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Old 05-16-2002, 01:16 AM   #21
arknoah
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

A year ago, after our shakedown run, I took the trailer back to the dealer for a few items, and when I arrived, he pointed out that the brackets holding down the front half was hanging by a single bolt.   While they had the trailer, they fixed it, and at least once I have tightened then, but now I wonder if I should remove the brackets to see what's below them.  

I can't say I'm looking forward to this, in case I find little tic tac toe patterns of holes, but I guess it's better to know that not to know, huh?

Thanks DenTed for bringing this matter to our attention!
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Old 05-20-2002, 12:43 PM   #22
Happytrails
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

I've got a 1986 TM 3023, mine was originally made with wood in that section where the latch is, which is rotted out and in need of replacing. What they put in them now is 1x1" tubing, backed by 1x1/2" wood. (Which I have now to replace all my wood out with.) Just a note that you should probably use at least 1.5-2" screws to replace the old ones. If they're a little long, is ok, they're just going into the styrofoam, and won't hurt anything, but I would suggest using "fatter" screws on that. For what it's worth, I'm in the midst of a MAJOR overhaul of my TM's structure, (well, to most people, no big deal to me). I will be putting up a web site with all kinds of pictures and not so much "how to's", but "How I did it anyway......soon concerning the structure of the TM's, as soon as I get it up, I'll post the link in here. Just a hint of the kinds of things you will find.....up inside the "pocket stops" where your "L" shaped lift arms go when it is up, there's a rubber bumper in there and it stops in place.....how many people in here know that 1/8" shim under that little rubber bumper = 1 full inch of travel for the shell? Just hope it helps some people in the same boat as me....yup, I got a bargain on the TM, but needs work, but will be up and camping with it REAL soon!
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Old 05-21-2002, 03:03 AM   #23
KB7OUR
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

Looking forward to seeing the pics of your $400 TM overhaul. I just learned that my 2720SL is now on a truck headed for AZ. What year is your unit?

Wade
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Old 05-21-2002, 11:20 AM   #24
Happytrails
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

Mine's a 1986 TM 25 which is the same as a 3023. It has the old square windows that they don't make anymore, but I love it all the same. LOL, the RV shop I took it to said, "there's NOTHING you can do for it, the WHOLE top is rotted out!" Being the stubbern cuss that I am, and HATE to be told there's something I can't do, I just HAD to prove em wrong! (Besides, it's a TM, and I LOVE IT!) They tried EVERYTHING to convince me to strip it down, sell the appliences, and turn it into a car hauler! (Completely unacceptable to me knowing how they are made!) The reward? Well, Tonie (an older female that owns the shop), told me I'd be sorry once I got into it all etc....etc.....that it was just too much work....blah blah blah.....it took 5 of em to set it up....which I believe, took 4 of us to just get it back down because of the faulty roof section........Welp, I dropped her jaw when I told her it only took me 1.5 hours to fix the roof section, and 45 mins for the wall section......and I got it up ALL BY MYSELF! LOL! I then slipped in that I had all the materials ready to go to fix the main problem, and they would go in as soon as I got a chance.......she was at a loss for words to say the least! (Don't ya just cherish moments like that?) I pinched a nerve in my sleep somehow sat night, and couldn't do anything sunday because I couldn't do anything with my right hand, but I did set out to clean the whole interior. I blew the whole thing out with an air compressor, scrubbed all the walls, and steam cleaned all the carpeting and beds....inside, it looks pristine now! ALL of the mildew is GONE! Came right out of the walls and ceiling.....mind you, this thing had sat for YEARS completely unprotected, and obviously in a moist environment......the last inspection decal was from 1998. I found the inside to be in TOP condition except the spider webs and mildew, which proved to be not much of a match at all for an air compressor and a good scrub brush! There was NO, I repeat, NO water damage whatsoever inside the trailer....and after getting it up in my driveway, and testing the water system, seems it was properly winterized! (Something of which was a small concern, but all was well with the water system) Heck, even the terlit flushes like a champ, tho doesn't have that nifty gauge in it! I'd have to say thanks to everyone in this discussion group, had it not been for you guys, I might very well have given up on it before getting started on it, now it's a labor of love! Trailmanor has been absolutely GREAT about helping me. Jimmy Davis, as everyone has said, has always been really great with me. LOL, I've probably driven the poor fella crazy by now, but he's always been really nice, but now that I've got things where I can see them for myself, no need to bug him about it! Donny down there, well, hope he's doing alright....he suffered a heart attack recently and has been outta work.....hope he's ok! He sent me a lot of diagrams etc that have been INVALUABLE! I really can't see another company going to the extent that they have for me, buying an old unit of theirs and wanting to fix it up.......it tells me that they care about their product, and their people. (Notice how low of a turnover they have, they must treat their people good). Anyways, I'll post the link as soon as I've got that web page up. I think a lot of people may benifit from it. Hal I think said something about the "roof over".....hmmm....that's pretty interesting.....maybe that's what had happened to it in the past! Who knows? But I will get this thing up and going real soon....not much left to do to it!
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Old 05-22-2002, 02:08 AM   #25
arknoah
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

