front and rear shell lifting

[thibchamp]

lifting and closing the front and rear shell. rear ok, lift and knock down ok. Front is getting heavier to open, closing it goes down fast. Is there an adjustment that can be made. I don't think it would take much adjustment just don't where to look. I see the torsion bars going across. Any advice. Thanks

[Bill]

As you have seen, the front shell has two pairs of torsion bars going across, under the trailer. One pair lifts the front of the front shell, the other pair lifts the rear of the front shell. Be sure you identify them properly, since at the center of the trailer, the bars for the front shell are kind of intermixed with the bars for the rear shell.

One end of each torsion bar is bent at a right angle, and goes up into the white lifting arm outside the wall of the shell. The other end of each bar is also bent in a right angle, and the short stub is captured in a steel cage under the trailer. The cage has a BIG BOLT going up into it, the end of which is pressed against the stub in the cage. To get more lift, you turn that BIG BOLT inward, to make it press harder on the stub. You will need a BIG SOCKET WRENCH to so this.

You will make small adjustments - a quarter turn at a time. Be sure to do the adjustment in pairs - adjust the front pair of torsion bars, see where it gets you, then adjust the rear pair of torsion bars, and again see where it gets you.

You will probably not adjust the front and rear pairs by the same amount. Try this. Close the TM entirely. Make sure the corner latches on the front shell are unlatched, then pull the big center latches that hold the front shell down. Does the rear end of the front shell bound upward quite a number of inches, or is it a little less energetic? If it bounds up, you probably have enough force on the rear pair of torsion bars. Make the next adjustment on the front pair.

By the way, at the adjustment end of all of the torsion bars, the stub end pokes out of the cage, and is retained in place with a stainless steel worm clamp. Do not do anything to these clamps except to be sure they are present and tight!

Our resident expert on this issue is Larryjb, not me. If I have said anything that is wrong or needs explanation, he will chime in.

Let us know.

Bill

[Larryjb]

That's pretty much it, as Bill put it. I believe the socket you need is 1-1/8". I'd also recommend getting some penetrating fluid and antiseize for the bolts.

It's probably the forward most torsion bars that need adjustment. They support the weight near the middle of the shell, so they take most of the weight,

Also pay attention to how the shell raises and falls. If it tips to one side consistently, one side may need more adjustment. If it falls more to the left, give the torsion bar bolt on the right (opposite side) on extra 1/4 turn.

If you do need to adjust the torsion bars at the centre, be very careful to adjust the correct bars. It is easy to accidently adjust the bolts for the rear shell instead.

[Shane826]

I put this diagram together over on the TMF Facebook page, it shows which adjuster bolt adjusts which torsion bar and arm.

[thibchamp]

Thanks for the quick reply. I worked on it today. Much better. Did more than 1/4 turn, possible did more than a full turn or more. Will try this out. Did not want to over-do it. But was trying to get it easy enough my wife could do it herself (joking). Thanks again everyone for getting the solution. Thanks

[MrGallegos]

When making an adjustment, does all the latches need to be secured? (white corner latches and the center black latches)

I opened my TM for the first time and the front was too heavy for me to open by myself, the TM appeared to be leveled front to back but was slightly leaning on the door side, so I do not know if that little bit of lean was enough to make the front too heavy for me to lift.

I also noticed that the front arm on the opposite side was bulged between the four arm bolts. This was there when I bought it. The TM has an awning, so I wonder if the previous owner added the awning and the extra wait stressed the arm on the opposite side, but the arm on the awning side is fine.

Either way, I am sure that the torsion bar needs to be adjusted. Is there any thing I should be aware of to make sure that the bolts have not been adjusted to their limit?

[Bill]

When making an adjustment, does all the latches need to be secured? (white corner latches and the center black latches)

You adjust the torsion bars with the trailer open/shell lifted. Hence all latches are open.

I also noticed that the front arm on the opposite side was bulged between the four arm bolts. This was there when I bought it. The TM has an awning, so I wonder if the previous owner added the awning and the extra wait stressed the arm on the opposite side, but the arm on the awning side is fine.

The bulge is intentional. It helps the lift arm grip the end of the torsion bar, which is a high-stress area. Don't mess with it, or try to flatten it! If you look carefully, every lift arm should have a bulge at this location.

Either way, I am sure that the torsion bar needs to be adjusted. Is there any thing I should be aware of to make sure that the bolts have not been adjusted to their limit?

If you look under the trailer, at the end of the bolt, you will see that tightening the bolt (which increases the torsion bar's lift force) pushes the stub end of the torsion bar upward. When the end of the torsion bar runs into the top of the adjustment cage, the bolt is at the limit.

While you are doing it, you should confirm one thing. The stub end of each torsion bar is secured in the adjustment cage with a stainless steel screw clamp. The clamp prevents the end of the bar from backing its way out of the cage as a result of road vibration or whatever. Make sure every bar is securely clamped.

Bill

[MrGallegos]

Originally Posted by Bill

....

If you look under the trailer, at the end of the bolt, you will see that tightening the bolt (which increases the torsion bar's lift force) pushes the stub end of the torsion bar upward. When the end of the torsion bar runs into the top of the adjustment cage, the bolt is at the limit.

While you are doing it, you should confirm one thing. The stub end of each torsion bar is secured in the adjustment cage with a stainless steel screw clamp. The clamp prevents the end of the bar from backing its way out of the cage as a result of road vibration or whatever. Make sure every bar is securely clamped.

Bill

Thanks for the information. I did look under and confirmed that each stub did have the clamp. I also see what could be the problem. The street side torsion bolt is at lower position so that the stub is at the bottom, while the curb side bolt has pushed the stub end to the top. Thus this might explain why the front top shell leans to the curb side when I open it.

[Larryjb]

Jacob from the factory told me to begin with the shells fully open, then turn the adjustment bolt so that it just begins to add tension to the torsion bar. This way, tension will be almost equally applied to each side of the shell. I would do the same for all 4 bolts that affect the front shell.

Adjusting the end (front) torsion bars will primarily affect the shell as a whole because it is lifting the shell near the centre of the shell. Adjusting the centre torsion bars will primarily affect the back end and not affect the front end of the shell very much.

Now you can try to lower and latch the shell at all 4 corners, then release the shell from all corners. Observe how it rises. Measure how much each side rises. First begin by adding tension to the front torsion bars until you see the front of the shell lifting off the bumper stops on the frame. (don't forget to add the tension while the shell in fully raised). Adjust so that the shell begins to lift evenly on both sides. For example, to raise the curb side only, adjust it from the street side.

Once you have the front edge of the shell raising roughly equally, adjust the centre torsion bars so that it lifts about 8" at the rear part of the shell. Try to adjust the torsion bars so that it rises equally.

You will probably find that the curb (door) side requires more adjustment. Remember that to increase tension on the door side, you need to adjust the bolts from the street side.

From here you can increase in quarter turns until you can lift it comfortably, yet close it easily.

Note: If the shell is leaning to one side as it lifts or closes, that can cause friction which makes the shell feel like it needs more tension. In fact, just evening out the lift can make it easier to lift.

I hope this helps. I went through replacing a torsion bar a couple of summers ago, and dealing with the rear shell not lifting evenly. Now both shells open quite nicely. Not perfect, but much better.

[MrGallegos]

Yesterday I looked under the TM and noticed that the two front torsion bars overlap each other in the center, is that they way it is supposed to be?