Broken torsion bar bracket

Has anyone ever had the torsion bar bracket break? The right side (curb side) bracket of my 31/24 broke. I am currently holding it up with the car jack but I am a bit worried about folding the trailer down and travelling back home. I am talking about the bracket that also holds the latching hook for the rear section. The bracket broke in half and left the torsion bar and lift bar (the white bar that actually lifts the half of the top) hanging loose. Because it is attached to the other side, it doesn't hit the ground but dropped about 6 inches. I jacked it up and it is holding the top in place at camp but I am worried about travelling with it. Does anyone have any advice, I need to travel about 600 miles yet to get home.

[MudDog]

Originally Posted by boggsryan

Has anyone ever had the torsion bar bracket break? The right side (curb side) bracket of my 31/24 broke. I am currently holding it up with the car jack but I am a bit worried about folding the trailer down and travelling back home. I am talking about the bracket that also holds the latching hook for the rear section. The bracket broke in half and left the torsion bar and lift bar (the white bar that actually lifts the half of the top) hanging loose. Because it is attached to the other side, it doesn't hit the ground but dropped about 6 inches. I jacked it up and it is holding the top in place at camp but I am worried about travelling with it. Does anyone have any advice, I need to travel about 600 miles yet to get home.

Yikes - that doesn't sound like a fun thing to happen 600 miles from home.

So, each shell is actually held up by four bars and you lost one in the back if I'm visualizing what happened correctly.

I'm not sure how much that bracket/torsion bar is actually holding the shell off the bottom section when folded down (if at all). EDIT now that I think about it, the back of the rear shell rests on the rubber bumper strips when folded down...so don't think the bar is doing much when folded down...the stress is when the shell is going up or down or when the shell is up.



If I needed to get home, I think I would go ahead and attempt to fold down.

I'd recruit some help from other campers to try and bring that corner down evenly with the rest of the shell. If the latch won't hold the corner, I'd use a rope or straps and go over the roof and under the TM and make it snug but not too tight to deform the roof or walls. The rear shell will be held down somewhat by the front shell once it folds on top of the rear. Maybe two sets of straps...one holding the rear of the back shell down, and one holding the front shell down onto the rear shell about 6" from the back of the front shell.

I wouldn't plan on trying to open again until I got home...so maybe motel it a night with enough clothes/supplies in the TV.

Good luck!

MudDog, thanks, I feel better about traveling. I've really been worried about what might happen if I travel with it. You are correct about the torsion bar setup, the bracket that is broken is opposite the adjuster nuts for the side. I can camp safely because I have jacked up the 2 bars that would hang low if not supported by the bracket. It actually looks fairly easy to replace, you would have to disconnect the torsion bars from the lifting arms, that looks easy, but you never know. Of course, you'd have to have a replacement bracket to do that and I don't think I could pull that off here in Ohio.

Thanks for the comments

Not sure if this is a good idea or not, as I cannot see your damage. Would it be possible to have a welder repair the bracket? Or at least patch it to the point you can get it home? Like I say I am just thinking out loud here. But I rememeber a post, I think it was Country Girl, that had a welder with his own truck come out to her house and weld / repair the frame of her TM. Never hurts to ask..

[countrygirl]

Nope not me.

I will try to find the post though.