Raing and Lowering

[Factor]

How does the raising and lowering over time affect the trailmanor. Does anything ever get caught in the mechanism, e.g. pine needles or other foreign object that can hinder closing? In other words, how does the trialmanor hold up in this regard.
John

[Bill]

Well, at one time or another, I have managed to catch the electric cord, the TV cable, a door, and the water hose (both with and without filter) in the mechanism. Doesn't seem to have hurt anything except my pride.

Serious answer? No, nothing gets caught. The torsion bar mechanism is very simple, and I haven't detected any wear anywhere.

Bill

[EPICSDUDE]

I too like Bill have caught the power cord, water hose, etc. in the mechanism. I have caught one of the four corner locking latches in while trying to close the top. I tried several times and it would not latch. I backed up from the TM and looked and scratched my head. It never has been this hard before. I noticed the latch and corrected the problem and the top latched perfectly. So, never force anything on the TM, it should work with ease.

Rocky

[jniles]

Could some of you describe the perceived amount of force it takes to open a unit, particularly the 3023's and larger. I really do think mine is too heavy since I get a little red faced opening both shells but the dealer tech says that is normal. I really don't believe it and may decide to attempt to adjust the torsion bars myself, but must go back to dealer for other work in a week or two. I have also had problems with the rear or lower door half retainer clip spreading and catching on the door bag seal, luckily we did not tear it. This past weekend when pulling the rear roof up it hung again but this time we found it had caught the window flange and bent it a little even though we did not pull very hard. Both of our door retainers are sorry at best even when the unit is perfectly level. I need to invent or find some sort of positive locking system for the pins. Please tell me if you have had and solved this problem with the pins.

[Bill]

John -

You shouldn't have to struggle or get red-faced to open or close the TM. I simply step up to mine, hook my fingers under the lower edge, and lean back a bit. The shells come up slowly, but with little effort.

I find that the ease of opening is quite sensitive to fore-and-aft levelling. If you are not level, one shell will be extra-hard to open, and one will be extra-easy. Do you find that both shells are equally difficult to open?

If you consider tweaking the torsion bars, you have to remember that making the shells easier to open will make them harder to close. You are looking for a balance. With that in mind, let me ask:

When you open, do the shells reach the final position easily? Do you have to struggle to get them to move through the last 3 or 4 inches? Or do they seem to whiz past the proper position, requiring you to push them back?

When you close, does either shell tend to close too easily, and kind of slam down against the stops, rather than coasting to a nice stop just above the latch? They should not hit the stops.

If the shells are hard to open, but close too easily, then a tweak of the torsion bars is in order. We had a thread here, more than a year ago, I think, about how to do this. I think the info came from Denny_A. Search for it.

Regarding door pins - when you say retainers, you are referring to the shiny bent metal clips which accept and retain the posts on the door, right? I haven't had a problem here, but I can make a couple observations. First, when you are popping the door into position, it is easy to miss these clips entirely, and the posts end up beside (rather than inside) the clips. When that happens, the posts appear to pop out very easily, of course, because they were never really in. Second, as time has gone by, my clips have gotten better at gripping the posts, not worse. I think it is because the plating has worn off the clips, and the original film of lube is long gone from the posts and internal surface of the clips. The dry rough surfaces grip almost too well now. You might consider wiping both of the mating surfaces with a solvent-dipped rag to remove the film of lubrication that may be present.

Bill

[Chris_Bauer]

My two cents (knew you couldn't wait). Texas Camper has made an excellent point. I am here in San Antonio at a friends house for the week. I opened the 3326 by myself with one hand and that my friend is no exageration. Why was that so simple? A level pad.

Make sure it is level, front to back, side to side. But before starting there, start at your stick-on-levelers. You have to put them on when you are on a level surface. I'm no scientist, much less mechanically inclined, but I did take a long level with me until I found a level pad. Many RV parks advertise level pads, yeah right >:(. Once you have found one, be sure to check the interior too by placing your level on the counter tops, bed, etc. With this you have some accuracy with your stick-on levels.

Even with my "level" levelers, I still use a level in the interior to make sure I am level. As an English teacher, I think that makes a good tongue twister :o.

[jniles]

Hey guys thanks for the info and yes I have had the unit level when opening so this is not the problem.

Bill: Both shells are nearly equally hard to open however the rear is slightly harder and sometimes they will hit but not hard when closing. There usually is a small struggle the last 2 to 4 inches on the rear half since it has been hanging up (door retainer clip) on the door bag seal or window flange. So I think I need to do a slight adjustment perhaps a quarter turn on the front and maybe a half on the front shell if I remember right as I did read the tread some time back.

