This doesn't look good....sagging floor?

[Bill]

Larry -

I'm on board with that idea. I've run into mechanics who want to put a jack in strange places. (Usually under the axle, which you gotta prevent.) But in this case, the "mechanic" might have assumed that the frame was just inside the edge of the trailer, and without confirming, slid his jack in there and pumped away.

Dave -

Does anything appear unusual at that spot when viewed from inside the trailer?

Would you consider cutting an opening in the bottom skin of the trailer, a foot or so long and a few inches wide, up against the edge of the trailer, so you can peek at the structure at the floor-to-wall join? Alternatively, remove the outside shower box. Use a mirror, inspection camera, or borescope, to look back at the area.

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

Bill - I haven't taken any precise measurements or use anything like a string like you describe, but if I put a jack under the edge, the floor definitely goes up. I can't remember how much exactly, but it is obvious such that those visible staples disappear under that silver trim piece. Maybe an inch? I've attached 2 new picutres -- one before jacking it up and one after. I like your idea of welding in an I-beam. That couldn't be done with the existing triangular buttresses, since the "point" of the triangle is at the edge under the wall and therefore provides no metal to weld a beam to (see third picture). But I could weld in new cross beams to support an I-beam. Or several triangular buttresses to support a plate.

Larry - Very astute observation. I initially thought it was a rot-related problem, given the outdoor shower leaked when I bought it last year, but also couldn't explain why the beam that is visible there had zero signs of rot or even water damage. It looks totally fine. I like your theory, as it gives me some confidence there is no rot! I've only had it about a year, and while I've never jacked it up (aside from what you see in the photo), I obviously have no idea what the prior owner did.

Thanks for these ideas and discussion -- very much appreciated.

Dave

[ShrimpBurrito]

Bill - That area is mostly under the large rear-storage area (the shower box is several inches on the other side of the storage area wall), and I did not see any interior floor movement when I jacked it up.

Hmmm...peeling back some of the aluminum skin...an interesting idea, though I'm wondering now if there would be no way to effect a repair from that joint. I pulled out the shower box to fix the leak -- no visible damage there.

Dave

[DanSTL]

Dave I just bought mine 3 weeks ago and noticed the same thing on the same side of my 2720 today. Pics accompanying. First time owner so a little bummed about it but will be interested in seeing how your fix progresses (hoping mine isn’t rot or doesn’t get much worse !

[ShrimpBurrito]

Dan - Can you post some pics of what it looks like on the underside at that spot? I see someone installed diamond plate mud flaps, so someone was concerned about a blowout, possibly because there was a blowout. And maybe that tire was changed, and that spot jacked up incorrectly.

Also, if you peek under the silver horizontal piece of trim, you can probably see some wood to get a sense as to whether there is rot there. You'll also want to take a close look at the fresh water connections to the outdoor shower, which you can probably see by removing the panel in the rear storage compartment (bottom left on the wall that faces you as you look in). Look for any signs of a slow leak while under pressure. Also, the pump cycling when no water is being used is a giveaway for a leak (when there is no water connected to the city water connection).

Dave

[DanSTL]

Here are some pics of the underside. I’ve looked through the small access door and never saw any evidence of a leak, but will poke at the wood to see if it feels like there may be any wood rot.

From what I can tell and given the rear shell seems off center (when open, spacing between shell and queen bed on driver side is about twice as wide as the passenger side), I think the sag may be caused by an uneven pull of the torsion bars. Just a theory as the PO told me they had to have service to “fix” the shells because they had a real hard time opening and closing.

They worked fine for me when we purchased but you can see the rear shell latch is bent inwards and must be so to latch , and given the sag is at its worst where one of the torsion bar bolts appear to pivot or be secured, I thought maybe this is related to rotational pull vs water or jacking damage but just guessing.

Also PO told me they believe the TM originally belonged to a gentleman named Ron (Skip) who is/was in this group (confirmed it’s the same TM as he did the cassette install) and he seemed to really take care of the TM. I found a post he made and can’t make out any evidence of sagging but it’s a real fuzzy picture.

Clearly not sure what to do other than enjoy the thing (first trip scheduled Columbus day weekend) and open to any thoughts or advice, but is this something that I need to take super seriously and even avoid camping until addressed, or just watch to ensure it isn’t worsening?

[DanSTL]

Couldn’t find any evidence of wood rot though my moisture meter was pretty excited around the area.

Also confirmed the low point of the sag seems to be the 2 drains which I believe are behind behind the shower/tub, not the bolt point.

Also wondering if the cassette toilet weight could have started the sag? I think it weighs a lot more than the tumbler but not sure.

Thoughts on taking it out like this? Seems like it may have been this way for years ?

[DanSTL]

Also wondering if the factory has any suggestions or if they think it can be fixed. Any ideas on who to ask there? Looking at the 3 minute mark of this video trying to understand how it was originally secured to the wall for ideas on how to fix .

https://youtu.be/4Mmf2HA6QQs?feature=shared

[ShrimpBurrito]

I ended up ordering some of those metal triangle brackets from the factory (they call them outriggers), and they apparently will have a flange on them that will abut the frame such that they can be bolted (vs. welded) to the frame. I am expecting to receive them later this week, but won't be able to put them on till mid-October. I still haven't decided what, if anything, I'm going to put between the outriggers and the floor -- maybe a thick plate?

Dave

[Wavery]

How about some 1/4" aluminum plate?