STORING TM IN AN OPEN, UPRIGHT POSITION?

We have a goodsized barn with a large, open driveway area where our TM 3023 will be stored during the winter months. We are considering storing it fully opened since there is plenty of space to allow for this, and it then becomes quick and easy to access for whatever reasons we want to get into it like checking on its general condition and readying it for a trip. (We are making careful anti-mouse preparations.) Are there reasons (aside from the whole thing getting a bit dusty) why we should not store the TM open in the barn?

If anything, I would tend to think that it would be better to store your trailer open in the barn. Being left open, I expect that it would release alot of the tension off your torsion bars. If the ceiling was high enough in my garage, mine would be open.

Mack

I can't think of any reason not to store it opened up.  The only thing we obviously shouldn't try to do is to move or tow it opened, because it wasn't designed that way.  You should also be able to see if any kind of animal or bug gets in, so that's an added plus to having it up.

F.J. & Ellen

Are you ready for my opinion?   I don't believe that I would store my trailer in a open position for several months.  Part of the engineering of the TrailManor is the spring mechanism that helps lift (and lower) the top shells.  By keeping the roof in a standing position, does this put stress on the springs, thus making them tired?  I have always heard that  a camera for example should not be placed on the shelf in a cocked position.  It is much like taking a deep breath and holding it for a long while.   Also, I would think that there would be less chance of insects and other critters to get into the trailer in a folded position.  Besides, if I had a storage like your barn, I would enjoy going out (even in a blizzard) and petting my trailer once in a while.  It doesn't take much to raise it and then become a big game hunter looking for tracks of unwanted residents.

Is this a question for the factory?

Hal,

I would think the stress on the springs would be in the middle of the stroke, and there would be less stress on them in either the fully closed or fully open position.  

Better yet, though, is your suggestion to perhaps address this with the factory. I don't know if any one of us really has the expertise to make more than anecdotal comments on this question.

F. J. & Ellen

Thanks for the thoughtful comments, y'all.  It seems as though the best thing for me to do is call the factory and ask.  That's what I will do--probably next week as the next few days are going to be very hectic ones for us.  I will let you know what they tell me.

Clearly, the torsion bars are more highly stressed in the closed position.  However that isn't a bad thing if properly engineered.  One also compresses the rubber pads and plastic seals in the closed position of which these materials can creep [takes a set].

If nothing else matters and in an enclosed area, I would store open, since it's one less open / close cycle between excursions.  However, since most Trailmanors are successful stored closed, there obviously isn't much difference.

I spent 7 years working for a defense contractor. Four of those years
were in the manufacture of torsion bars and other suspension
components. The engineering behind torsion bars is that they will
only operate in a range such that permanent characteristic changes
(plastic deformation) will not occur. Unlike coil springs which can
relax if left compressed, torsion springs will never loose their spring
unless they are exposed to overstress conditions. As I have seen
TM's from the early 90's that have not had a problem, I would
surmise that they are properly engineered and whether left up or
down, no change will occur. Torsion bars are used in many
applications where the weight of the vehicle is always loading the
spring (Chevrolet trucks, Volkswagon cars, Bradley fighting vehicle).
They fail when they are cycled through a range of motion many
hundreds of thousands of times. When the do fail, it is a fracture
across the entire cross section of the spring (i.e. it breaks). IMHO,
the torsion springs are nothing to worry about. Whether left open or
closed is a matter of personal convenience.

Brian, thank you for your helpful response and explanation--you make perfect sense to me!  TrailManor stresses the advantages of its torsion bars and their guarantee that they will open and close properly for years and years so I could not see how having the TM open for a period of time would harm anything, but needed to be sure that for some reason I could not foresee,  it would not cause a problem.  Being a novice I know I still  have much to learn, and this board has been extremely helpful ever since I first discovered it over a year ago.   (I have read EVERY thread on the old board as well as the ones on the new one and have found something useful in each one!

I wish I could store mine open in a barn. You didn't state so but it is assumed that you will take the usual precautions for storage to keep out critters and take the weight off the tires, keep full pressure in them, prepare for `freezing' weather as necessary, etc.

Dick B