TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post

02-10-2003, 09:23 AM

Yes, it's true there weren't as many made back then as they were a new company just starting out in 1983. Mine is a 1986, and is obvious from my website, was constructed of wood. The only wood that went bad however was in the front clam shell only as it was stored in the closed position and neglected for years. If you are curious to find out if yours is wood or not it's simple to check. Simply look into the pockets where the travel arms go up into the shells. if you look at the bottom edge inside the pockets, you will either see wood, or a hollow, square, aluminum tube, (even in the 2003 models you can see the aluminum). If it is aluminum, I'd not worry one bit about the construction, if it's wood, unscrew a screw here and there and look at the condition of the screws. If they are rusty and missing threads, you're looking at a project like mine. If they seem fine, I'd not worry too much about it. Also, with the unit in the closed position, take a flashlight and look up in those pockets if it is wood and make sure all the rubber bumpers are in there securely. Another test would be to open the front clam shell *only* then open the rear shell after waiting a few mins, (if you do have wood in there). The reason I say this is though they stopped using wood in the bottoms of the clam shells, they did not stop using wood in the top. If that is rotted, the dealer may try to cover up this fact by opening both the front and rear shells at the same time, thereby letting the front be supported by the rear clam shell. Again, this can be checked by pulling a screw or two out of the top underneath the screw cover. Again, pictures of what the bad screws will look like are on my website. Bear in mind though, I only paid $400.00 for mine, and if worse came to worse, I could sell the appliences, (not to mention windows), out of it for much more than I've got in it. (Nope, they don't make those type of windows anymore, and they are in demand). But that was only if my project failed, and I came out real good I'd say.  

[glow=red,2,300]Happytrails.........[/glow]

02-10-2003, 09:23 AM	#5
Happytrails Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Issues with older models? Yes, it's true there weren't as many made back then as they were a new company just starting out in 1983. Mine is a 1986, and is obvious from my website, was constructed of wood. The only wood that went bad however was in the front clam shell only as it was stored in the closed position and neglected for years. If you are curious to find out if yours is wood or not it's simple to check. Simply look into the pockets where the travel arms go up into the shells. if you look at the bottom edge inside the pockets, you will either see wood, or a hollow, square, aluminum tube, (even in the 2003 models you can see the aluminum). If it is aluminum, I'd not worry one bit about the construction, if it's wood, unscrew a screw here and there and look at the condition of the screws. If they are rusty and missing threads, you're looking at a project like mine. If they seem fine, I'd not worry too much about it. Also, with the unit in the closed position, take a flashlight and look up in those pockets if it is wood and make sure all the rubber bumpers are in there securely. Another test would be to open the front clam shell only then open the rear shell after waiting a few mins, (if you do have wood in there). The reason I say this is though they stopped using wood in the bottoms of the clam shells, they did not stop using wood in the top. If that is rotted, the dealer may try to cover up this fact by opening both the front and rear shells at the same time, thereby letting the front be supported by the rear clam shell. Again, this can be checked by pulling a screw or two out of the top underneath the screw cover. Again, pictures of what the bad screws will look like are on my website. Bear in mind though, I only paid $400.00 for mine, and if worse came to worse, I could sell the appliences, (not to mention windows), out of it for much more than I've got in it. (Nope, they don't make those type of windows anymore, and they are in demand). But that was only if my project failed, and I came out real good I'd say.   [glow=red,2,300]Happytrails.........[/glow]