Happytrails, you've said it all.  A great story.

Well, I finally looked at the holes in my trailer for the brackets, and only one (street side rear, I think) seemed to have more than the required number of holeas drilled.  While for the price, I'm not happy that any holes aren't exact, I suppose I should count my blessings that the other three are right "on the money!"
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Old 05-22-2002, 11:22 AM   #26
Happytrails
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

Lol, and me with only 4 holes between two brackets......too bad there's nothing for the screws to go in yet! Hoping to get the whole job done this weekend.....aaaakkkk! Just occured to me I need to do a little pretreating and glueing either tonight or tomorrow night!

Bill -n- Karen
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Old 05-28-2002, 01:27 AM   #27
2swans
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

???we've looked at rivet guns at lowe's and home depot and have not been able to find one that will attach rivet nuts. can someone suggest a brand name or store where we could find a gun to attach rivet nuts?(we also have a white bracket that completely pulled out of the shell and ripped the aluminum shell). thanks for your help. dale swan of 2swans.
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Old 06-01-2002, 11:10 AM   #28
Denny_A
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

Quote:
???we've looked at rivet guns at lowe's and home depot and have not been able to find one that will attach rivet nuts. can someone suggest a brand name or store where we could find a gun to attach rivet nuts?(we also have a white bracket that completely pulled out of the shell and ripped the aluminum shell). thanks for your help. dale swan of 2swans.
I bought a "Hand Nut Riveter" set at Menards(a smaller version of Home Depot, or Lowe's, indigenous to the North Central states).  The "riveter tool" you mentioned above is similar  to a "blind rivet tool" (gun) , but it has a threaded nose piece. The "blind nut" (aka Rivnut) is screwed onto the nosepiece, then the RivNut is inserted into the hole drilled for it.  The crimping action is identical to that of a rivet gun, except that the threaded nosepice has to be "unthreaded" to complete the installation.

Everything came as a set (in my case). Tool + 4 different sizes of "blind rivet nuts" (#6-32, #8-32, #10-24 and # 1/4-20), with 10 each per size. Also each size has an appropriate nosepiece for the tool. I used # 1/4-20 RivNuts.

Whatever you find, if it has all the necessary components, will have a tool as hefty as a "small" bolt cutter, and probably 4 separate compartments for the different sizes of RivNuts- all enclosed with the ubiuitous, impossible to open plastic.

Aside: It's tough to use words as substitutes for pictures. Hope this hasn't been too garbled.


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Old 09-14-2002, 02:10 PM   #29
Larry_Loo
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

Hello to All,

I've not contributed to this Board because we've been away for the past 3-1/2 weeks and didn't always have an Internet connection.

9 days ago my wife and I returned from our 5,500+ mile round trip from Central California to a huge woodworking machinery trade show in Atlanta. We towed our TM all the way there and back without any towing problems but had a rear truck tire blow out (in New Mexico) and a minor rear end accident (20 miles from our destination in Georgia). Also, on the return trip back our 1993 Ford F-150 started leaking oil. The source of the leak wasn't evident so I decided to check our truck's oil level frequently and add oil until we got home. We put in 20 quarts of oil during the 2,600+ mile journey home! The truck will go into my mechanic's shop next week.

