Torsion Bar Brackets

Yesterday I adjusted the torsion bars on my new 1995 3023. I did this because the front and rear halfs rested in a cattywampus position once the latches were released. Half way through the job, I noticed one of the bolts that hold the torsion bar adjustment bracket to the underside of the body was loose! The bracket was slightly canted, which affected torsion bar torsion. I set about tightening all the bracket bolts under the body, and all were loose to some extent. So, my advise is to check them the next time you are near your TM. Bring a 9/16" wrench along. There are 6 brackets in all. You'll find one on each side of the front, center and rear.

I noticed several lag bolts on the underside of my 1996 were loose too!

Glad I'm not alone in this observation.  Will tighten everything this weekend.

I had to replace the middle torsion bar bracket, on the refrigerator side. It has a holddown clamp on it. The reason that I had to replace the bracket, was that the steel had a rip half way through the bracket, and was starting to bend. I caught it in time before it broke completely. It is stressed because of the holddown clamp attached to it. Also, the vertical piece that suppose to give it strength, was not welded to the inside top of the bracket. I ordered a new bracket from the factory. This one is welded on two sides of the vertical support. I asked the factory for written instructons. I was leary of doing the labor myself, but I decided to tackle the job. It was a huge undertaking. Instructions said to remove the bolts of the support arms in the upper halves ot the trailer. Use two 2x4, eight feet long boards. Lift the tops on each board, so as to tilt each top half up and back, high enough to be able to remove the support arms. Then I was able to remove the support arms off of the two torsion bars to remove the defective bracket and replace the new bracket. I had a little trouble reassembling it. I could not line up the support arm with the side hole in order to reinsert the bolt. Donny, at the factory told me to lower the top a few inches. Then that would give me some play to move the support arm to line up the hole with the body and reinsert the bolt. There is more involved in disassembly and reassembly, but it would be difficult to explain it here. Whew! I did it!! I don't have the capability to show pictures.

I would suggest that you check this bracket on your TM to see that it is not damaged like mine was.

Eugene

This is one of those regular items to check that should be on our lists.  Thanks!

Eugene, interesting......I had to do the same thing to replace the wood and install the pocket stops in my old TM.....lift it up off the travel arms using the 2x4. I didn't think to look at what you're talking about though, that's something I'll have to look at more closely as I have to go back and do that anyway to replace out the taped rubber bushings in the rear front stops with the machined deal I came up with. (If you're wondering what I'm talking about you can see pics at: http://members.aol.com/br768)

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

Now, I am having a problem trying to fold down the rear roof. The clamp catches on the door side, but I cannot get the bracket on the refrigerator side to reach the the clamp on the new torsion bars bracket. I checked to see if anything would be holding it back, but I cannot see anything. I am wondering if I reassembled it correctly after replacing the new torsion bar bracket. Any suggestions? I am concerned because we are suppose to leave on a long trip this week.

Sounds like your old set up was adjusted to compensate for the distorted bracket...

There are a couple things to try:

You can adjust the catch, where it attaches to the arm,

You can adjust the length of the arm (tricky),

Or you can possibly move the bracket on the shell,

Do the front catches for the front section work well? If so, it may not be a problem as long as they stay secure as the front section will hold down the rear section, but there will be a bit of stress on the front hold down catches since the rear one won't be clamped. In a pinch you can get yourself a 27' racheting strap at lowes for around 15 bucks and clamp the whole thing down, just don't put too much pressure on it or you will bend your travel arms from the bouncing of the trailer. You will not need all 27', just cut off the excess. The hooks on the two ends fit PERFECTLY around the travel arms tho you might want to put a small rag in between the arms and the hooks to prevent scratches. If you experience some flapping as you're driving down the road, that's good, no flapping, and the set up is probably too tight.


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

Thanks for your suggestions, but I solved my problem. Where the bottom of the lift arms attach to the torsion bars with four bolts, it needed fine tuning. By trial and error, I adjusted the length of torsion bar that is inserted into the bottom of the lift arm. I did not have enough of the tip of the torsion bar inserted into the lift arm, which caused the top to be raised too high. Now, it is no problem folding my TM down and it works great. Whew!! What a great feeling of accomplishment. Moral of story. Mark the spot  with paint. where the torsion bar and lift arm meet, before disassembly.