tighten the load bars. If you tighten the bars by hand you get a feel for how much load you are distributing and what it does to the rear of the tow vehicle. Yes if you are an idiot or 80 yrs old you might hurt yourself. I use a piece of black iron pipe about 2 ft long. I don't know what you are supposed to use because it did not come with the trailer.

Perry


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From what I gather on this forum there are a lot of people tightening up their WD WAY TOO MUCH.
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Old 09-17-2014, 03:30 PM   #27
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On my Reese hitch, I flip up the bars with a 14" long piece of conduit. I'm on the sixth link on the chain. It's a bang when they go over center, but not too bad.

Tongue jacks can exert a lot of force. All that force is on the shoe of the coupler as it tries to hold onto the ball. Could a guy bend an A-frame member doing this? It would make it easier to change a rear tire on the tow vehicle! : )

I think when Sbb posts a picture of the damage we will better understand. I'm surprised to learn Airstream built a 19' trailer with a 4" C channel for the A-frame members. I can't imagine! I may have miss read a post.

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Old 09-17-2014, 03:48 PM   #28
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The Caravelle's where made with 3 inch channel.
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Old 09-17-2014, 04:10 PM   #29
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How thick is the channel? I don't know why they did not use Square Tubing.

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Old 09-17-2014, 04:55 PM   #30
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3/16 channel boxed in from the front hold down back to bumper. It is added to and reinforced in the back for the grey tank. The out riggers are different they do not have the cut outs they are solid all the way across.
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Old 09-17-2014, 05:46 PM   #31
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My photos wont post from ipad. Help anyone?
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Old 09-17-2014, 05:46 PM   #32
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The Caravelle is a rare Airstream. They were built light so they could be towed with the 4 cylinder cars of the day as I read the 1980 Airstream brochure. But I would be scared to death of a 3" channel A frame. That's small utility trailer stuff.

Geez, my 66 was built with a 5" box channel A-frame. The rest of the frame is 5" C channel. The trailer weighs about 4100 lbs.

What did Airstream build the 07 19 footers with?

David
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Old 09-17-2014, 07:15 PM   #33
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Stronger than you would think. Run about 600lb tounge weigh loaded. Is yours made with formed channel or structural channel?
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Old 09-18-2014, 06:01 AM   #34
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The A frame on the 66 Trade Wind is 5' x 1.5" x 3/16 thick fabricated boxed channel. Tongue weight is about 440 lbs. I don't believe there is any situation I could create with my Reese WD hitch that would bend one of these frame members, other than a head on crash!

I had my trailer jacked up all last winter supported by jack stands under the left and right rear axle plates, and the tongue jack. Three points of support leaving the A frame and frame rails to support the weight of the trailer. I didn't detect any problem. I stood on the A frame while working on the front of the body. Seemed real solid.

I can't imagine a weight distribution bar bending an A frame member on a 07 Airstream. Just trying to understand what caused Sbb's damage.

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Old 09-18-2014, 06:08 AM   #35
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Has the trailer been dropped off the jack on a hard surface? Jim
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Old 09-29-2014, 05:09 PM   #36
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All fixed, new airframe, one part ( frame) , many hours of labor. I am able to use same hitch, although slightly different hitch setup. Tomorrow car will be unloaded u til next May, it will be interesting to see if there is any difference.
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Old 09-30-2014, 06:10 PM   #37
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I Bent My Frame

Did they replace the entire frame ?

If so, did they give you a bill to pay?
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Old 09-30-2014, 08:27 PM   #38
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Why of course I get a bill, $3500.00. I now have 3/16 5" steel tube, they fiound a slight leak up front which was cleaned and sealed. A bonus for me. The dinette and more had to come out to do the work, because the frame was bolted from under my front floor.
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Old 09-30-2014, 08:42 PM   #39
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I Bent My Frame

I didn't know for sure if it was a warrantee thing or not, and I was wondering if they replaced the entire frame, which would have seemed like overkill to me.

I see now that the trailer is an 06, but I hadn't looked at your profile till now.

I didn't want to come right out and say that if they charged you 10K to replace the entire frame...

And I didn't want to outright ask you how much the repair cost,,,, so I apologize for not expressing my curiosity forthright.

It sounds like you did pretty well by getting out for $3,500 though.
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Old 10-03-2014, 12:55 PM   #40
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Wow that is an expensive fix - still much cheaper than a new trailer... Nevertheless, considering the amount of time and materials that must have gone into the fix, I think that you got a pretty darn good deal.
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