Disassembling the swing bars

[coralcrazed]

I was thinking of sandblasting some spots on the frame and stabilizing legs to get the rust off. has anyone done this? any recomendations on alternative meathods to do this? what type of paint should I use?

I was also going to use some ruberized spray undercoating from auto zone. would this be ok to use?

any help would be highly appreciated.

forgot to mention, I have a model 2720 year 2005.

thanks

[coralcrazed]

Just purchased a 2005 2720 TM and noticed some rust on the bolts and some on the black bars that connect the swing bars. I'm not sure what they are called but they are the bars that swing up when you unfold the upper walls and are in a horizontal position when folded and then lock into a vertical position when raised.

The reason that I wanted top disassemble it is because they have some rust on them and want to sandblast them and get a fresk coat of paint. the rust is superficial and just cosmetic however if left alone it will turn into a problem.

[Bill]

Welcome to the board!

I think you are referring to the torsion bars. These are the "springs" that counterbalance the shells so that they can be lifted easily. You will find it almost impossible to keep paint on those, since their function is to flex, and flexing breaks the paint bond. Anyone had any luck with this? I just wire brush them once in a while.

Whatever you do, I would suggest that you not remove the torsion bars from lift arms (the white rectangular arms that connect the torsion bars to the upper shells). Getting them back in place can be a high-precision operation, and the consequences of getting it wrong include shells that are hard to lift (or that crash down when you close), or open crooked, or doors that won't close, or gaps where the various pieces meet.

Bill

Hi coralcrazed,

I have the same issue and use sulfuric acid rust converter on the metal after wire brushing to loosen old stuff. This application stays black for a while then at your time frame just sand and paint. I did this on the tongue area earlier this year and it still looks great.

I leave the torsion bars with the black finish of the sulfuric acid until next year's spring clean-up. It works for me and I hope it helps your TM.

Happy camping

Bob

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_au...dtextbin=POR15

Koz

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by coralcrazed

I was thinking of sandblasting some spots on the frame and stabilizing legs to get the rust off. has anyone done this? any recomendations on alternative meathods to do this? what type of paint should I use?

I was also going to use some ruberized spray undercoating from auto zone. would this be ok to use?

any help would be highly appreciated.

thanks

I'm a big fan or Rustoleum. No need to remove the rust, just paint over it white where the TM is white and black where the TM is black (you do need to mask things at the appropriate places, of course).

Originally Posted by Mr. Adventure

I'm a big fan or Rustoleum. No need to remove the rust, just paint over it white where the TM is white and black where the TM is black (you do need to mask things at the appropriate places, of course).

Completely stripping off the rust is not necessary, but loose paint and any flaking rust should always be removed with a wire brush. Painting over loose paint creates voids for moisture which will make the rust problem worse.

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by MisterP

Completely stripping off the rust is not necessary, but loose paint and any flaking rust should always be removed with a wire brush. Painting over loose paint creates voids for moisture which will make the rust problem worse.

Once I painted a rusty old mine cart wheel I found in the woods in West Vrginia with Rustoleum, with no preparation at all. There still wasn't any significant rust a year or two later even though it was sitting outside in a flower bed. Fifteen years later, it's still the same color I painted it though it has rust spots, of course. One of my sons told me at the time that painting it ruined the rustic effect. He made it a family heirloom by telling me I couldn't just let it return it to nature in the woods when we moved. We all know whose flower bed it needs to be in.

The TrailManor is an easier problem that I'd like to address every season, but I don't get around to that often. I haven't had a lot of either flaking rust or loose paint. You're right, a little wire brushing provides a better painting surface, a better finish, and a longer interval before you have to do it again.