Lars' Guide to Leveling the TrailManor Shells

After struggling with shells that don't seem to operate very well, I decided to do some reading in the forum. There are several threads describing various adjustment points on the shells but no real How-to Guide. Here are the tips I've come up with.

There are three basic adjustments for the shells.

1. Height and tilt adjustment of the shells.
2. Torsion bar tension.
3. Pocket stop adjusters.

In order to adjust the shells, or even open them for that matter, the TM should be sitting level in both directions. Failure to do so will cause the shells to be unbalanced.

1. Now open the TM. The first adjustment should consist of leveling the shells. Both shells must be parallel to each other and the bottom box. In other words, the overhanging portion should not be tilted towards the ground or uneven side to side. The height of the shells can be adjusted by lengthening or shortening each of the four arms that hold up each shell. This done by supporting the shell using jacks or some similar method and then loosening the four bolts on an arm where it ties to the torsion bar. It is important that the arms are all the same overall length. Leveling the shells will do that. If the arms are of unequal length, the shell will bind as it is lowered and the arms become parallel but unequal length. Take note of the distance between the two shells when erected so that the seals in the roof have an appropriate tension. Too much doesn't aid in closing the inside shell.

2. Just as each shell has four suspension arms, it has four torsion bars beneath the chassis that apply twisting force to the arm, counterbalancing the weight of the shell. Again, this adjustment is done with the TM open. The obvious conclusion to their adjustment is that by tighening the large screws beneath the chassis, more tension can be applied to the torsion bars and thereby aid lifting. If closing is a problem, loosening the screws will reduce tension. Unlatching the outside shell can make closing the inside shell easier too. It is important that the amount of tension on each bar left and right is equal so that the shell does not descend crooked and then jam. The adjuster for the right bar is on the left side of the trailer and vice versa. Also important is that the shell raises and lowers in a relatively level manor. This involves adjusting the forward and rear set of bars for the shell in relation to each other. A misadjustment here can make opening difficult. The outside shell must be latched before opening the inside one.

3. Late model TM's (sometime early 2000's) have adjustable pocket stops. The pockets stops limit how far the shells can open. Ideally you want them to open exactly to the point where side latches will enguage the pins to hold the shells safely open. Earlier TM's also have pocket stops but they are adjusted by shimming more or less washers into the stop. Close the TM but no need to latch it shut. You will notice that where the top of each shell support arm attaches to the shell, there is a plastic trim piece. Behind this trim is an adjusting screw on the end of the arm. Do not loosen the pivot allen screw that protrudes from the shell above the plastic trim. You want to find the screw in the arm itself. Loosening this screw will reduce the amount that the shell can open. All four arms have these adjusters. Adjust both screws on each side until the shell opens so the pins center over the latches on both sides.

Always try to lift and push the shells from the center so that they do not twist and jam. I hope this helps someone like it has helped me. Please feel free to make suggestions.

That's a lot of good information Lars, Thanks for the details. I haven't looked into how the suspension works, so I don't have too much to add other than a couple of observations. A couple of times I've had to pop the shells open enough to fill the water tank at state parks by myself when it was very unlevel. It is much more difficult to open and close if it is unlevel side-to-side. I've found that if I work on the downhill side (both opening and closing) before the uphill side I have better luck because I can push on the shell a little to get it lined up from the downhill side. When opening, if I try to lift on the uphill side first the shell cams downhill and binds, but if I lift the downhill side first it helps to keep it from binding. If I try to close the uphill side first it will latch, but then I'm fighting both gravity and the rigid attachment of the other side when I try to latch the downhill side. I would never try to camp with it this unlevel, and I carry 2x10 boards to drive the TM on to try and temporarily level it for cases like this. I've gotta rig up a way to fill with the shells closed even if it's to back fill through the drain valve as I've seen in a few postings.

Front-to-back unlevel mostly means that one shell or the other is easier to pop, but then the door fittings won't work well and I would never want the refrigerator to be too unlevel front-to-back because the ammonia draining won't work correctly.

Another thing is that initially we had some attempts at closing when I thought we had too much on the bed, and the shells seemed to hit something solid keeping it from closing the last couple of inches. It turned out that the shell was hitting the nuts that attach the lifting arms to the hinge, and this was usually on the non-solar wiring side (the curb or door side of the TM) because the solar wiring allowed the shell something to slide on so that it didn't catch on that side's nuts. Now I know to watch that as we close it, and I can close the TM by myself.

Yea I agree on the off camber troubles. Amazing how just a bit of tilt changes things.

I bought a garden hose female coupler with a small neck and clamped it over the tank drain valve to fill that way. It takes longer because the valve and the elbow fitting at the tank are very small. It works though I don't use it often. You could also put a neat hole in the screen and leave the window open in front of the regular fill if you have the right model TM.

Lars, great information on this thread. Thanks for all of the work in getting this thread going.

Has anyone tried this: http://www.rvpillo.com/. I saw it in the lastest issue of Highways magazine. A unique idea, althought a little on the pricey side vs. scrap wood blocks (free ), or Lynx Levelers @ ~$30 per pack.

Chap

In order to adjust the shells, or even open them for that matter, the TM should be sitting level in both directions. Failure to do so will cause the shells to be unbalanced.


If my wife is with me we would follow the above directions. However I have problems with both my arms. And I found that the only way I can lift the front section is to lower the tongue almost all the way. After I do that I level the TM and have no problem getting the rear section up.

Originally Posted by mtnguy

Lars, great information on this thread. Thanks for all of the work in getting this thread going.

Has anyone tried this: http://www.rvpillo.com/. I saw it in the lastest issue of Highways magazine. A unique idea, althought a little on the pricey side vs. scrap wood blocks (free ), or Lynx Levelers @ ~$30 per pack.

Chap

Interesting. Reminds me of that air bag jack you attach to the exhaust to lift the car. I have more sway in my TM than I would like already. I'm wondering if the "air mattress" would make it worse. I have been considering fabricating truss bars that go from the body to the base of the jacks at an angle.

John sounds like you need an adjustment...

Originally Posted by larsdennert

Interesting. Reminds me of that air bag jack you attach to the exhaust to lift the car. I have more sway in my TM than I would like already. I'm wondering if the "air mattress" would make it worse. I have been considering fabricating truss bars that go from the body to the base of the jacks at an angle.

Good point.....I hadn't thought about these puppies being spongy, although after you get the weight on them I would think they would firm up some. I don't know if a person can ever get all of the sway out of a trailer. It takes a little getting used to, until you get your "camper legs" (similar to sea legs)

Chap

[ThePair]

Anyone seen/used the BAL leveler? Seems straightforward enough, and seems like it would make one-person leveling easier?

[ShrimpBurrito]

Maybe it's just me, but dragging out and hooking up my air compressor to inflate those bags seems like a major hassle. Just one more thing to add to the setup process, which I am always trying to simplify. Tossing some blocks or levelers under there takes 2 seconds, and they are solid.

Dave

Hi Lars, my 3 kids on the other end of the trailer make it wiggle a lot for me too (they probably say the same thing about us), and I've been looking into installing something like this: http://norcoind.com/bal/products/con.../lockarm.shtml
or this:http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...6-struts/35782

Is this similar to what you are thinking of doing? I'd like to install one of these over the winter if I can...