Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 13, 2025 ...

Cracks found on rear bulkhead vertical frame support

October 17, 2018, 05:32:40 pm

Cracks found on rear bulkhead vertical frame support

Both rear bulkhead vertical frame supports have cracks at an upper flex point.

I think this was one of the areas that Foretravel later reinforced with an outer second piece of full length vertical steel.

For a repair, a new piece of angle steel was fashioned to fit over the crack and was welded in place.

Quote Selected

Re: Cracks found on rear bulkhead vertical frame support

Reply #1 – October 17, 2018, 05:40:58 pm

That's exactly what I would have done. Nice to "V" the crack, weld it and then weld the strap into place. You're good to go. Good job finding the crack. Any other places?

Pierce

Quote Selected

Re: Cracks found on rear bulkhead vertical frame support

Reply #2 – October 17, 2018, 05:56:04 pm

How may miles on coach?

Quote Selected

Re: Cracks found on rear bulkhead vertical frame support

Reply #3 – October 17, 2018, 06:08:44 pm

Nice work, this is how mine was repaired. Tubing in between the angle iron. Mine is also welded across the bottom and plated. no bolts. Been this way 5 years, and 20 thou miles. No issues.
Chris

Quote Selected

Re: Cracks found on rear bulkhead vertical frame support

Reply #4 – October 17, 2018, 06:33:18 pm

Check the front also mine was broken both places had them welded 3 years ago. Have 340,000 miles now and repairs look good.

Quote Selected

Re: Cracks found on rear bulkhead vertical frame support

Reply #5 – October 17, 2018, 06:43:45 pm

The cracks you discovered are usually associated with separation at the bulkhead joint. The rear bulkhead hinges at these cracks once the roloks have failed. It is my belief that these cracks relieve the stress in the sidewalls above and save a potentially worse problem of delamination in the sidewalls above the bulkhead joint. It is also a testament to how strong the steel framed sidewalls are. Below are pictures of the reinforcements I made when I finished up the bulkhead repairs on our coach. I was gratified when I later saw that Foretravel had instituted a similar measure to strengthen the rear bulkhead joint on later coaches. I see from the post above that Chris has something similar on his coach.

Quote Selected

Re: Cracks found on rear bulkhead vertical frame support

Reply #6 – October 17, 2018, 08:46:19 pm

150,000 miles, owned for 18 years, 1 previous owner.

Quote Selected