torsion bar pivot in shell

[Larryjb]

I seem to recall seeing this before, along with a solution. Unfortunately I cannot find it anymore.

This bolt has pulled away and damaged the metal skin on the outside and inside. Does anyone remember the link to the problem and solution?

[HoMiPa]

I'd love to know the fix for this as well. I have the same problem with the front curb side attachment. It has pulled through the wall on both the interior & exterior sides. It's been that way for years, but since I'm doing all this work on my TM now, I'm trying to identify/remember all these little things that need to be repaired, so I can fix them.

[Larryjb]

Ironically, your reply puts me at ease to some degree. This tells me that the aluminum skins (inner and outer) are not significant structural supports for the shell-to-lift arms, if they can last in this condition for so many years.

I'd still like to see what solutions people have come up with. I remember seeing a solution that involved oversized washers. I've searched the frame and exterior subforums and not found it yet. Maybe I was dreaming that I read the solution.

[Bill]

Larryjb -

Your picture shows an acorn nut. If you unscrew and remove the acorn nut, you will see the threaded end of a bolt. The bolt goes through the entire wall. With the shell up, you can push the bolt through the wall and out the other side. You will see that most of the length of the bolt is smooth and unthreaded, suggesting a hinge pin function. It passes through an item called a "pocket stop", which is inside the wall. The pocket stop (which is adjustable, do a Search here on the Forum) is what limits the travel of the shell as you open it.

I think (but I do not know) that the deformation you are seeing comes from opening the shell too vigorously, so that it slams against the pocket stop at the end of its travel.

Getting the bolt back into the hole may require pushing a screwdriver through the hole, and then jockeying it around to line up all the parts.

Bill

[HoMiPa]

Ha ha Larry - yup - mine has been like that forever. It actually happened the first year of ownership, when during a sudden, unexpected storm, and away from the campground, the wind ripped the awning off the TM. It ripped the support arm brackets out of the exterior wall of the TM, along with ripping the awning off the top of the TM. I'm guessing the force of the wind pulling on the awning, etc, during that whole process, also caused that hinge pin bolt to rip through both sides of the TM upper shell wall. Not sure why it wasn't fixed when the new awning was installed, but it is definitely when it happened, which would have been summer of 2005. Been like that ever since. However, it does probably explain the problems I often have with flip up lock bar on that forward curb side bed support, in getting it to line up properly.

Thanks for the info Bill - so if I replace the bolt, should I just put a large washer on the inside and outside of the shell, to cover the aluminum rip? Does that bolt remain slightly loose, so that it does indeed act as a hinge pin, and therefore, washers may be a mute point because I won't be able to tighten the acorn nut onto the bolt all the way to hold the washers tight against the shell walls?

[Larryjb]

In Maria's picture of the pocket stop, there is no supporting hole in the U-shaped pocket stop bracket itself for the bolt that connects the lift arm to the shell, other than the aluminum skin itself.
Maria's picture of pocket stop:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iZSRedBZ9n...Repair+023.jpg

When looking at the lift arm, it is clear that the lift arm would support the shell at the rubber bumper in the pocket stop.
Maria's picture of the lift arm in the upright position:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iZSRedBZ9n...Repair+009.jpg

As the shell lowers, the lift arm will rotate counterclockwise until horizontal. In the horizontal position, I don't see any part of the lift arm that would support the shell at that rubber bumper in the pocket stop. I assume the weight of the shell would be taken by the inner walls at this point, but if the shell were forced closed with items packed too high in the TM, it could tear the aluminum skin.

I am concerned, though, that while raising the shell, the weight of the shell is supported by the skin of the wall itself. I believe that a large washer would just hide the problem, and it could get progressively worse of the years creating further alignment issues.

If I were to do anything, I think I'd have to remove the acorn nut and bolt, rivet a fresh piece of heavier guage aluminum to the side, drill a hole the correct size, then reassemble.

(Note, I would not use any form of steel here, as electrolytic action would degrade the aluminum.)

Thoughts? Am I overparanoid? (Wouldn't be a first for me)

[Padgett]

Looks like a candidate for a fender washer.

[Bill]

I'm not sure about your conclusion that the weight of the shell is ever supported by the skin. I think of the shell as a rigid box, with a frame inside the walls and roof, and a skin glued over it. I'm pretty sure that the rigid box is supported by the lift arms, two on each side. With some effort, you can peer at least part way up into the shell wall, and see how the shell frame rests on the strong parts of the lift arms. I wasn't able to get any photos, though.

Anyway, the pocket stop is much to light weight to support a shell weighing a few hundred pounds.

Bill

[Larryjb]

Maria's other picture of the pocket stop:http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iZSRedBZ9n...Repair+021.jpg

This shot seems to show a frame member at the top of the pocket. It does seem to show that the lift bars do support the weight of the shell on a frame member. There also seems to be a heavier guage sheet aluminum as well as the aluminum skin on either side of the wall section at the pocket. When it stops raining, I'll take a peek at the underside of the pocket and see. This is Vancouver BC, so that could be awhile. Next time I have it open I'll take out the acorn nut and bolt and try to assess the condition of the hole.

Edit:
I just took a peek at the torn outer skin beside one of these acorn nuts/pins. There is, indeed, a heavier aluminum plate behind the thin aluminum skin. I believe the hole in the thicker plate may be a elongated slightly, but the outer skin seems to play no role in structure, as I would have expected. At this point, I suspect any repair here would be purely for cosmetic reasons.

Thanks to Bill for making me take a second look. As you said, the lift arms should be connected to the "rigid box". I was trying to figure out what part of the rigid box the lift arms connected to. I could not see any 1" frame member where the hole was for the bolt. A second look led me to the thicker plate part of the rigid box.

[Larryjb]

I took my own pictures of the pocket stop and an outside view of the bolt. Other than Maria's pictures, there are no other reference pictures that I have seen of this area. This may be helpful information for those looking at older TM during the transition years.

In the pocket stop you can see two layers of aluminum, one thicker than the other. The thinner one is the aluminum skin, the inner one supports the lift arm.



Presumably, the weight of the shell rides momentarily on this plate while the shell is being raised or lowered. As Bill said, the shell is like an an aluminum box, so this plate will be securely attached to the metal framing, making it part of the entire frame.

From the side, you can see the inner aluminum plate behind the peeled outer skin. The hole here is slightly elongated.



Presumably, IF the hole in the inner plate become too elongated, a replacement plate could be inserted and firmly secured to the aluminum frame member visible in the first picture. Given that this trailer is 16 years old, and it has lasted this long so far, I doubt it will be a problem.

Removing the bolt to insert a fender washer may be a good idea, but I would only use stainless steel to prevent electyrolytic action with the aluminum.