A few fixes needed, please help.

Hi Everyone,

We picked up our new to us 2002 3023 the other day. When we arrived we were saddened to see it was not in the shape we had originally expected (good photo job on the dealers part) however after driving for 14 hours and knowing these are not easy to find, especially in the west we decided with the use of this forum hopefully we can adjust and fix it up to our standards.

Here is the link so you can see some pictures, I figured this would be easier as the pictures are limited on here. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...7&id=894555483


1. The sink in the bathroom seems to have sunk in as well as both counter tops surrounding the oven/stove. Has anyone else had this problem and can it be fixed?

2. Wiring - There are a few wiring issues, one I was wondering if anyone has added a cd player above the fridge as the wood comes out there, are the speaker wires easy to attach? There are a group of wires on the non-door side that seem to almost hang loose and get caught when setting down? Is this normal?

3. The supports on the bed came loose and jumped out of the track as we were pulling the back bed out and putting it back in, is there a way to fix this? Also when the bed is pulled out all the way they seem to still have about and inch and a half of track left, should it be going all the way to the end of the track, or is this where it should be when fully pulled out?

4. The door does not run tight along the door frame on the upper side and it is hard to close, I read some of the messages about the door last night and was glad to see we weren't the only ones. But if it is out of wack, where should we be looking to find where the misallignment is?

5. The bar in the hot water tank does not screw in all the way, can you get a replacement or what is the best cleaner, tool used to get the build up off the inside as I don't think it is stripped, I just think it has too much build up.

6. How can we tell if the torsion bars need adjusted and how is the best way to do this?

7. Is there a way to sort of "lube" everything up so it runs smoother for the put up and pull down?

8. The outside shower is missing??? We managed to get the dealer to through a new one in (not installed) and it is one that would normally go horizontal instead of vertical and has two handles, can we make this work? If so how?

9. There is quite a gash/dent in the outter shell in one spot, it appears to not have gone all the way through, however it is quite deep on the outside on the door side, is there a way we could fill this in?

10. Obviously when closed there were some of the saplings from a tree caught in between the piece that folds down to cover the spaces (the one you velcro down when setting up, by the couches) and the wall, it has left bad red/orange stains on the fabric and wall. I scrubbed and scrubbed today to do not much more then start to ruin the wallpaper and wall. And on the beige piece that velcros (vinyl I guess) didn't make a lick of difference, has anyone found a way to clean or paint, touch up this vinyl?

Sorry for all the questions, unfortunately because of where we live it is vertually impossible to go to a dealer, that was one of the reasons we signed up to this site, before we even had the trailer, because everyone seems so helpful on here! Thanks in advance!

[commodor47]

I can answer some of your questions and hope other members may be able to help you with some of the items.

1. Could you post a few photos of the bathroom sink and the stove counter top area? That might make it easier to offer suggested repairs.

2. Here is a link to the stereo installation and wiring:

http://community.webshots.com/album/55503365toUoel

The wire harness on the street side should be attached to the support arms by a series of zip ties and black harness clips. It is not normal for the harness to get caught up when opening and closing the TM. See photos here:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...95282683PLVrTT
(Pardon the condition, recent heavy rains have made a mess that needs to be cleaned up)

3. The bed support arms will not extend all the way to the end of the track. See photos here:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...95282683AWAYGA
The support arm can break free of the track if the plastic pieces along each side of the track are worn or broken. Replacements can be ordered from the factory or a TM dealer. The closeup shows the arrangement of washers on the support arm post.

4. The door misalignment can be the result of several adjustments. Perhaps other members can suggest where to start and what to check,

5. The hot water anode does not seat completely . . . some threads will show. Clean out any residue as best you can being carefull not to damage the threads. A stiff bristle brush should do the trick.

6. This may help with the torsion bar adjustment:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...torsion+adjust

7. Keep the seals between the shells clean (wouldn't hurt to periodically wipe them down with some silicone); lubricate the support arm pockets.

8. Not sure what type of shower you have. Can you post a photo?

9. Maybe someone with body shop experience can help you with this one.

10. The vinyl is hard to clean once stained. Anyone have a suggestion?

Let us know how the maintenance/repairs go.

