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12-02-2022, 06:57 AM
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#11
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 2,854
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyboyTR
Shane,
Since I had "lag" bolts and not threaded/machine bolts, I guess my 2010 was before the change to the T-nuts. Good to know about that change. Thanks!
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Mine is a 2009 and it has "Lag bolts". I think that it also has those "T-nuts". It really felt like they were screwing into steel and there was no hint of wood on the threads. The T-nuts could certainly be designed for lag bolts.
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TrailManor Elkmont
640W solar- 230AH LiFeP04 Battery
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12-02-2022, 07:39 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Mobile, AL
Posts: 225
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavery
Mine is a 2009 and it has "Lag bolts". I think that it also has those "T-nuts". It really felt like they were screwing into steel and there was no hint of wood on the threads. The T-nuts could certainly be designed for lag bolts.
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My lag bolts had wood fiber on them. I don't ever recall seeing t-nuts designed for actual lag bolts. But...that by no means prove they do not exist. Always learning something new.
Thanks for the input...appreciated!
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2007 Trailmanor 2720 SL (new to us 04/19) SOLD.
2010 Trailmanor 3023 (new to us 08/2022...The "Rat Motel")
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02-04-2023, 07:25 PM
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#13
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New Member
Join Date: Feb 2023
Posts: 2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavery
I just had an interesting experience and I thought that I would share.
I recently adjusted the torque rods for the roof lifts because I added solar panels (additional weight). This morning, I tried closing the roofs and they would not latch, no matter how hard I tried. They had always latched fairly easy before the roof adjustment.
I crawled under the trailer and found that the lag bolts that hold the torque rods to the outer roof frame, where the center latches are, were ALL loose (4 on each side of the trailer).
Fearing the wood-rot devil, I unscrewed each bolt (one at a time) and checked them all. All of the bolts were clean and no wood came out with the bolts.
Moral to this story is, if your TM is 10+ years old, you may want to check those bolts to be sure they are tight. (9/16" socket and short extension). Especially if you are having issues latching your roofs.
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Recently purchased an old 2720sl. First time out and this happened when closing.
It does appear to have wood rot. One bolt came out completely and the other 3 are barely hanging on. Any suggestions on how to fix this?
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02-04-2023, 08:13 PM
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#14
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
Posts: 10,119
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Tell me again why you concluded it was wood rot?
When you back them out, do they have machine screw threads, or wood screw threads? Are the threads tapered toward a pointy tip, or constant diameter all the way to the end? Incidentally, lag bolts are wood screws, and have coarse sharp wood screw threads, not machine screw threads, so we may be mixing terminology in this discussion.
Again, when you back them out, do you see rotted wood "crumbs", probably black, on the threads? If you push them back up into place, can you then tighten them by hand into what feels like steel machine screw nuts?
Bill
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02-04-2023, 09:18 PM
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#15
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Site Sponsor
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,054
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Are you talking about the latching baracket where it meets at the latch? The back one looks like there was a support bracket? Bolted to hold the latch to the lift bar?
If you can get a better picture, that would help.
__________________
2013 2619
80 watt solar panel/swing hitch/low profile A/C.
Enduro 4445 caravan mover
2016 Dodge Ram 1500 V8 Hemi
Installed powered folding tow mirrors
Stopped playing with airplanes, now I just enjoy watching them fly by.
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02-04-2023, 10:39 PM
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#16
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 2,854
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Looks like wood rot to me. What year?
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TrailManor Elkmont
640W solar- 230AH LiFeP04 Battery
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02-05-2023, 08:05 AM
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#17
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
Posts: 10,119
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Nice work with the photo, Wavery. Yes, it looks like the bolt threads are well-coated with either rust or crumbs of rotten wood, either of which implies moisture where there should be no moisture, and hence wood rot. Opening up that wall, whether to replace that wood or just to stabilize it, isn't going to be fun. And of course, it begs the question of how more rot is hiding in there.
Bill
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02-05-2023, 08:42 AM
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#18
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New Member
Join Date: Feb 2023
Posts: 2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill
Nice work with the photo, Wavery. Yes, it looks like the bolt threads are well-coated with either rust or crumbs of rotten wood, either of which implies moisture where there should be no moisture, and hence wood rot. Opening up that wall, whether to replace that wood or just to stabilize it, isn't going to be fun. And of course, it begs the question of how more rot is hiding in there.
Bill
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It’s an older model, 2000, so I’m not surprised. Sucks it happened after our first trip out because everything else worked great.
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02-05-2023, 09:02 AM
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#19
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 2,854
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I think that I might be tempted to remove the stove and the cabinet door under the stove. Open a 3" high by 6" long hole just above the floor. Fold the aluminum skin down, flat on the floor to expose the area just above those bolts. Scrape out the styrofoam. Take out the center bolt and drill a hole straight through the floor and into your new opening. If it looks doable, get a 4" wide x 6" long (or longer) 10G or 1/4" steel plate and drill matching holes for new 316 S/S bolts (5/16" X approx 5 or 6" long) to go all the way through the trailer frame and about 1.5" into your opening. Put S/S washers, lock washers and S/S nuts with some Blue Locktite on the bolts and tighten it to about 15ft pounds (as to not crush the rotten wood.
These are not instructions......... just brain storming. Wait for others to chime in. I've never opened the wall there but I would certainly try that before I'd try to replace that 2x4 wood floor frame.
Just another though....... if you use 1/4" steel plate, you could just tap the holes with a 5/16-20 standard tap. Just be aware that might make it harder to get the new bolts started threading.
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TrailManor Elkmont
640W solar- 230AH LiFeP04 Battery
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02-05-2023, 09:25 AM
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#20
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 2,854
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainOates99
It’s an older model, 2000, so I’m not surprised. Sucks it happened after our first trip out because everything else worked great.
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That doesn't look that bad. Before doing anything aggressive, you might try the nest size (larger diameter) lag bolts. That may require drilling out the holes in the steel bracket (might not too).
If they tighten up snug, call it good. If they fail, then go to the next step.
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TrailManor Elkmont
640W solar- 230AH LiFeP04 Battery
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