T.T.Bob
Placerville, CA.
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Joined: 11/19/2007
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Okay, this is going to be a pain in the rump. This is the second day after work trying to pull off the fiberglass underside and front cap. I called the dealer and spoke to a supposed "tech" he said just take all the screws, staples and what nots off and it will come right off. What he failed to mention was the fiberglass cover is glued to 3/8ths inch exterior plywood and the screws holding the plywood are under the fiberglass covering glued to the wood.
Well I'll periodically give an update. I'll take pictures as I go and if I figure out how to post I'll put them up.
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T.T.Bob
Placerville, CA.
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Okay, so now I have the underside around the pin box uncovered. I'm itching from head to toe from fiberglass batting. To make things easier I cut a line across the underside laminate about 7 inches from where the body goes down. Dropped the actual pin and frame extension and removed about 200 screws.
 The pin box is fine, aargh!!! Okay threw a tantrum and recovered. Thinking I may not be able to any fine cracks I rig up a couple of boards and post then set the weight of the trailer on the post. NO CRACKS anyware. However. as I lower the trailer on the post I see the frane moving about 1/2 inch up the sidwall on the driver side of the trailer and only 1/8 on the other side. And yes it moved the nightstands away and upward fron the wall.
So, question is, is the a frame rail failure or have the bolts/screws holding the side walls onat the front of the trailer failed and the frame flex is normal? Knowing the pin box has not failed I'm going to bring it to a dealer now. And just so removing all that B.S. under the front is easier I'm going to do a little home re-engineering so inspecting the pin bos and frame will be easier in the future.
By the way I've done a little welding and the guy who was going to weld and reinforce the pin box forme agree, this frame was welded by a pro. Structurally looks very sound. So the problem is else where, I'm thinking and additional z frame member under both sides of the front wall to hold it up will be the fix. Once I get info from the dealer I'll let you all know.
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rthrbhntng
Phoenix, AZ
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Joined: 11/01/2007
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THe pin box may not show any signs of failure but if you have someone lift the RV with a forklift and watch the flexing of the metal bracing you will see the weakness of the metal around the pin box. After beefing the bracing and adding a 2" x 6" brace across the front then you will notice that the frame flexes into the trailer. Notice that the walls of the trailer have nothing to sit on after the screws break off outside of the metal frame. Now take a look at how the whole frame going into the down bracing of the trailer is flexing. Now is when you rip out the floor and add bracing down the sides then you take off the front bottom of the outside panels and add more bracing down to the box part of the frame. Then add some metal to keep the frame of the outside of the trailer so there is something for the sides of your trailer to sit on instead of relying on screwing it to the frame and you can put all new sheeting on and button it back up. Now the frame won't be flexing and breaking welds in the future. That is why when it is done right it costs $6500.
Steve
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rthrbhntng
Phoenix, AZ
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By the way all you 2003-2005 Ragen 3005 owners need to look at the weak supports that hold your 100 gallon water tank up. I have one and have looked at 2 others and all three had bent or folded angle iron ready to collapse. THey used thin angle iron to hold tanks that weigh 800 pounds. Structural genuises.
Steve
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ragenford1
so cal
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Joined: 11/05/2007
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Couldnt agree more with you rthrbhntng. I had my tank fall out right as I pulled into my camp in Mammoth. Had to put jacks under it for the week I was there, then drain all water and ratchet strap it in for the 7 hour drive home. Between that and the pinbox, I would dump the trailer off if I could. Only thing stoping me would be the sleepless nights knowing I sold a defective piece of junk. to someone. To bad that manufacturer didnt feel the way I do, but then again that may be part of why they went under.
* This post was
edited 07/22/08 11:13pm by an administrator/moderator *
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bjfisher
California
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Joined: 11/22/2007
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Hey thanks guys, now I have to check my water tank brackets. My pin box seems ok now, but I'm watching closly . My pin box was not broken but had severe frame movement as a result from broken screws. The screws were the ones that attached the side walls to the frame. I cut the 1" x 1/8" angle off the top of the frame and replaced it with 2x3x1/4" angle. Also switched from #8 sheetrock screws to 1/4" lag screws. The newer Ragen frames used Z channel frame supports so I welded 3"x 1/4" flat bar under the frame rails to transfer some of the load to the bottom of the walls. So far so good but keeping a close eye on it. Mine has fiberglass siding so it's not easy to inspect . Hey ragenford I have the same feeling as you, would love to get rid of it but cant , stupid consience and then there's the Karma thing . So I guess I'll go check that water tank before it falls out. I'll post if find anymore areas of concern.
