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Old 07-12-2016, 12:10 AM   #1
BrucePerens
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Default Front shell center latch support retrofit, second try

This is my second try at a retrofit of the support for my front shell center latch. The first image shows the torn end of the shell support bar, most of the way through hand-sawing the torn end off. I received the trailer with the holes torn that way. While removing the torn end, I cut at an angle to avoid nicking the torsion bar. The second image shows the 1/8 inch steel plate I fabricated to support the latch. The latch is attached to the back of this plate.

This version holds the latch in place reliably and is stronger than the Trailmanor design. On my next try, I'll make it neater and a bit shorter at the top, I'll add a second plate behind the bar to better distribute the force of the bolts over the bar and the underlying torsion rod, and I'll paint the plates and the support bar.

I have nothing against nylock nuts. It just happens that my hardware store didn't have any, not to mention any in stainless. They had stainless nuts with integral star lock-washers for the small fasteners, and wedge lock nuts for the large ones. I used Locktite blue on all fasteners. I should probably not be using washers under the wedge-lock nuts. I might try to find Nord-Lock fasteners for the next try.

Even if I eventually replace the shell support bar, I'll continue to use this plate design. It's stronger and more reliable than attaching the latch to the bar end, and it prevents damage to the support bar.

After installing this, we pulled the TM to Bullard's Bar (about 3 hours from Berkeley). We brought:
  • A Sea Eagle 14 foot inflatable white-water kayak
  • A Tower 10.4 foot inflatable stand-up paddle-board (SUP for short).
  • Three mountain bikes.
  • A telescope and tripod.
  • All of the usual camping stuff.
  • Three people, including my 6'3" 16-year-old CAP cadet Stanley, and Valerie and I, who are merely tall.
The SUP fit in one bag, the kayak and its paddles, seats, and accessories fit in 3, and all of that fit in the Trailmanor. The bikes rode on top of the Grand Cherokee, but I might try the rear hitch bracket on the Trailmanor and a hitch rack for two of them next time.

Everything worked perfectly.
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Old 07-12-2016, 09:57 AM   #2
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Default Stout!

Bruce, that looks like it won't break anytime soon. I will like to see the finished product though. As to stainless hardware, Lowes has an excellent selection and Ny-Lock nuts too. How thick was the plate that you have in the photos? On my website you can see what I did to secure the bar that the hook sets into on page 26 "Center Latch Catch". Since you're doing the latches you might want to do the other part or the catches that are on the bottom of the shell.
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Old 07-12-2016, 12:22 PM   #3
BrucePerens
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It's 1/8 inch plain steel plate, 4 inches wide by um... 18 inches or two feet long, from the Home Depot. I cut it to 6 inches long with a fiber chop saw from Harbor Freight and drilled the holes on a drill press. This plate actually bent slightly around the torsion bar under the force of the bolts, and I think the support bar is also bent the same way, but it's no problem. It's soft steel, easy to work.

The final should be a lot neater. I didn't set this one up carefully with bluing, a scribe, and a punch, and I didn't file or sand anything. I just drew marks and aimed a large drill at them.

I'll probably leave the catch alone until it acts up, as I've a lot of other work to do to accessorize the trailer. But it's good to know someone's already worked out a way to reinforce that part, and thanks for publishing your work on it.

I'll look into Lowes. There isn't one as close as the Home Depot, but I pass two on the way to a customer in San Jose.

By the way, I'm not making money from perens.com/rv either, but hey readers, if your tech business has compliance or intellectual property issues, see LegalEngineering.com :-)
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Old 07-12-2016, 06:43 PM   #4
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Exclamation Bruce...

you need to establish your signature on the bottom of your post pages and there you can also put your website address so everyone can read about the neat stuff you have done...and thank you back for publishing your site as well...Like I have said on here...it's not about money...it's about the free exchange of ideas! People do sell stuff on here but that's not the idea behind my website...or yours either....later my friend
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Old 07-13-2016, 02:06 AM   #5
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OK, here is the full ego version. :-)
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Old 07-13-2016, 06:20 AM   #6
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Thanks for the links Bruce. Good stuff!!
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Old 07-13-2016, 08:14 AM   #7
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Bruce -

You have done some really nice work there. I'm not sure that many of us would have attempted it.

Now that the repair is finished, perhaps it is time to ask why the problem happened in the first place. In your first picture, the latch is REALLY mangled. I've never seen anything like that. My first thought is that perhaps the latch was not adjusted tightly enough, so it didn't snug the shell down against the stops. This could let the shell bounce up and down as you traveled, and the latch pin would slam against the latch hook on each bounce. Eventually this would have pounded the thing to death. And your picture looks like that's what happened.

Just my thought - you may have better ideas. But this is worth checking, of course, because you don't want it to happen again.

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Old 07-13-2016, 10:29 AM   #8
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The one on the other side, yet unmodified, is a bit loose, and difficult to tighten because it's hard to get a grip upon the square nuts where they are inside the bar. My version makes it easier to get at the back fasteners.

Once it gets loose it will indeed work the mounting holes larger until they tear. This all happened before I received the trailer.

I was wary of unbolting the torsion bar, even with the shell up and it's weight holding the shell support bar down upon the torsion bar (don't ever do it with the shell down!). I don't know if there is any twist (and thus stored energy) in it in that position. Others should approach this carefully or leave it to a professional mechanic, at least until we find out if there is force stored in the bar while it's up. If that force releases suddenly, pieces will go flying and could hurt or kill. Someone who has parted down a TM could tell us how it behaved during disassembly..
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Old 07-13-2016, 11:16 AM   #9
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Thumbs up Nice!

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrucePerens View Post
OK, here is the full ego version. :-)
that's more like it...this way folks can have a faster and greater access to your ideas...you EGO MANIAC!
KE5VYI
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Old 07-13-2016, 12:18 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrucePerens View Post
The one on the other side, yet unmodified, is a bit loose, and difficult to tighten because it's hard to get a grip upon the square nuts where they are inside the bar. My version makes it easier to get at the back fasteners.
I agree, your version does indeed make it easier. But in the OEM setup, you are not expected to get a wrench on the nuts. Just get a big screwdriver and jam the blade down between the nut and the surrounding metal (and hold it there while you turn the bolt head). The nut will jam tight against the screwdriver blade, so you need to insert the screwdriver on the side that tends to suck the blade down into the gap as the nut tries to turn, rather than spitting the blade out. This I have done several times, without incident. And of course jam the screwdriver into the opposite side when tightening things back up again.

Quote:
Once it gets loose it will indeed work the mounting holes larger until they tear. This all happened before I received the trailer.
If it were mine, I would seriously work to prevent it from tearing out in the future. Your call, of course. But the latch really should not be loose. In addition to tearing out the latch, I would think that the rest of the shell could be damaged by the repeated impacts. You really don't want the shell's sidewall to pound loose from the roof, for example. The lag bolts that attach the sidewall panel to the roof panel are threaded into aluminum square tube stock, and can pull out if they pound hard enough.

Quote:
I was wary of unbolting the torsion bar, even with the shell up and it's weight holding the shell support bar down upon the torsion bar (don't ever do it with the shell down!). I don't know if there is any twist (and thus stored energy) in it in that position...
I don't think there is any stored energy in the bar, since at the top of the swing, you can push the shell back and forth a bit without much springy resistance. But I have not done it, so I agree with the need for caution. On the other hand, I seem to recall that many years ago, someone posted instructions for adjusting the length of the support bars by bringing the shell to the top of the arc and supporting the shell with a jack and 4x4's. I'll see if I can find it.

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