Dick

Thank you for your help, some of that does ease my mind. Too bad I found 2 leaks today after a heavy rain last night and we leave on Friday I hope to get some pictures shortly of what I said about. The one arm on the awning just snapped too...

I think we are still glad we made the leap, especially seeing gas prices went up yet again last night.

Like anything that is used we expected to do some things to fix it up, I just hope we haven't gotten in over our heads!

Thank you again and I will post pictures as soon as I can!

I have added the link for pictures in my original thread here it is again...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...7&id=894555483
Thank you everyone for your help!

[B_and_D]

When we first got our TM our bed supports kept popping out of the rear tracks. I cleaned them off, applied some lubricant to the plastic guides, and adjusted the gap in the washers until it was just wide enough for free movement. Yours look like they might need to be replaced, the factory can send you some. In the meantime, if you clean & lubricate them & adjust the washers, it might help some. It's very annoying to get ready to leave and have those darn things pop out. Pushing the beds slowly in from the center while another person helps the arms slide along should help too.

Hopefully someone else will chime in about your other issues.

Dee

[Bill]

I'm not sure what I am seeing in Photo 4. Your original query talked about trouble closing the upper half of the door, but it looks tight in the photo. But the lower half isn't set up, and isn't joined to the upper half. The two halves may not close well independently - they are not desinged to do so. Am I missing something?

Picture 5 shows that clip that holds the lower half of the door in place is rusted out and deformed, and needs to be replaced. You'll be able to get a replacement from TM. And in picture 6, it looks like the clip is entirely missing. The doors will never maintain alignment or close properly without the clips.

In picture 19, all of those cables except the big black one were originally gathered together in a heavy cloth sleeve, rather than floating around loose. You can still see some of the sleeve in picture 20. I would suggest that you get some slit black plastic sleeve from an auto supply store, stuff all the wires inside, and then attach both it and the big cable to the lift arms with some cable ties. The cables do have loops in them to allow them to follow the lift arms as the shell goes up and down. But none of them should ever get caught or stretched or squashed when the shell is moved. As you cable-tie them into place, you'll need to find a position for them where they don't bind, squash, stretch, etc. Perhaps you can get a picture of a "proper" location - my TM is tucked away in a storage lot now, or I would take one for you.

Picture 21 - I don't know of any reason why the horizontal shower could not be used in the vertical position.You're not going to enjoy doing the plumbing, but it is manageable.

Picture 34 - yes, the radio/CD goes here, and yes, the cables are easy to attach.

I have no idea why the stove is sinking. In my TM, anyway, there are no support members behind the stove (along the wall). Instead, the stove hangs from the counter tops on the two sides. So this is where to look for the sinking - are the counter tops collapsing, squashing, or twisting? By the way, the stove is quite easy to remove to let you inspect the area, and brace up the counter tops if needed.

Bill

I think if you'll look the stove itself is not sinking, only the cover, compare the back of the stove to the seam on the wall behind it. I could be wrong, but that's what it looked like to me

[Civil_War_Buff]

Originally Posted by ColdFlame

Thank you for your help, some of that does ease my mind. Too bad I found 2 leaks today after a heavy rain last night and we leave on Friday I hope to get some pictures shortly of what I said about. The one arm on the awning just snapped too...

I think we are still glad we made the leap, especially seeing gas prices went up yet again last night.

Like anything that is used we expected to do some things to fix it up, I just hope we haven't gotten in over our heads!

Thank you again and I will post pictures as soon as I can!

OK, here is my offering to you, I have a 2002 TM2720, and had a problem with leaks early on, mine leaked at the vent and ran down at the front cabinet as well. The fix is to run a bead of silicone caulk down each side if the trim strip on the roof (I did front and back shells), and now I have no leaks. As for your gouges in the side, you can fill those with auto body filler and if you order a decal kit from the factory, (doesn't matter which year), and then just add a decal over the repair. The decals don't follow a pattern (except at the factory) so adding a deal would cover the patch, but still look TrailManorish but without obvious gouges.
The pics of the stereo install are ones of mine, so if you have any questions, I can help, but I think the pictures are very clear.

If you are interested in making the other modifications that I adapted from the 2007 model just take a look at the rest of the pictures in the stereo install link.