Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill
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It suggested that carrying a generator on the back bumper is a bad idea because as it bounces, it flexes the frame very slightly. As the frame flexes thousands of times, it tends to pull loose from the body.
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Guess flexing can be an issue with any long, light-weight frame.
BAL/Norco makes light weight frames similar to Trailmanor's. They are distinctive with the cut-outs and thin walls. They are used by several light-weight trailer lines, but the max trailer length now seems to be about 28'.
They used to be used by Kodiak and others for longer trailers, but no more. One guy I talked to at a campground who had a long one (~30' ?) said that the flexing caused no end of problems with the shell and even the holding tanks. There's also some threads on rv.net about early BAL/Norco frame failure, in particular the long ones. Probably flexing was the cause there as well.
Personally, I would worry about even a 28' light weight frame flexing. We were looking at a very nice Lance 28' trailer with the light weight BAL/Norco frames. But it had a long slide out, which I can imagine would not handle frame flex very well.
And yes, bouncing 100-200# on the end of one of these light weight frames could definitely add more flex to what they already have. The Lance trailers do not allow any rear attachments for bikes and stuff, probably for that reason.
I've sort of come to the conclusion that our next trailer (yes, we're looking to "upgrade", the Elkmont is getting too small for our long stays in Florida) will have a solid beam frame with "over"-rated axles, wheel and tires. Just one less thing to worry about.