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T.T.Bob
Placerville, CA.
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Joined: 11/19/2007
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Hey guys,
brought the trailer to Manteca Trailer and Camper what a nice modern facility. The people there are very nice too. Anyway like bjfisher the problem is sheered screws at the front of the frame holding the sidewalls in place. I dropped the trailer off at 8:15 AM yesterday and by the time I got home at 10:30 am they called me. The service manager said he has had several of these issues with Ragen's mostly but has seen it on other trailers. It seems that National RV only put two screws near the front of the frame and siding and none between each stringer going across and none on the very front wall. WE're wailting to see if the extended warranty picks up the tab on this issue. Service manager said it would about $3200.00 to fix.
I'll let you know when theres more.
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T.T.Bob
Placerville, CA.
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Hey folks well first the bad news, the extended warranty will not cover the repair which would cost approx. $3500.00. It's a factory defect they should cover it. Uhm, okay National Rv is out of business and Weekend Warrior's in limbo and would'nt cover the last problem I had, Suspension failure.
But I'm a good wrench and the service writer at Manteca Trailer and Camper said it's an easy fix. I could do it and he would give me the details on how to do it. He said the frame will flex but the side and front walls are an intergral part of the unit as a whole. The factory left out a lot of hardware (large screws) along where the front and forward sides mount to the frame. There are only two on each side of the frame just rearward of the rear pin box rail. apparently the two on the left side have sheared off resulting in the 1/2 to 3/4 inch flex in the frame, lifting the floor and night stands.
So a few screws and weld a couple of support plates in and wha la it's fixed.
The service write said they have done a number of these repairs and have not had one come back, so I'm going to pick the traier up this week and do the repair myself. Also, I aske him what I would owe for their time and he said nothing. I already did the hard work of making the frame accessible.
And this is a plug, Manteca Trailer and Camper has an awesome group of people working there and it is a top of the line facility. There about 70 miles from me but you know where I'm headed the next time I'm ready for another trailer.
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EnFuego
Lodi, California
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Joined: 07/21/2008
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T.T.Bob wrote:Hey folks well first the bad news, the extended warranty will not cover the repair which would cost approx. $3500.00. It's a factory defect they should cover it. Uhm, okay National Rv is out of business and Weekend Warrior's in limbo and would'nt cover the last problem I had, Suspension failure.
But I'm a good wrench and the service writer at Manteca Trailer and Camper said it's an easy fix. I could do it and he would give me the details on how to do it. He said the frame will flex but the side and front walls are an intergral part of the unit as a whole. The factory left out a lot of hardware (large screws) along where the front and forward sides mount to the frame. There are only two on each side of the frame just rearward of the rear pin box rail. apparently the two on the left side have sheared off resulting in the 1/2 to 3/4 inch flex in the frame, lifting the floor and night stands.
So a few screws and weld a couple of support plates in and wha la it's fixed.
The service write said they have done a number of these repairs and have not had one come back, so I'm going to pick the traier up this week and do the repair myself. Also, I aske him what I would owe for their time and he said nothing. I already did the hard work of making the frame accessible.
And this is a plug, Manteca Trailer and Camper has an awesome group of people working there and it is a top of the line facility. There about 70 miles from me but you know where I'm headed the next time I'm ready for another trailer.
Hold on a minute... Their service dept. might be one thing, but their sales staff are lying crooks. They had a 2007 Ragen 28' pull trailer with 2 axles and were trying like hell to get me to buy it by telling me that WW is being bought and the service contracts would all be warrantied by Manteca Trailer until the sale of WW went through. They anticipated 30-60 days for that. I excused myself to use the rest room and walked toward the back of the showroom and ducked into one of the several offices and asked a genteleman about the warranty issue. I had got lucky because he happened to be the guy that deals with warranties and the final sales paperwork. He had no idea what his 3 goon sales guys said but he told me that they would not be taking on that liability and they were selling the units AS IS basically. I think the sales guys were deceptive.
I have heard alot of GREAT things about the service dept. though.
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Highsider997
Southern California
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Joined: 07/22/2005
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Hey guys, just got back from a trip and am starting to notice the separation of the front nightstands. Mine has aluminum sides, so I'm hoping it'll be a little easier that TTBob's experience.
Dad (welder) and I plan on tackling this in the next month or so. Anybody have pics or recommendations other than whats been posted? Specifically weld work and what & where I'm looking to repair...
Thanks
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