Stever,
The spider like web cracks are a bad sign. I wouldn't bother with a welding repair without a manufacturer fix. Simply welding the frame may create more problems and will likely only provide a temporary solution or move the cracks to another spot on the frame.
The cracking of the frames may indicate that there is a design issue (hard to tell without seeing the cracks and doing some testing). During production the frames are tested for fatigue and for failure so this problem should have come up... that being said no one/nothing is perfect.
I would suggest the owners with the same/similar problems get together and talk to the dealer/manufacturer to resolve the issue. If the dealers/manufacturer won't help then perhaps the owners should get a metallurgist (or another Engineer) involved to identify the cause of the cracking, which would tell the owner if it could be a design issue. They would then have some paperwork to back up their claims to the manufacturer. It may cost some $ at first, but, if it is a design issue, I'm sure the manufacturer will cover the initial cost and repair.
Let us know how things go.
-Sean
Stever,
Just curious as well, but is this only happening at the shock absorber mounts or in other places too? If it IS only the shock absorber mounts, my first question would be are the shocks aftermarket or factory--The only time shock absorbers carry any sort of load obviously is when the suspension system is upset (i.e. going over a bump, pulling your front right and rear left tires onto large boulders to show off articulation to your buddies, etc.) and this is more of a mechanism to handle the effects of impacts than forces, really. If the damping of the absorbers is too high (aftermarket) the absorber acts more like a rigid member than a soft cushion and therefore increases this impact load, and fatigue occurs.
The reason I say this is because bowties are infamous in my area for being slammed, notched, chopped, bagged, and lifted among other verbs with connotations describing some automotive modification or other. Now, I may be chasing butterflies out in left field, but if this is the case, the manufacturer should not be responsible in my opinion when an aftermarket component is placed on their product because it was not designed for that component (like putting a 2 ton hoist on a half ton crane because the half ton hoist couldn't pick up what you wanted it to, whose fault is that?).
Anyway, there's my random thought for the day, and good luck!
G. L.