Re:Outriggers

cruzinfools · 01-03-2010, 11:53 AM

Well I have an 08 Cruiser 29 RE 5th wheel and I had to replace the 4 outriggers on the door side of the trailer. Not to bad of a job but when I dropped the underbelly what a mess. Wires was rubbing and laying next to the fabric just about to be pinched. So I redone all that I could get to wished could have done the whole underside up to the front. Also changed the water intake on the drinking water tank. No strainer in it either. So putting one in up by the water pump. Lippert sent me the new outriggers but they we paper thin also. I made some that we thicker. See how we get along. They was suppost to had that problem fixed. So might want to check !

jaallen1 · 01-03-2010, 12:12 PM

cruzinfools, I have looked at dropping the underbelly, what kind of problems if any did you have say, removing the bolts, etc.and was help required?

Hunter11 · 01-03-2010, 08:49 PM

If I remember correctly the outriggers Lippert use to update the ones on our old Cruiser were about 1/4" thick. Looks like they have found another way to cheap out.

rcflyer · 01-04-2010, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaallen1

cruzinfools, I have looked at dropping the underbelly, what kind of problems if any did you have say, removing the bolts, etc.and was help required?

I removed the underbelly on my Cruiser 26RK 5th wheel. Did not have any problems doing so. I was able to put back by my self. I used carpet tape to attach at the front. Then used grolla tape for temp attachmnet on sides and back. As cruzinfools said I found a mess with wiring etc. The main AC power was rubbing on a rough cut hole in a crossmember. Had almost worn through the insulation. Could have been a fire hazard. Cruzinfools could you explain more about your water inlet modification. I assume you are talking about the connection between the water tank and the pump. If so what did you use at the water tank? I also assume you came out of the bottom of the tank.

cruzinfools · 01-07-2010, 11:39 AM

The under belly was not hard at all it went right back up where it was before but I used pliers to hold the fabric tight as I put it up. When I had it down I looked at the inlet of the water pump and it is where the 1/4 tank sensor and the water drain is. I seen where Greg Paine had done this. It is easy and cost me $8.00 to do. Mine did not have a strainer in the tank so I am going to put one in line up by my water pump so it is easy to change. And yes I had some wires rubber just about through the insulation and I put plastic automotive tubing around then and wire tied them to the frame. The old outriggers I cut out was about a 16-18 gauge. I put in 3/16. Go to gregpaine.com for the water tank mod.

jaallen1 · 01-07-2010, 12:43 PM

Guys, I for several reasons I guess, I do not know whatareoutriggers, will some one tell me?

Stan · 01-07-2010, 01:04 PM

Jaallen1.....They are the triangular shaped supports that extend outward from the frame and support the sidewalls of the rig. I think there are about 4 -5 on each side depending on the length of the unit.

Canucklehead · 01-07-2010, 01:33 PM

Do the outriggers "fail" on a regular basis? I have not heard of this being a problem before.

Hunter11 · 01-07-2010, 08:37 PM

No they don't. They had an issue with some outriggers on mainly the 29RK models but that was a few years ago. Lippert upgradedthe outriggers on our old Cruiser 29RKeven though we did not have an issue. As far asI know they took care of all the defective ones. Just check them every once and a while and you should be fine.

jaallen1 · 01-08-2010, 05:28 AM

Stan, thanks I was not sure but when we received the 5r several of the outriggers were not connected and had to be connected.

cruzinfools · 01-08-2010, 10:24 AM

Hunter 11 what gauge was the old outriggers before? I have my old ones out in the shop and will check them tommorrow. Here in Iowa it is cold as in 19 below zero for tonight. I will also check the gauge that I put on. And for the tape underneath on the fabric mine has some tape on it and they are tear holes for some reason. Don't know who done it if was factory or dealership. It is still the best trailer that I have owned it has had a few problems but I am to picky everyone says.

Hunter11 · 01-08-2010, 10:34 AM

Mike, I am not sure what gauge the old ones were but I will guess about an 1/8". Larry Day (Dayle1) may be able to tell you for sure what gauge the old ones were. Lippert fixed his trailer and since we lived just a few miles from them at the time the guy went ahead and upgraded ours while he was down here.

19 below zero, good lord man! It is suppose to be in the low to mid teens here tonight and we have not seenthose tempshere in years.....

cruzinfools · 01-08-2010, 10:46 AM

Hunter 11 Now that I get to thinking about this deal, I think Lippert asked me for a frame number, Not to sure that because it was an 08 that the frame was older. Will check on this also. Wasn't a bad job to do just having to do it. It is done now so will see what they do when it gets warmer and some of the snow leaves. We usually camp all winter if not much snow and is about 20-30's. Not this year as we have had about 30" of snow already we have got drifts about 15' tall now. Stay warm.

Dayle1 · 01-09-2010, 01:14 AM

Thickness or gauge is not the real problem with the outriggers other than the difficulty of welding thin steel. The verticle and horizontal edges of the outrigger have folded edges for welding to the I-beam and bolting to the floor. If the longer angled edge also had a 1 inch stiffner, then it would be fine. The problem is that w/o this stiffner, the outrigger flexes since it carries the weight of the body. In some cases this flexing will cause marginal welds to fail. But on several of mine, there was a clear diagonal crease in the outrigger and the metal was beginning to crack along the crease, which was at least 1 inch away from the nearest weld. The welds were OK. If you look at the outriggers under the slideout area, they have the extra stiffner that the other outriggers lack ( they are also shorter due to the floor cutout needed for the slide-out). Lippert could fix this problem using the same gauge steel but adding the stiffner which would add almost no weight and very little cost. That is my opinion.

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