Bracket has pulled out

Riwright · 08-16-2016, 10:15 PM

I have a bracket that is pulling out (see picture). Not sure why it pulled out but I do have the brackets for the rear shell on max tension due to my solar panels.

I'm going to have a whack at putting it back together on Wednesday.

I was wondering if I could go all the way through the bottom of the trailer and use a backing plate with some bolts to hold it better. Does anyone know what's in there? I have no idea what is under that plate.

If that won't work I was thinking that I might drill out the stripped holes, glue a dowel in there, re-drill the pilot holes and screw it back in.

Opinions?

**Bill** · 08-17-2016, 07:44 AM

The floor is framed with 2x4's, and it appears that the lag bolt in the picture has pulled out of the wood. There is a lot of tension in that area, so I'm not at all sure that the drill and dowel approach would be strong enough. Perhaps you could replace the lag bolt with an oversize one. Or, I would be in favor of the backing plate approach, provided that the interior is clear at that location, and you don't mind the appearance. The problem with this is that the bolt probably would come inside the wall, and you would have some serious surgery on your hands to gain access.

No matter which approach you choose, be sure you check the condition of the wood. I've never seen one of these pull out, and a little tickle in my mind is asking about wood rot.

Bill

Riwright · 08-19-2016, 09:25 PM

Thanks for the tips. Original lag bolts were 3/8 X 3, I replaced them with 1/2 X 3. I had to drill out the holes in the plate from 7/16 to 1/2.

It didn't see evidence of rot. I live in Southern California (desert climate) so it isn't as much of a problem as other places. The new lag bolts seemed to snug up pretty well.

I wonder if I need to re-enforce the area some more or it will hold as it is. There is a frame member within an inch or so, I could get my welder guy to bring a metal bracket over to it.

I have 3 solar panels on the rear shell and the torsion bars are maxed out. More stress than usual.

However the other bracket looks perfectly fine.

gcavenas · 04-20-2017, 12:03 PM

I have the same issue. Bracket broke loose driving home last weekend. I'm going to try a larger bolt but have a follow up question... how do you relieve the tension on the torsion bar?

BrucePerens · 04-20-2017, 12:17 PM

The bracket shown by Riwright bears the weight of the front of the rear shell and thus the air conditioner. There was not enough context in the photo from gcavenas to tell if it's the same one. The internal floor side of this on the left is going to be behind the stove or cabinet drawers, on the right it would be behind the sink or refrigerator. In either case no esthetic problem to reinforce. The rear street side one might be behind the shower and impossible to access. There should not be stress on this bracket when the shell is closed, its weight rests on the lower shell. But the bracket takes 1/4 to 1/3 of the full shell weight (considering that the AC is toward the front) when the shell is raised.

That one large lag bolt in the photo from gcavenas isn't enough, and installing more bolts there might be an easy fix, if they have something solid to go into. You can drill pilot holes with a small drill to assess what you are attaching to, before drilling larger ones.

I'd rather link this weight to the frame than the floor. But that probably takes some significant iron work.

I'll go look at my brackets, since I've put 80 pounds of solar on the back of the rear shell and the AC is already on the front.

**Bill** · 04-20-2017, 02:58 PM

George -

I agree with Bruce that you need at least two lag screws. If you replace the existing one, you will need a larger diameter, as you said. And as discussed in the posts above, if it is possible to go all the way up into the interior of the trailer, and use a nut and bolt with a backing plate, that would be really sturdy.

All those little self-drilling screws are contributing pretty much nothing to the holding power. Get rid of 'em. At the very least, I would replace the outer two with lag screws.

To release the tension on the torsion bars, just raise the shell. If you can raise it past the proper point, that may be even better.

Bill

gonzo628 · 04-20-2017, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riwright

I have a bracket that is pulling out (see picture). Not sure why it pulled out but I do have the brackets for the rear shell on max tension due to my solar panels.

I'm going to have a whack at putting it back together on Wednesday.

I was wondering if I could go all the way through the bottom of the trailer and use a backing plate with some bolts to hold it better. Does anyone know what's in there? I have no idea what is under that plate.

If that won't work I was thinking that I might drill out the stripped holes, glue a dowel in there, re-drill the pilot holes and screw it back in.

Opinions?

When I had my TM serviced at CustomRV, they indicated that my floor was pulling away from the wall and that gave cause to my door alignment issues. Their fix was to remove the lag bolts, drill out a bit and install larger (and possibly a smidge longer bolts). Shannon indicated that it was a relatively common problem and they were quite adept at resolving it using this solution.

gcavenas · 04-21-2017, 08:02 AM

Thank you for your replies and great suggestions. I have a Trail Mini, so, only one shell! I will open up the camper this weekend to see where I have access to the interior above the mount, then will bolt through with backing plate if possible. Or use 2 larger lag screws for added security. Cheers guys!
-George

bheisser · 04-21-2017, 01:19 PM

this may be obvious but but if you are going from the inside down shouldnt you insert a bolt with a large washer from the top,,,inside the trailer and put a nut/washer from the bottom

BrucePerens · 04-22-2017, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcavenas

how do you relieve the tension on the torsion bar?

Raise the shells. No guarantee that releases 100% of the stored energy. And it puts weight on the brackets. So, leave the shells down while fixing the bolts and wear a leather apron and face mask against the low chance that the spring will break. Each lifts 1/4 to 1/3 of a 500 lb shell. The rear shell front springs, the ones that lift the AC, probably get the most force. There are two different diameter springs, the rear are usually thicker.

I checked my 2004 3023. No loose brackets, and they all have 4 or 5 lag bolts and no little self-tapping screws.