...My guess is the original design plans for Lance's aluminum frame probably called for correct weld procedure and more complete welding of the joints, but then management got in there and did cost cutting and said, hey we can save xx amount of time by only welding one side of the joint so let's do that instead...
Or maybe the management just looked at how long the overall construction was taking and assuming the welders (who may have been inexperienced) were slacking, started cracking the whip, and the welders just responded by welding what they could in the time allotted. Law of unintended consequences .
Steve.
Yes, another likely scenario. Although, that would mean there was no quality or process control inspection of the frame building, which would have caught that situation. Or who knows, maybe they caught it and chose to let it go on....
Just curious, how much longer would it take to do the welds correctly? It doesn't seem ( to me ) that Lance would save much per unit by doing the welds the way the OP shows.
2011 Ram 3500 Regular Cab
2007 Outfitter Apex 8
Courage is endurance for one moment more…
Unknown Marine Second Lieutenant in Vietnam
noxinnhoj wrote: Wow,I am in shock,and Lance is supposed to be a high end tc?I have always wished my 05 915 lance lite had an aluminum frame but now I think I might be better off having staples holding my sticks,lol.You did some nice work,plan on doing the same to ours soon.
Why would you think Lance is supposed to be high end? Only the biggest...
Wow, finally someone gets it. I know lance makes a lot of TCs, but hate my friends that have them and say Lance is the best. It's decent, but far from the best.
Love the camping life. 06 Host Rainier SS, 07 Classic GMC Sierra 3500 DRW.
I would have thought Lance would have way more insulation in them? I know our Okanagan stays warm even in the basement. Looks like you did a better job then the factory did. If it were me, those Pics would be going to Lance to look at there fine job.
Pete
2004 Duramax/allison Trans C/C 4x4
2012 Landmark Key Largo
2008 Lund 1825 Pro Guide Tiller, With a Evinrude 90 HP E-Tec
Hi: One thing I noticed is those self tapping screws sure don't look like lubilock to me. I think one of there brochures made note that all screws where lubilock to prevent electrolysis. Wonder where else they are not.
Mike
in 2007 lance was still making 4000 to 5000 TC's per year with 500 employees but they were fadeing fast... they dropped to about 100 employees and were working 4 day weeks. (32 hours)
I'm speculating...
We would expect to see a small percentage of most products to be defective...maybe even a couple of hundred could have minor defects... there is no excuse for a product to be released in the shape that Daves truck camper was sold.
From top to bottom... they cut their highly compensated employees... including Jim Allen, Customer Service Manager and several in his crew. I imagine that a lot of inspectors were let go as nonessential.
Anyone that had real skills (welders, electricians, etc) left for 40 hour/week skilled jobs if they could. (I know that I wouldn't like to live under the ax on only 80% of my previous pay, most couldn't)
I've seen everything from pop-ups to MH's that have problems... if they were boats the bottomsof the lakes, rivers and oceans would be covered.
Dave you posted a lot of good pictures... thank you.
rwj146 wrote: Just curious, how much longer would it take to do the welds correctly? It doesn't seem ( to me ) that Lance would save much per unit by doing the welds the way the OP shows.
I'm sure they did save quite a bit of time by only welding the one easiest to access side of each 4 sided joint, versus getting in there and welding all 4 sides, some of which will be much harder to access and also be out of position to the operator.
It's not just a matter of simply xxx number of inches of weld, versus yyy number of inches of weld. It does take time to do things correctly and completely. It would be 3 times the amount of welding per camper, to weld all 4 sides, versus just one. The other 3 more difficult sides to access will take a bit longer than the first, easiest to access side.
Then again, how much are they really saving, if they have to repair a bunch of broken campers under warranty, which could have been built correctly to begin with and not need to be repaired.... Always faster/cheaper/easier to do it right the first time, than to take it all back apart and do it twice...
sleepy wrote: I've seen everything from pop-ups to MH's that have problems... if they were boats the bottoms of the lakes, rivers and oceans would be covered.
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