The clips are the ones that hold the door pins. They have been properly engaged. Thanks for the suggestion I will replace the rear clip and clean them both with solvent and see what happens for a while before trying to invent a locking device to pin the pins. Perhaps I could rough up the pin and clip surfaces with a little sand paper or fine file too.

Thanks again everyone.

[Denny_A]

Regarding torsion rod adjustments - here's the link to a primer (mentioned above by Bill) I offered some time ago. The question asked was actually related to final moevement of the shell to its stabilizing latch-engagement position. The procudure in my answer, although incorrect for the particular problem, is correct for adjusting preload on the torsion rods - which is the "raising and lowering" issue.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/yabbse/index.php?board=2;action=display;threadid=601;star t=msg5075#msg5075

Note: If the shell is very hard to raise, coarser adjustments, at the beginning, seems appropriate. The bolts, depending on age, can be difficult to move initially. A few shots of a rust-releasing lubricant may help. Both from below and above (where the end of the bolt contacts the torsion rod, so that it can drain down onto any exposed threads). Or it may not help. I haven't tried, just thinking with the keyboard.

Denny_A

[Robin]

When our TM is perfectly level the ends almost float open. It's that easy. We had everything CLAed by the local dealer, and that really helped. ;D

[jniles]

Guess what, it's not rocket science to adjust the torsion bars - Thanks Denny. I truly suspect the unit was adjusted properly when it left the factory but the dealer's guy messed with them. I found where the bolt threads were painted but bare for a 2 to 4 complete turns where they had been backed off. Ran them back and it's a pleasure to open the unit compared to what we were having to do.

[G-V_Driver]

Let's analyze this situation closely to see what can be learned.

1. John is from Oklahoma. Volunteered to learn how to fly helicoptors in the military. With those credentials, he obviously isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

2. The dealer where he bought the trailer is in Arkansas. Even though former Arksansas Senator J. William Fulbright is the founder of the scholarship program bearing his name, there is no record as to how many the graduates of that program sought careers in camper service.

Anybody see a pattern unfolding here?

On a related subject, I recently received a communique explaining why the murder cases in Arkansas are so difficult to solve:

1. All the DNA is the same

2. There are no dental records

PS: Just kidding, as I hope most of you know. I'm an Okie too and John and I have yukked it up on the phone about our meager intellectual capacities. The Arkies have just as much fun kidding the Okies as we do kidding them. As one of my dentist friends said to his Arkie patient not long ago, "nice tooth."

[dennisu]

i can only reiterate the comments by texas camper. i was unfortunate in that a squirrel took a large walnut, hull and all and left it on top of the roof. without my knowledge of this event, i proceeded to close the trailer without looking at the roof. i ended up closing the front shell down upon the rear shell and the large walnut, resulting in a rather large rolling type dent in the living area corner. i noticed during the closing that it was not going easy but had had no previous problems, so more force was in order, at least that is what i thought. wrong. alway look and clean the roof of the rear shell if needed! from experience.

dennis

[Denny_A]

Let's analyze this situation closely to see what can be learned.

1. John is from Oklahoma. Volunteered to learn how to fly helicoptors in the military. With those credentials, he obviously isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.


When I left Wisconsin as a younster I volunteered to maintain helicopters in the military. Later I volunteered to fly them - in 'Nam, no less. I guess that makes me a handle with no blade - in the drawer! :P

Denny_A, (as therapy, I refuse to wear cheesewedge hats :o)

[jniles]

So all three of us have a screw or two loose. My units were the 4th Avn Bn, 4th Inf Div (An Khe) and 163rd Avn Bn, 101st Airborne Div (Camp Eagle). Was jumpin out of em before I was flying em now how stupid can that be? Ahh 2 B young and immortal again.

[Denny_A]

So all three of us have a screw or two loose. My units were the 4th Avn Bn, 4th Inf Div (An Khe) and 163rd Avn Bn, 101st Airborne Div (Camp Eagle). Was jumpin out of em before I was flying em now how stupid can that be? Ahh 2 B young and immortal again.

US Navy, Seawolves, Ca Mau, on Gulf of Tonkin - overhead attack helo support for riverine forces (JF Kerry's "Band of Brothers"). As a relative said the week before I left for 'Nam - ya know that helo pilots have 9 outta 10 chance of being killed? Fortunately, he weren't as sharp as even helo drivers.

Denny_A