Torsion/support bracket pulling floor down - Page 2

**J_Norris** · 06-20-2018, 04:23 PM

Hooboy, this sounds complicated - I hadn’t really thought about all the steps involved (thanks for thinking it through), but I’m optimistic that it’s doable.
In addition to the bolting and gluing wherever possible, I’m wondering if our shop guy can recommend anything about bolting an additional support to the metal trailer frame similar to the one that is a little further along the trailer (see picture).

At least I can get started on the rubber bumpers 😊 and on reading up on the torsion bars to see where ours stand in terms of wear and adjustability remaining. The front shell is quite easy to lift at this point, and if anything I’d say it gets going a little too easily towards the end of it’s swing, even though I stop pulling pretty early in the process.

I should have mentioned before, the previous owner was careful to point out this issue before I bought her, so I wasn’t surprised and knew I’d be taking this on. I’m quite attached to her already and am looking forward to many good years with her.

**Larryjb** · 06-20-2018, 07:23 PM

I'm certain it is doable. I'm on the Canadian west coast, so I do have to consider that any repairs would have to be done by me alone. There are no TM dealers or repair facilities within reasonable driving distances for me. This site, with Bill, Dick, and many others more knowledgable than me was a huge selling point getting me into Trailmanor. Whatever might break or need adjustment, or can be modified, some one here has a solution.

I recently replaced the wood panelling on the kitchen side of my TM. I believe I may have been the first to do so, but what I have learned from this site gave me the confidence to do the job. ( BTW, all mildew smell is gone now.)

**J_Norris** · 06-20-2018, 09:37 PM

Thanks for the encouragement! We’ve got a 4-day trip planned in her next week, that should give us lots of close-up time for cogitation. Then we’ll have 6 weeks till our next trip and we’ll make a try for fixing her in that interval.

I'll post back what solution(s) we try, and I may think of a few more questions before we get to that point.

Thanks again everyone! The resources in this forum were a big part of the reason I felt confident in buying a Trailmanor in the first place.

Jodi

**Larryjb** · 06-20-2018, 09:59 PM

I would get one of these to put under the sagging torsion bar bracket to support it while you set it up. This should provide adequate support while camping. I'm sure you can get one at a local RV supply, or even Walmart.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Olympia...nd+stabilizers

**Bill** · 06-21-2018, 07:03 AM

Larry -

Would you see any benefit in getting a long piece of aluminum L-channel, maybe 2 x 2 x 3/16 inch thick, and fastening it under the sagging part? I'm not quite sure how to support it except at the ends (which apparently have not popped loose), but when the ultimate fix shows up, this would tend to support the section and prevent recurrence.

Just a thought

Bill

**J_Norris** · 06-21-2018, 09:17 AM

I think we'll get a couple, we're using a couple of normal jacks from our cars to prevent it from sagging any more, but they're a real hassle. I bet these stands will also be useful when doing the actual fix.

**Larryjb** · 06-21-2018, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

Larry -

Would you see any benefit in getting a long piece of aluminum L-channel, maybe 2 x 2 x 3/16 inch thick, and fastening it under the sagging part? I'm not quite sure how to support it except at the ends (which apparently have not popped loose), but when the ultimate fix shows up, this would tend to support the section and prevent recurrence.

Just a thought

Bill

Bill,

We should probably wait until Jodi gets a chance to talk further with Dick. He has first-hand knowledge from engineers and better contacts than I would be. I, too, easily get sucked into guessing and diagnosing without actually seeing the problem myself. In fact, I probably jumped the gun in my earlier post. I think I was just impressing upon Jodi that a repair would be somewhat involved, but certainly not impossible.

I wouldn't trust the strength of the sheet aluminum, or even the 1" tubing to support the wood framing. I noticed on my own TM that the 1" tubing can bend. If Jodi did not have the slide version, she could easily install bolts keeping the floor sandwich structure together. In her case, any bolt on the inside would protrude and interfere with the aluminum track for the slide.

I think a repair might look very different if the failure is simply a failed fasteners in the floor wood framing, compared to if the wood actually split.

I am always very interested in these issues and their solutions because no RV place around here has any experience with Trailmanor, leaving me to fix things on my own. This is why this site is so valuable to me!

**J_Norris** · 06-21-2018, 09:36 PM

I think the L channel to spread the support will be worth keeping in mind.
On our way back from this trip we're planning to stop by the shop with the TM to see what they think about the possibilities as well.

GolfingDebby · 06-29-2018, 05:52 PM

Hi Jodi,
You are having the exact same problem we had with our 3326. The sides have separated from the floor. The sides move up. It sounds weird but we jacked up the same side, but opposite end of the trailer which brought the side down. Used an L-bracket with bolts and nuts through both the side wall and floor. We've had to do this in multiple places on our trailer I think because the longer ones tend to flex more in travel. I will be happy to explain in more detail if needed. Doug

**J_Norris** · 06-30-2018, 10:27 AM

Thanks, Doug

I would greatly appreciate a description or photos or diagram. My husband and I came up with 3 different possible ways that an L-shaped piece of metal might work, pretty much covering the 3-dimensional rotation options :-) One of the 3 was the approach that Bill mentioned.

Our RV-welding shop guy also said we should get any details we can because it would not be simple to figure out an approach for this that wouldn't cause problems.

Just wanted to check - was your side wooden floor frame also pushed down relative to either the front or rear wooden floor frame? Our side floor frames are down-dropped relative to the front floor frame, like a little geologic fault.

Just to cover all possible bases, my next steps are gleaning more information from anywhere I can, including calling Custom RV in California to find out more about this particular unit’s history and asking the folks at Trailmanor if they have advice.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Jodi