[gonzo628]

We took our maiden voyage in the TM and it was mostly a success. Unfortunately, I forgot the cheater bar to lift the shackles on our weight distributing hitch at the campground... But, more importantly, my door-side front shell center hold down latch (for lack official name) failed on the ride home. Fortunately, the spring action in the lever kept the latch attached the to the shell (on the shell's catch). the bolts, however, worked themselves loose and have left the trailer. I am going to take a bolt from the other side so that I can match hardware and replace the two bolts. The question is: How do I prevent this from happening again.

NOTE: Previously, in the six months I've owned the trailer, I noticed this latch loose -first because a gap had developed in the area between the front and rear shells (door-side) when it was closed and secondly because the latch had developed some play. I tightened this all back up and it appeared to hold well as we opened and closed the trailer a number of times (chomping at the bit to go camping the first time).