Pin Box Movement

[rollingrock]

Gents,

I went through my paperwork on this unit, I found the pink paper that says "must be filled out 30 days of the purchase date to activate warranty"

Clearly states I have a 2 year Full and 5 year structural

It's in bold too.

[rollingrock]

BTW does anyone at Cruiser actually look at this site?

[Hunter11]

Not since the first of the year. At least that is the last time the Forum admin or Tom Montague were on here.

[rollingrock]

Thanks for letting me jump in here and hijack ....

I haven't heard from the Dealer yet but I will mention to them that another member had a factory frame rep do the work locally.

I really feel positive about how my dealer is going to go to bat for me. I provided that document that shows I have a 2+5 warranty.

Should help, and expecting a call on Monday.

[happycampers]

good luck. We need some more positive warranty stories here.

[rollingrock]

Here is a short video of the pin box flex and movement.

This is taken from the right side of the pin box just behind the mounting bolts looking forward to the front of the pin box...as you can see there is a solid 1-2 inch of movement when lifted and lowered.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJF68fLkrT8

[Hunter11]

Sure looks like a lot of movement. The more important question is what has Crossroads/Lippertsaid as far as getting your unit fixed? You should have had some response by now.

[rollingrock]

I got word today there is a con call taking place or has already between Vogt, Crossroads, and Lipert on a solution and how is paying for it. They do not want to hot shot it back to the factory...worried it won't make in one peice.

Lipert provided drawings and solutions for welds and extra bracing. But Dealer has said they are not qualified to do the repair....I think Cruiser is going to have Lipert do the fix at the dealer.

Will know for sure on Thursday.

[Hunter11]

At least you are making some headway. I personally don't see how they could not cover a failure like that. Now they have to figure out is this the same issue they had on some of the Cruisers a couple of years back or is this a new issue with the frame/pinbox.

[albertr]

We have a 2011 32MK that I am concerned about. Bought it new late last summer and used it very little. There is no measureable movement when pin box is lowered onto hitch but I see a lot of up and down movement when driving. Will evaluate it when we get back on the road soon.

[Dayle1]

Originally Posted by rollingrock

I got word today there is a con call taking place or has already between Vogt, Crossroads, and Lipert on a solution and how is paying for it. They do not want to hot shot it back to the factory...worried it won't make in one peice.

Lipert provided drawings and solutions for welds and extra bracing. But Dealer has said they are not qualified to do the repair....I think Cruiser is going to have Lipert do the fix at the dealer.

Will know for sure on Thursday.

Jason,
The drawing is probably identical to the picture I sent to you. Certainly Vogt can prep the unit by removing the lower skin and front cap. Apparently Vogt has not had to deal with this problem on any other units. Looking at your video, I think the problem is the same issue with one exception. I think the forward bolts that secure the side walls to the frame are not in place because the video shows no movement in the front cap while the frame flexes. On mine, the front cap would move about half the amount that the frame flexed. The closet floor has to move just as much as the frame since it attaches directly on top of the frame. It sounds like you will get this fixed at no cost.

[rollingrock]

Good news. After some eval and con calls with Lippert and Crossroads the have determined that the problem isn't catastrophic frame failure. It was described to me as the flooring, and side walls have some loose at that area and it can be fixed and reenforced at the dealer.

They will inspect after removing the front cap and inpsecting further. Vogt RV will be doing the repair...actually my neighbor (6 houses down) is the Senior Service Manager at Vogt and he knows how OCD i am and he personally will be doing the repair and no cost to me.

Per the request of Crossroads, they asked me to get photos of of the front cap at the top of the camper to see if there was any cracks, stress fractures etc...so I provide those to the dealer today.

Things are looking up. To the new poster, I advise you to do the same very quickly with your local dealer.

[Dayle1]

Jason,

Good news that the repairs will be done at no cost to you, that is as it should be. However, the description used by Lippert and Crossroads sounds like a smoke screen. If the floor is loose, it is only loose because the frame is flexing, reattaching the floor back onto a flexing frame is not a long term fix. And the sidewalls may be 'loose' because the bolts securing them to the frame are missing or wallowed out. 'Fixing' them will reduce the amount of pin box movement as the wall structure will then begin carrying more of the weight, if the fix lasts.

FYI, the sidewalls are bolted to the main lower frame rails at each of the outriggers that are spaced about every 4 ft. In the gooseneck area, there are two short lengths of angle steel that the wall sits on with bolts thru the box steel frame. On the other repaired Cruisers, the frame was stiffened and extended forward and then a third bolt was added to better tie the frame and wall together. This bolt is under the front cap and visible in some of my pictures. If the frame is not reinforced, then too much of the weight may be carried by the sidewalls and NOT the frame, resulting in sidewall failure.

Finally, while the closet floor is nailed to the steel frame, the front wall of the closet is not attached to the frame in any way, it is only attached to the sidewalls and roof. Same thing with the front cap. Therefore, the frame can flex quite a bit without putting stress on the front cap or interior closet wall.

[Hunter11]

I would listen to Larry, he speaks from experience.

[rollingrock]

I know I just of gave a poor description...let me see if I can get Pete from Vogt to explain it to me again.

[Hunter11]

Jason, any update on your issue?

[Dayle1]

Originally Posted by Hunter11

Jason, any update on your issue?

X2

[kglenn]

Hi Guys. We Have a 2013 Rushmore Washington model with a pin box problem. Our pin box is traveling 1.5 to 1.75 inhes before starting to lift the structure. This movement has torn apart our closest and closet walls and our moldings off the fifth wheel. We have been broken down as of Dec 5 for 25 days on our vacation . Lippert had requested measurements and are sending someone from the factory to RV Renovator in Mesa AZ to deal with it. The fifth wheel felt weird or funny towing done the road. I have had many fifth wheels in my lifetime but i have never felt something so cheese in my life. 68 problems with our new Rushmore in the first four weeks. This fifth wheel has been tow only on paved roads with less then 3000 miles on it.
That's all i have for now.

[sking]

looks like the pictures are gone

[kglenn]

i am not sure who has remove them......maybe Crossroads