outer wall movement/separation

Gary M · July 02, 2018, 02:49:38 PM

2018 Camplite 21BHS (15Dec2017 Production date w/fiberglass walls), forward left wall has separated/moved towards the outside more than 1 inch, and is now exposing a large gash in the floor tile and part of the seal. Exterior pictures clearly show that it's moved more than an inch outwards so far. Additionally, the lower left side of the forward wall(behind the diamond plate) has a large gap, and the wall is squishy/bouncy when pushed on. Both of these separations meet up at the same front left corner of the trailer.

KZ/Livinlite has authorized a field repair, and I need to take it to a service center to get an estimate still. The production team stated that they suspect the heads of self tapping screws have sheared off (the ones that hold the front frame to the sidewall).

I was just wondering if anyone else has experience this or anything similar, and if they were able to repair it themselves?.

Merlin · July 02, 2018, 03:14:44 PM

Hmmmm.....no experience from me on that specific issue, but I've certainly had a couple heads sheer off the self-tapping SS screws they use. Over-torquing screws has been an issue with others too, including a battery box that fell off due to screw head sheer.

I've no idea what would be involved in a DIY repair on yours. I wonder if the hard part would be access to the screw locations and getting the wall(s) back in place with the remains of the screws in place. Sheesh. $:-\$

Gary M · July 02, 2018, 03:19:33 PM

Quote from: Merlin on July 02, 2018, 03:14:44 PM
Hmmmm.....no experience from me on that specific issue, but I've certainly had a couple heads sheer off the self-tapping SS screws they use. Over-torquing screws has been an issue with others too, including a battery box that fell off due to screw head sheer.

I've no idea what would be involved in a DIY repair on yours. I wonder if the hard part would be access to the screw locations and getting the wall(s) back in place with the remains of the screws in place. Sheesh. $:-\$

Yea, this is kinda scary.. Especially if the access is behind the fiberglass/gelcoat. If I try to push the wall in from the outside, it doesn't budge at all

If it's just a matter of removing the lower trim, and sucking it back in with bolts, that wouldn't be too bad, but I think I'll feel better about taking this one in, just in case it opens a bigger can of worms.

Merlin · July 02, 2018, 04:49:26 PM

Bummer. Do you have a good place to take it that can get it in right away? I can't figure out how that front corner moved without other places being off too. Keep us updated (while reducing the cuss words to a minimum).

Gary M · July 02, 2018, 04:52:10 PM

Quote from: Merlin on July 02, 2018, 04:49:26 PM
Bummer. Do you have a good place to take it that can get it in right away? I can't figure out how that front corner moved without other places being off too. Keep us updated (while reducing the cuss words to a minimum).

LOL I will, and I'm searching for a place now. Although it's very tempting to just remove the lower trim portion for a better look at what's going on exactly. I'm just horrible at making nice bead lines with my caulking gun

Here's a video of the diamond plate on the left side. The right side of the diamond plate is still intact and rock solid..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_IRr1kjnLI

Gary M · July 11, 2018, 09:50:07 PM

Took it to a very reputable RV repair center today. It was the only place near me that was even willing to look at it, and it was still 2 hours away. He wasn't able to give an estimate because there's no way to tell what all will be involved until he takes it apart. Best he could do was to estimate 3 hours to take it apart and analyze if it's fixable. If not, then he would close it back up. Earliest they can do this will be 6Aug. and it could be there up to a week. He was also pretty confident that the slide rubbing on the floor is related to the wall movement.

midwestman23 · July 31, 2018, 10:01:30 AM

I faced this same issue under the rock guard with separation. I also had a cracked weld and my dealer said I could take it to a local welder I know to address both issues. The dealer assured me it wasnt worth the 3 hour drive for me to have them just put a few screws in the front plate. I had a noticeable gap that would move back and forth when I pressed it on one side. They did just add screws to the rock guard and caulked the bottom seam. It seems to have been pretty solid. We have logged about 1,000 miles on it and I have noticed one screw that has loosened so hopefully it wont start to separate again. I will say when he added screws initially it was rock solid and I felt good about it but will need to keep an eye on things. Keep me posted on how you handle this. I am very excited about our purchase but also a bit concerned about the 2018 21bhs and livin lite going out of business. I hope its all fun camping and issue free!

ADR · July 31, 2018, 03:15:37 PM

Noticed the other day my rockguard was loose also- noticed some scuffing on the center sq Al tubing that caught my eye.
There was one screw about 2" in on the left side and one about 8" in on the right side. Sigh.
Added a couple more and now it is firmly secured.

Gary M · July 31, 2018, 04:10:15 PM

Yea I wish it were the just the rock gaurd itself that was loose on mine. Looking up from underneath, I can see the aluminum tubing moving behind it when I press on it, so it's either a cracked weld or broken self tappers. Need to remove the entire thing to see behind it. Hoping the RV repair place can do it all for me when they attempt the side wall fix.

midwestman23 · July 31, 2018, 11:36:22 PM

Yes mine was not the rock guard but the tubing behind it that was loose. It looked as if the screws were pulling away from the camper. I could push it back and forth and one side had an inch plus gap in it. The dealer assured me it was just the self tapping screws...who knows I will keep an eye on it and hopefully LL will cover things for the 2 year warranty if they do go out of business. We just added some additional screws into the rock guard and it has been more secure and the gap is closed up

midwestman23 · August 01, 2018, 06:34:54 PM

Gary
After reading your post it made me go look more closely at our camper and we have the exact same issues as you in regards to the rock guard (as i said) as well as now I noticed the same issue in the floor on the slide side with a gap. Ahhhh!!! This is very frustrating as we purchased this camper in hopes that we would not have major issues. With it being brand new I bet we share the frustration. Did you work through your dealer on this? I hope that this will all be covered and fixed under warranty. I am not sure how to proceed but will give them a call. Please keep me posted on anything you find out. We are off to camp now but may have to take this 3 hours away back to the dealer soon in order to get this addressed.
Thanks!

Gary M · August 01, 2018, 07:13:48 PM

My dealers 6 hours away so I just called LL/KZ and they authorized a "field repair". Watch your slide also, as the wall spreads more and more the slide may start rubbing on the floor like mine.

midwestman23 · August 02, 2018, 12:08:23 AM

Seems to look the same on the outside. New to this so if pic didn't attach will post again. Inside the gap seems to be behind a trim piece. Guess I should call the dealer tomorrow?

midwestman23 · August 02, 2018, 12:09:34 AM

Underside pic

Gary M · August 10, 2018, 12:36:18 AM

Just picked my 21BHS up today, and I'm happy to say they were able to fix it all. The side wall had 15 holes pre-drilled to attach it but they never installed the screws into the holes at the factory to secure it to the floor. The front wall behind the rock guard was never screwed in either. They had to remove the entire rock guard to secure the wall, but its all back together, and re-sealed now. Solid as a rock. Pretty unreal that the entire sections of those walls were just free floating up until this point.

Moving the side wall back into its original place, covered up the exposed gash in the vinyl floor, and also fixed the slide from rubbing on the floor during operation. They're emailing me pictures of everything tomorrow, and I'll post them here when I get them.