Triple trouble with door and shells

**gdwaldon** · 06-29-2008, 12:56 PM

I have a 2000 3023 trailer. I am having three issues that I believe interconnect. Here they are followed by what I have tried so far:

Top (Front) shell doesn't go far enough back when lifted up so left side of door catch is too tight and door doesn't latch. The problem is not the door. it's the part on the left side of the door opening that receives the door pin.
The top shell is too low when set at 39" from top of torsion bar to bottom box as told to me by Trailmanor service. I need to set it at almost 40" to allow the door pin to fit under the U-shaped pin receiver bracket--by adjusting only the door side torsion bar .
Top shell is uneven from side to side. It's hard for velcro'd gap cover to span the space between the door side and the interior wall. On the non-door side, the velcro is way over the side of the box it attaches to when down securely.

What I have done already:
I have attempted to adjust the upper shells so they are at the Trailmanor specified 39" from the top of the Torsion bar to the bottom of the box frame. Doing this helped, but the door side didn't work so I moved it to almost 40" so I can engage the pin on the left side that accepts the door pin.

I suspect these are all interrelated, but can't figure it out. The nearest dealer that knows anything is in Seattle, about 3 hours away. If nothing works I will take it to them, but can anyone help solve these three issues.

I do wish Trailmanor would put out their own quicksteps to these not uncommon adjustments. There are a few of us far from a dealer that actually believes is service, as well as sales. The only option for us is a long drive or fix it ourselves.

**rtcassel** · 07-03-2008, 06:24 PM

I have not done any adjustment like this, so I cannot help you from my experience. Former member Denny_A posted instructions on how to adjust the shells. Have you seen them?

07-04-2008, 06:52 AM

Hi gdwaldon

I had an door problem also and it was due to adjustment's needing to be made which when done fixed a whole lot of stuff.

I learned the hard way to level the TM very close to perfect first or other areas got off set. That bit me twice, oh well.

Have you checked/adjusted the set screw/bolt on the top of the torsion bar which when screwed in allows the arm to go forward some. This is better done to all four arms of the same shell at the same time and amount which I did and fixed my door opening/shutting problem.

Best of luck and happy 4th

Bob

**Bill** · 07-04-2008, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdwaldon

I have a 2000 3023 trailer...

1. Top (Front) shell doesn't go far enough back when lifted up

I'm a little unclear on how this can happen. If you raise the shell and make sure that the corner latches (square aluminum tube) are swung up and latched, then the shell should be in the right place. Are you thinking that the placement of the corner latches need to be changed?

Bill

**gdwaldon** · 07-05-2008, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredgoat

Hi gdwaldon

I had an door problem also and it was due to adjustment's needing to be made which when done fixed a whole lot of stuff.

I learned the hard way to level the TM very close to perfect first or other areas got off set. That bit me twice, oh well.

Have you checked/adjusted the set screw/bolt on the top of the torsion bar which when screwed in allows the arm to go forward some. This is better done to all four arms of the same shell at the same time and amount which I did and fixed my door opening/shutting problem.

Best of luck and happy 4th

Bob

The only set screw/bolt I see on the torsion bar is a large one hanging down toward the ground. I assume that is the bolt used to adjust the shell closing/opening capability. I see no other bolt anywhere on the torsion bars. Again I have 2000 3023 so it may be different. Please correct me if I am making the wrong assumption. I attached a photo of the only bolt I see.

**Bill** · 07-05-2008, 11:41 AM

The bolt in your photo changes the lifting strength of the torsion bar. I'm not sure that is the one that retiredgoat was talking about. Bob?

By the way, make sure that the little stainless steel hose clamp doesn't come off the end of the torsion bar. Looks like it is holding on by a thread.

Bill

07-06-2008, 07:20 AM

I had the same type of problem...my door pin on the jam would not stay latched opposite side of the door from the handle and deadbolt.
I noticed that if I put a slight amount of finger pressure on the door while closing, it closed fine. I bought another latch just like the one above the deadbolt and mounted it just like the one TM put on but the same distance from the jam just opposite the door handle side. My door closes now with the pin staying in the catch. It now closes perfectly...every time.
I hope that makes sense, but it works.
Mark

**gdwaldon** · 07-06-2008, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredgoat

Hi gdwaldon

I had an door problem also and it was due to adjustment's needing to be made which when done fixed a whole lot of stuff.

I learned the hard way to level the TM very close to perfect first or other areas got off set. That bit me twice, oh well.

Have you checked/adjusted the set screw/bolt on the top of the torsion bar which when screwed in allows the arm to go forward some. This is better done to all four arms of the same shell at the same time and amount which I did and fixed my door opening/shutting problem.

Best of luck and happy 4th

Bob

Could someone take a photo of the set screw/bolt that is being referred to. The old picture worth a thousand words. I see no such item on my torsion bar. One end of the bar goes up into the white portion that tilts with the trailer. It's the one with the four bolts that can be adjusted up and down. The other end of the torsion bar connects to the bolt shown in my earlier photo. Between those two points I seen no set screws or bolts.

In response to the other person about the pin holder making everything work when the shell is up, that is normally true. But if the left side of the door structure that the door latches to is not at 90 degrees when the shell is up then the door doesn't close--it's too tight. That is one of my problems--that the proper place to insert the pin when the shell is up is not far enough forward so the door closes properly.

I am hoping I can get some answers this week. There is a local guy in the area who may know how to solve the problems. I just thought about the fact that I haven't sent these issues to Trailmanor to see if they can help. Should I give that a try also. If so, what is the email address?

07-09-2008, 07:32 AM

gdwaldon,

The pics will be online this afternoon. I had to unscrew and remove the white cover on the side on the shell that is positioned where the arm goes into the shell, now with this out of the way you should be able to see (when in the down position) the top of the white arm and most important the 90 degree bend on the end of the arm where the set bolt is positioned.

Don't let different lengths of bolts showing throw you off (if you count treads) due too the rubber being worn down a little, adjust your front shell/adjustment bolts a quarter turn at a time to allow yourself time to see the progress and adjust all four at the same time and the same amount (this was told to me on here and by the factory) it keep the alinement's correct.

Bob

**gdwaldon** · 07-13-2008, 08:11 PM

Here's where I am now. With your help I found the eight bolts and have adjusted them as well as I can. I am not sure my top shell is yet correct because it comes too far forward towards the hitch, though I can get it back to the proper place.

On the issue of the door not closing, I finally moved the upper shell to a distance of 39 1/2" which is above the 39" suggested by Trailmanor and the door shuts properly with enough vertical clearance for the pin that it fits into the U-shaped holder in the shell. It works on this basis.

I am still planning to take it up to Seattle to have them take a look at the whole picture because I don't think it's quite right. I really appreciate the help in finding the eight bolts--the pictures made a difference. I will try to reply to these issues in a couple of weeks after I get an appointment and can get some guidance from the service guy in Seattle. I suspect others would like to know how to resolve these issues. Again, thanks to all.