TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post - Right Rear torsion bar bracket. Lag bolts pulled out of wood frame.

**Ed--swGA** · 07-08-2023, 07:50 AM

Thanks, Rick for your extensive comments. They are certainly appreciated!

Let me correct my statement: My TM has 6 of these brackets: 4 large ones at the corners, and 2 smaller ones in the middle, where the shells come together. The 2 large ones at the front have both pulled loose, though at different times, and recently, bolts on the small one on the off-door side came loose and had to be repaired with larger and longer bolts. Let me also say that I don't believe the flooring is affected so far. The dry rot seems to be in the 2x4's that frame the box. My repairman's fixes have so far held up, but he keeps calling this nothing but a band-aid, and not a permanent fix. Says his work might hold up for 10 years, or 10 days, impossible to predict without going into the structure of the trailer itself. He has used your #1 suggestion above already, and has used a 1/4" steel plate 3" wide and 30" long beginning at the front corner, and coming down the side. He installed the plate underneath and then attached the bracket to the plate. He has not, however, run bolts all the way through the floor so that they are visible from the inside. At least, not yet! I had a conversation with Jacob at Trailmanor last year about this problem, and he suggested the steel bar reinforcement approach. And then, he said that if that was unsuccessful, that the wood could be replaced, he just didn't say how to go about it. I have emailed him at Trailmanor, but with the upcoming changes there, I don't know if he is there or not.

I did a little research on dry rot, and it is a fungus that can begin whenever the moisture content in wood reaches a certain level. And, most troubling of all is that once this begins--it doesn't stop, but continues to spread. I would like to find a permanent solution to avoid future problems, and protect my investment.

Thanks again for your help.

Ed

07-08-2023, 07:50 AM	#9
Ed--swGA Site Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 16	Thanks, Rick for your extensive comments. They are certainly appreciated! Let me correct my statement: My TM has 6 of these brackets: 4 large ones at the corners, and 2 smaller ones in the middle, where the shells come together. The 2 large ones at the front have both pulled loose, though at different times, and recently, bolts on the small one on the off-door side came loose and had to be repaired with larger and longer bolts. Let me also say that I don't believe the flooring is affected so far. The dry rot seems to be in the 2x4's that frame the box. My repairman's fixes have so far held up, but he keeps calling this nothing but a band-aid, and not a permanent fix. Says his work might hold up for 10 years, or 10 days, impossible to predict without going into the structure of the trailer itself. He has used your #1 suggestion above already, and has used a 1/4" steel plate 3" wide and 30" long beginning at the front corner, and coming down the side. He installed the plate underneath and then attached the bracket to the plate. He has not, however, run bolts all the way through the floor so that they are visible from the inside. At least, not yet! I had a conversation with Jacob at Trailmanor last year about this problem, and he suggested the steel bar reinforcement approach. And then, he said that if that was unsuccessful, that the wood could be replaced, he just didn't say how to go about it. I have emailed him at Trailmanor, but with the upcoming changes there, I don't know if he is there or not. I did a little research on dry rot, and it is a fungus that can begin whenever the moisture content in wood reaches a certain level. And, most troubling of all is that once this begins--it doesn't stop, but continues to spread. I would like to find a permanent solution to avoid future problems, and protect my investment. Thanks again for your help. Ed