hitower Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Hi everybody, I have a 18ft 87 sunraider. I noticed a crack in the frame about 18 inched behind the back wheels. The bumper is welded straight to the frame( I sat on the bumper and it went down a few inches, thats how I noticed).I am getting it welded but was wordering if anyone had any advice about extending the life of the frame. The frame looks pretty rusted and the original coating is almost nonexistent. Treatments? coatings? Also how much weight does the frame hold in the back? After the crack the frame dropped about 1 or 2 inches, but the floor did not move. Thanks Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 You are the first I have heard of that happening to on a sunrader 18 ft. A good welder will drill holes at the end of the cracks, grind a groove into the crack and then weld it. The groove is to join the ends together and not just create a bridge on the surface. Then add some bracing such as a gusset over and beyond the cracked area. Anyway you could post some pictures of it so we all know exactly where the failure is? I would add a mirror of the bracing on the other side in the same place! If its a rust problem you have to realize that these are boxed frames and treating the inside of the box is almost impossible. One of those snake cams pushed inside might give you a better idea of what is going on. When you say its "pretty rusted" what do you mean, flakes falling off, holes, missing areas or just some surface stuff. Treatments can only go so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitower Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitower Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitower Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Looks like a break not a crack. Does it have some kind of hitch or did it? It looks like maybe someone was trying to pull something that was to heavy. My thinking is you will have to jack up the rear to relieve pressure to get it even again. I would also get some 2x2 square heavy wall steel tubing and run it from back by the bumper and as far in as you can go and have it welded in place on inside of frame. I'd do both sides at the same time. While your at it run 2x2 cross member at or near the rear and another as far in as you can go. I did this on mine for frame reinforcement in order to install a hitch. My frame was still in good shape so I just bolted mine together. In your case it will have to be welded. Doing this should fix it and prevent further problems. You will probably have to remove rear bumper, and be careful welding near your waste tanks. Good luck and keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitower Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Thanks for the advice. I am getting it welded on Monday, reinforced with some steel. No tow package, but the bumper is welded straight to the frame. It might have happened when I was driving in a campgroung. The campsite had a hill that was steep down to steep up,real tight at the bottom, when I started going up the bumper bottomed out(it sticks out !2 or 14 inches behind the camper. Anyway thanks , I wll let you know how it turns out. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 It broke form the top down, thats from a load. It looks like the extension to the frame is the square tubing and it was pushed inside the orginal frame and then welded. It looks like the Toyota fram is where the crack is. Jack up the rear bumper untill the crack goes away and then weld it, grind it smooth and weld a long fish plate over the extension and frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodybagger Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 That is a fatigue failure. Make sure you stiffen the other side as well, particularly if it has a similar punchout. That's a definite stress concentrator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supurcar Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 My first thought was a bad weld, or a weld gone bad. Regardless you have some work to do, it looks very unsafe to me. if there is a way to insert a smaller box tube inside the box frame and weld it might shore it up, but would be hard to do. I think a professional welder needs to repair this because of the safety issues. Sand it down so you can see what you have to work with, or how much good metal is left to weld. You may end up cutting a whole rear end out of a junked frame and weld it on. I am now going to inspect mine just in case......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supurcar Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 And after looking more closely it looks like there is something missing on the inner side of the box frame as well, maybe a support bracket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180READY Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 When I first read the rust comment... I thought new frame but your frame looks great other than the crack. A northeasterner would say its freshly painted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comfun1 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 The break is pretty well rusted like it's been that way for quite a while. Perhaps someone tried to jack it up using a bumper jack one time. It doesn't look like you'll be able to weld the top because of lack of access. If there is room on the inside a professional welder can probably add gussets to each side and make it as strong as original. I think after the repair some periodic monitoring would be wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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