From the very beginning, however, we had trouble with 2 of the shell's latches. As we were closing up our 3124KS on the morning of our departure, we discovered that we couldn't latch the rear shell on the door side. It appeared that the hook was worn on the bottom part of the latch and therefore would not securely engage the strike pin of the upper part. That latch had held every time previously - until that morning! Because we had an exhibiting deadline to meet, I decided to use that side's front latch to hold both front and rear halves down. It worked for the time being. When we pulled into an RV park in Oklahoma, however, I found that the machine screws holding the latch pin bracket to the bottom of the upper shell were coming loose - as well as 4 or 5 of the sheet metal screws that attached the decorative, U-shaped molding to the bottom edge of the upper shell. What I didn't realize at that time was that the 1" square aluminum tube forming the bottom edge was being pulled down, away from the inner and outer aluminum sheets of the wall. I borrowed the manager's electric drill at that RV park and made some temporary repairs that seemed as if they would work.

By the time we arrived at our RV park in the Atlanta area, however, it was evident that the 1" square aluminum tube was really pulled down and away from the bottom of the wall. In fact, it had cracked at the point where a screw hole had been drilled into it for the latch pin bracket. There was nothing more that I could do in the way of repairs out there in the field. I went to the nearest Lowes and found some 1/4" rope racheting pulleys. That is, these pulleys had a sprocket with something like spiral teeth and a racheting mechanism that allowed you to tighten it down snugly over a load. I bought 2; they were a bargain at $7.50 apiece because they were exactly the kind of thing that I was hoping to find. With about 25 feet of 1/4" braided nylon rope over the top and sides of the TM and another 7' length underneath the TM, we were in business. I tied hooks into each end of the short piece that would form the part of the loop underneath the trailer. I tied mating hooks in each end of the long piece that looped over the trailer's top and sides. This long piece also contained the racheting pulleys near its ends. Closing the TM required me to make a loop over the end of the front shell by hooking the mating hooks together, then tightening the loop by pulling the rope through the racheting pulleys. My wife would pull the front shell downward and I'd tighten the ropes. Even when pulled down as tight as this setup allowed, we were never able to eliminate the gap between front and rear shells; there was always a gap of about 1" between them.  It worked without any problems all the way home, however.

I phoned the TM Factory earlier this week but never did connect with Donny Pilkey, who is the repair guru at TM. Jimmy Davis told me that the aluminum tube was cemented to the inner and outer aluminum sheets. The stress of having to hold down both upper and lower shells on that side was too great for the adhesive bond, it appears, and, the tube pulled away from the wall. When I do get to speak to Donny, I'll find out what kind of glue the Factory uses to bond tube to wall. In addition to gluing the tube to the inner and outer sheets, I've been thinking of fastening the tube to the outer sheet with monel pop rivets. Lack of access won't allow me to pop rivet the inner sheet to the tube. I may weld a 1/4" thick bar over the top of the tube, where the latch pin bracket is located, before I reglue it into the wall. This will not only reinforce the tube, keeping it from cracking a second time, but also make for a very substantial thickness of metal where the machine screws are inserted to hold the latch pin bracket. Another option I've considered would be to replace the aluminum tube with a square steel tube. The latch pin bracket would really hold securely in a steel tube - but it may make the shell too heavy. I'll have to ask Donny about that. Whatever repair I end up doing, I've vowed that the latch pin brackets will never come loose again! It also seems time for me to replace the latches with the heavy-duty ones that are installed on the later models of TMs.

I've got my work cut out for me. Stay tuned for the next part of this saga. Sorry about my long windiness.
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Old 09-14-2002, 04:18 PM   #30
Happytrails
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Default Re: Shell latch "bracket" problem

Larry, you've contributed a lot to this board, we're just all people, and any experiances good or bad are helpful for everyone. I'd have to say that's about all I have left is putting in the hold down latches in my old TM and I'm done......I would have earlier, but the screws were too small that I got, so I bought new ones, but it was raining today so didn't mess with it. Your idea about the ropes is interesting, I was thinking about buying a strap to hold my stuff down....one of those racheting kinds anyway just to be sure. If ya email me a pic at [email protected] I'd be happy to give you my take on you're problem with the aluminum coming outta place.

[glow=red,2,300]Happytrails.........[/glow]
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