Home at last. Thank G_d, we're home at last
We just finished our second trip, and have logged 5700 miles since Mid-March. I thought a herd of snorting, stomping Brahma bulls, on the other side of a fence in a Texas campground, would be the unexpected problem this trip. They weren't too keen about my "big" dog. Dog wanted at 'em! Not a problem. Dog changed his mind when they charged (a bluff, I think) the fence. We all retired to our respective corners. ;D
I could go on and on about how great the TM tows (no anti-sway device). I've been thru wind and rain storms and hail, with incredible crosswind gusts. I now have a "crinkled camper" which resembles a titlist above the front window awning.
But, I digress. I have had a rather "bothersome" problem occur. Discovered the problem at setup Thurs, the last overnite, with 400+ miles to go to reach home.
The curb-side, front shell, black-handled, hook-release latch was tenuously grasping a dangling "shell bracket". There being no connection, latch-to-shell, the forward shell was raised 6 to 8 inches above the aft shell. I could almost read the time on the clock from outside.
The 2 inch long sheet metal bracket-attachment screws had pulled out of the shell and left behind somewhere between Branson, MO and Litchfield, Ill (I was, too). I called my dealer, but no help. The TM factory was already vacated for the day. So, I was on my own.
Here's a QUESTION for anyone. If you've removed on of those brackets from the shell, how many drilled holes have you found on the bottom surface of the shell? Since there are 2 machine screws, with combo hex-head and straight-slots for tightening, I expected to find 2 drilled holes. After pulling the screws on the rear shell bracket, I found 4 drilled holes. Seemed to be spaced so that the bracket could be positioned in any of three positions, fore-to-aft. QUESTION: Can anyone confirm this for me? Maybe an unsupervised trainee was doing the assembly. Maybe that's the standard to aid proper alignment during assembly.
The failed bracket area had "8" >
holes drilled. Two sets were so close together that the thin sliver of metal separating them tore thru, the screw let loose, and the other screw worked until it enlarged its drilling. Wham - gone.
My trailer is a brand new 2002 - never worked on (I know the dealer is not whacko and does NOTdelight in impractical jokes), so it seems logical to assume that the trailer was manufactured that way.
A closer look at the same bracket, aft shell opposite side, revealed that it was slightly off-alignment, fore-aft. So, I backed the screws out and... (good guess)... there were extra holes, the aft hole the screw came from is drilled immediately inboard of another, as if to salvage an error.
After a mad scramble to Jerry Rig the trailer, we made it home w/out incident. Luckily a large hardware store, which carried an amazing array of machine screws, had some 1/4-20 x 2" screws. The thread count was wrong, but it actually worked to my advantage. I was able to use a pair of relatively intact drilled hole; the screws made their own fit thru the existing threads. THe 2" length allows (I think) the screw to thread across and into the other side of the square, hollow aluminum beam which forms the bottom edge of the shell. The salvage job got us home. Amazingly the screws did not loosen one iota.
Howsomever - the TM folks has some 'splaining to do on Monday.
There were a few other "fire-in-my-eyes" irritants during the hell (Texas)-and-back trip just completed. More posts to follow.
Denny_A __(10,000 BTU's was a blessing for record
heat in Houston)
Shell latch "bracket" problem
Threaded Mode
