Please Evaluate These Welds

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These are welds on the frame of a 10,000 lb GVWR travel trailer. I've been told they are bad enough to be a safety concern.I'm looking for additional opinions. One photo is a close up of a the welds of concern, the other is zoomed out to show some context.Last edited by ekim; 12-13-2013 at 05:54 PM.
Reply:In the top pic, they look to be like "cold" welds.   Or in other words, they look like somebody put down a nice piece of "rope" when they should have welded it. Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:im a newer welder and I wouldn't pull that trailer. makes me wonder how many ive pulled that were close to that?Lincoln 225 ac (my first machine)farmhand 115vac 70amp mig/fc toymiller aead 200le (my main machine)
Reply:Almost all of the travel trailers look like that underneath. Like they're all built on Friday or Monday. As a matter of fact most stuff on the road looks about like that, scary!!!!Miller trailblazer301gLincoln sa200Miller251Miller spectrum 625Victor oxy-acc2002 Chevy duramax 3500 dually 4x4
Reply:They stink.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Originally Posted by BlackbeardAlmost all of the travel trailers look like that underneath. Like they're all built on Friday or Monday. As a matter of fact most stuff on the road looks about like that, scary!!!!
Reply:its basically like they took molten metal and smeared it on
Reply:I personally would NOT want to be towing that trailer.  Welds look like cr*p. I've only been welding for a couple of years.  Something interesting happened after I started.  Before, I never paid any attention to welds anywhere.  After starting welding, now I inspect welds on everything I might consider buying, even sometimes on things just out of curiosity.  It's amazing how many bad welds are out there on things from truck ramps to trailers and in between, many that are dangerously unsafe.
Reply:An additional question. Is there some person with credentials that I can call, some kind of welding inspector, who can look this thing over and produce a report that would hold some weight, as opposed to me appearing to just be a whining customer?If such a person exists, how would I find them? I'm in central NJ.
Reply:ekim not that I know anything, but I suspect you are in for a long and costly up hill battle! I'd think it would be cheaper to just scarf the bad welds out, and do it your self. I have two PJ trailers, both of them look like Ray Charles did the welding and prep before painting. These trailer manufactures hire kids who can point a Mig gun in the correct direction, and that's about it!Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:maybe I need to go get a job at a trailer mfg company. lolLincoln 225 ac (my first machine)farmhand 115vac 70amp mig/fc toymiller aead 200le (my main machine)
Reply:That's what you get when you buy cheap murkin innerportz.It sucks almost as bad as innerported murkin"furniture".If you want a trailer(or most anything else) build it yourself. It's not rocket science.Turn off the TV and gitRdun.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Originally Posted by fdude64maybe I need to go get a job at a trailer mfg company. lol
Reply:Not good. This is why EVERYONE who has to weld on a trailer that goes up an down the rod should be an all position certified structural welder.There is a ton of incomplete fusion as well as high/low in that weldLast edited by snoeproe; 12-14-2013 at 09:44 AM.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:I doubt calling the insurance company will do anything. They will look at the companies track record of claims caused by manufacturers defects. If there has not been problems, they will not even bother with your trailer. After all, they don't want to lose that large premium coming in every year."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:I don't understand why that little angle iron is on there in the first place. The channel weld behind it is the one you need to look at. Pics of the other side of the channel and the crossmember closer to the front.Also, the tongue weight is not going to be 10,000#,  those things are balanced with most of the weight in the rear.Last edited by TimmyTIG; 12-14-2013 at 11:26 AM.
Reply:"I don't understand why that little angle iron is on there in the first place. The channel weld behind it is the one you need to look at."The little channel is to hide the bad looking weld behind it.
Reply:Welds?What "Welds"?I don't see anything good anywhere....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Actually, the small angle appears to be an attempt to provide a larger spread of contact/weld area between the tongue channel member and the main frame long member.  The tongue channel is "so narrow" that it has a very short contact patch for welding because it cuts across the main frame at an angle and so has not much overlap for weld length.  The little angle added on sort of provides additional "bite" area for welding.  But with all that in mind I can't understand why they did not do any welding.
Reply:They are not pretty welds at all. I'm not sure how they make them, but penetration is usually pretty deep, kind of like they turn the power up and then move really fast. Most of my experience is in scrapping such trailers and manufactured home frames where all the welds look like that. Despite how they look they seem strong enough, at least it is a bear to break the frames apart. I would not be too concerned to pull it down the road, and if you are sell the trailer and buy one you like the welds on. If you reweld it yourself the liability is then on you, instead of the manufacturer, even though your welds would probably look much better.Mr. HE
Reply:^^^ I agree. It might look like sh!t, but it also looks like they burned it in there real hot. Myself, I wouldn't be worried about it.
Reply:we call those "strong welds" not pretty but will hold up, not to fret
Reply:we always called 'em gorilla welds-ugly but strong and got a lotta muscles
Reply:Well i have a P&J dump trailer and the welds don't look like they belong on the space shuttle but are plenty strong. I bought this brand because the cross members are a little closer and the tongue channel was 1 inch taller. No problems yet and i suspect the amount of weld on that angle is overkill anyhow.Fireman BillHH 210 MVPMM 211 Spoolmate 100Lotas LTP5000D PlasmaOxy/Accet (Victor)Wards AC/DC buzz box30 ton old hyd pressA few brand name toolsA bunch of cheap toolsA wife to worry me and4 dogs to supervise me
Reply:Thanks for all the feedback. So it seems that the answer is ugly but it should hold up. I'll keep an eye on it just in case. I assume that if something like this does fail, in most cases  it will give some warning with a crack.Looks like money for me.  Doesn't surprise me, when I got laid off on the second round of lay offs from Case, there was a ton of places looking for bargain bin welders.  One trailer manufacturer in the area was advertising hiring welders at $7.50/hr.