Stirrup latches, working but OK?

pauloh · 07-14-2011, 01:53 PM

Just back from 600-mile inaugural trip with our new-to-us TM. I may summarize our experiences and a different issue in another thread or two, but overall it went well and we're enjoying the TM a lot. I am going over the TM for preventative maintenance and other issues we encountered during our travels. I have been reading about the stirrup latches, corner latches, and related issues here. Looking at mine, I realized the adjustment bolts on the stirrup latches (see photo) are loose enough to let the hook assembly move around. My specific questions:

1. should I tighten these adjustment bolts when the TM is folded down? It would seem so. Hook them into the best position and then tighten?

2. I just realized there are different types of stirrup latch bolts on the two sides of the TM. I don't know why 2 of those bolts have the little holes in them unlike the other side. Thoughts? I plan to get some spares that are similar anyway for the tool kit.

3. And reading about the stirrup latch "hook" rivet coming out or failing, I am wondering if I should go ahead and replace this rivet with a nut and bolt. The hooks on mine seem slightly wobbly, perhaps as they've been yanked around by the loose adjustment bolts.

4. I know from following my TM as it was towed by another vehicle for a few miles that the front shell does "bounce" slightly on bumps. I would estimate I could see 1 or 2 inches of space below that seal between the front/rear shell, viewed from the rear, when it bounced. Is this abnormal, and will tightening the stirrup latches possibly stop this bouncing?

5. Looks like previous owner overtightened a couple of bolts (see photo). Seems solid but am thinking of replacing those washers with something a bit more substantial.

Trying not to obsess about all this stuff but I will also get some straps as advised to keep the "lid" on if needed sometime!

07-14-2011, 03:22 PM

I'll defer to those more experienced than myself as to your specific questions, but I will note that I would certainly take some ratcheting hold down straps and (using some type of padding in the appropriate places) arrange them to minimize the front shell bounce, otherwise you will likely see what I show in the attached photo. (On my last trip, which was on nice relatively smooth roads, I used one strap on each side of the front shell attached to the main frame member on each side and attached to each other on the top of the front shell. It wasn't very pretty, but did seem to limit any worsening of the problem. I am presently working on a better fix.)

**mjlaupp** · 07-14-2011, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pauloh

1. should I tighten these adjustment bolts when the TM is folded down? It would seem so. Hook them into the best position and then tighten?

Finding the best position for the latches is somewhat trial and error. Adjust the latch to about half way in the slots, tighten the bolts and close the top. If the top cannot be latched, you have it adjusted to tight. If you can pull down on the top and cause the stirrup to bounce in the latch opening, you have it too loose.

Quote:

2. I just realized there are different types of stirrup latch bolts on the two sides of the TM. I don't know why 2 of those bolts have the little holes in them unlike the other side. Thoughts? I plan to get some spares that are similar anyway for the tool kit.

The ones with little holes are aircraft bolts and the holes are for safety wire that is used to keep the bolts from loosening (not needed here).

Quote:

3. And reading about the stirrup latch "hook" rivet coming out or failing, I am wondering if I should go ahead and replace this rivet with a nut and bolt. The hooks on mine seem slightly wobbly, perhaps as they've been yanked around by the loose adjustment bolts.

You can replace them if you think it is necessary or just keep replacement bolts on hand. You need nylock nuts for the bolts in this application.

Quote:

4. I know from following my TM as it was towed by another vehicle for a few miles that the front shell does "bounce" slightly on bumps. I would estimate I could see 1 or 2 inches of space below that seal between the front/rear shell, viewed from the rear, when it bounced. Is this abnormal, and will tightening the stirrup latches possibly stop this bouncing?

Tightening the stirrup latches will help here but will not stop the bouncing. If you look at the left side of the picture you posted, you will note that the leftmost latch is for the back shell. It is fixed to a frame outrigger and will not move so the back shell should not bounce if the latch is adjusted properly. The rightmost latch is fixed to the end of the lift front shell lift arm. The end of the torsion bar will flex and move during travel so some bouncing will occur on the front shell.

Quote:

5. Looks like previous owner overtightened a couple of bolts (see photo). Seems solid but am thinking of replacing those washers with something a bit more substantial.

The washers need to deform somewhat to provide a good grip on the torsion bar inside the lift arm. Just use some touch up paint on the bare metal.

More info here:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2318

pauloh · 07-16-2011, 10:00 AM

Thank you Mike for the information and for pointing me to that earlier link I'd somehow missed with your photos. Very helpful and I'll be working on this today. Really appreciate the explanation.

pauloh · 07-17-2011, 05:01 PM

I finished today replacing nuts/bolts on the main hold-down latches (the ones in the center of both sides of the TM, not the corner latches.) I found that in some cases the factory lock washer was rusting, and that a couple of the bolts/nuts were loose. So I replaced all hardware with new 1/4 x 5/8" (or 3/4"?) bolts, not 1/2" long as Mike mentioned, that seemed too short on my unit, with a flat washer under the bolt head as Mike suggested, a locking washer on the other end, and a square nut over the lock washer, as the factory had used. I realized a hexagonal nut would be much harder to tighten (or loosen) in the confined space it is in. You can't get a wrench or even a needle-nose pliers in there. A square nut let me insert a flat screwdriver against one side of the nut to hold it until the bolt could be tightened against it and the lock washer.

So the back shell seems perfectly adjusted, no bounce, tight but moderate pressure on the stirrup will engage the hook. On the front shell, I still have quite a bit of bounce (like 3/4 or 1 inch), more so on the door side, when I stand on the stirrup or pull down on the roof. This even though I have the adjustments set out/down as far as possible, using the lower of 2 holes for the bolts on the frame, and sliding the slot as far down as possible on the hold-down latch. You might be able to see some of this in the photo. It may be "good enough", I think it is improved from previously, and I'll see what happens next time I can get the TM on the road. The corner latches are quite snug too and the bounce is not enough to release them as far as I can tell, so maybe I'm in good shape. Am wondering if putting some bedding on the front bed might reduce the bouncing, might try that. We do have 1 inch memory foam on the rear bed with no issues closing the rear shell as far as I can tell.