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Old 07-09-2022, 10:36 AM   #1
BobCStafford
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Default Rear Panel Separating from side panel

Yesterday while opening our 2001 3124KS, the back panel separated from the left side panel (see pic - this is at the rear of the camper near the bed). Any idea how to fix this? It appears that there are multiple holes where screws / bolts might go in (there were none in those holes) but I am not sure where exactly the connection is made between the back panel and the side so I can address it. Thanks in advance! - Bob
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Old 07-09-2022, 01:55 PM   #2
Bill
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I have taken apart that side-panel-to-front-panel joint in the front end of my TM. As I recall, there should be big lag screws in all of these holes. They connect the frame of the side panel to the frame of the front (or in your case, back) panel. Once the proper lag screws are in place, there is a piece of corner molding (missing in your pic) that covers the gap area, making it look nice, and sealing water out.

I suggest that you poke around in the gap area, pry a little bit so you can see what is going on behind the scenes, try to see what the lag screws would screw into, and what the holes look like. Your picture shows the frame of (I think) the side panel, and it appears to be aluminum. That's good.The big question will be whether the frame of the other panel is also aluminum - or is it wood? TM was making a switch from wood framing to aluminum framing in that time frame - my 2002 2720 was all aluminum.

If the hidden framework is aluminum, you are in good shape. You need to get some steel lag bolts big enough to screw firmly into the hidden framework. I cannot tell you what size they should be - you should be able to determine the appropriate length by probing the depth of the holes, then get a few different different lag screw diameters and see which one won't go in by hand, but needs a wrench to screw it in.

Put a lag screw in every hole, maybe with a blob of silicone caulk under and around the head to keep it from turning. Then get the piece of molding from TM. I'm assuming your other corners have the appropriate molding in place, so you will know what to get. It may turn out that TM has only black molding available today, so you may have to paint what you get.

If the hidden framing is wood, the situation is different. Let us know.

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Old 07-10-2022, 07:30 PM   #3
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The more I think about it, the more I am not sure how those panels are even holding together. Can you move them with respect to each other? Or do they feel solidly bound together in some way? Are there any bolts/screws running left-right in your picture, out of sight, rather than straight into the page?

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Old 07-11-2022, 06:20 AM   #4
BobCStafford
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Default Fixed!

Thanks very much for the input on this. After doing some exploring, we were able to find the issue and get it fixed. (see the pics - sorry they are sideways, will figure that out at some point)

At the corner of these panels is evidently a ?? x ?? (more on that in a sec) piece of wood which is 13" long (I guess we are pre-change to aluminum all over). This piece of wood is held in by a lag screw which comes from the inside of the trailer (easy to access when you push the bed in) and two or three smaller screws that come in from the bottom. Then the back panel is attached to this via three lag screws which go through the panel and into the end portion of that piece of wood. After peeling back the aluminum shell, we could see that this was completely rotted out and wet. And in the process of removing it, we also found the existing lag screws had completed disintegrated to the points where there were basically no threads left on them. So figured we would get some new wood, cut it to size, and screw and caulk everything back together.

One challenge was that the piece of wood was not a standard size - thicker than a 1 x 4 but thinner than a 2 x 4, and not the full 4" wide either. So had to do some customer measuring and cutting to get a piece to fit, but once that was done and in and some new lag screws installed, it came together very well. He gap between the back and side panel wasn't perfect (maybe 1/32" off) but caulked generously and it should be good to go (fingers crossed). I am sure this is something we will need to do on the other side as well, but that's for another day.

Taking her our on her maiden voyage (for us) this Thursday. Will report back if we experience any further issues
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Old 07-11-2022, 08:35 AM   #5
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Bob -

I'm real glad you were able to identify and fix the problem. Good for you! I was worried about wood in the frame, but I've not encountered it, so I wouldn't be real helpful in identifying and devising a fix.

And I'm grateful that you were willing to post the fix and the photos. This is the kind of thing that comes in real handy for other members who experience the same or a similar problem. That kind of info is one of the major purposes of this forum.

Just a thought ... When you identified the bad piece of wood, did you consider replacing it with a length of rectangular aluminum tube? Perhaps the size of the wood block can't be matched closely enough in aluminum.

Good luck doing the other side. And enjoy your TM travels!

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Old 07-11-2022, 09:28 AM   #6
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Nice work, but a silly question here. Did you treat the wood used for the repair? Water proofing it someway? My thoughts always jumps to replacing wood that's degraded due to water damage, with pressure treated wood. Not that it's always needed, but I'm curious. I'm sure it adds a bit of extra weight, not something I want when I open the shells.
I leave the nose down and the curb front is slightly lower due to the angle of my driveway and how I have it positioned. So, I'm mindful that watersheds slightly towards the front curb corner.
Like Bill mentioned, thanks for posting pictures, it helps me at least to understand what you saw and did on repairs.
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Old 07-11-2022, 01:31 PM   #7
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I did consider both replacing the wood with an aluminum stud (somehow) and replacing with pressure treated wood, but since we are planning on taking the TM on a trip this coming Thursday, I figure next time I'll do a little more research (and have some additional time to do it) to devise a more long term solution. I was just worried I wouldn't be able to devise a fix at all, let alone get it done in time to be able to take the camper out Those replacement lag bolts (2 1/2") seem to have much meatier threads and certainly gripped the new wood tightly, so I think I bought myself some time in that area at least
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Old 07-13-2022, 10:47 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BobCStafford View Post
...
At the corner of these panels is evidently a ?? x ?? (more on that in a sec) piece of wood which is 13" long (I guess we are pre-change to aluminum all over). This piece of wood is held in by a lag screw which comes from the inside of the trailer (easy to access when you push the bed in) and two or three smaller screws that come in from the bottom. Then the back panel is attached to this via three lag screws which go through the panel and into the end portion of that piece of wood....
Actually, you do have a full aluminum frame. The wood you see is for:
a) keeping the aluminum framing screwed together.
b) providing a substrate for the side latches.

I remember dealing with the issue of not being quite 1". I bought a treated 2x4 and ripped it to the exact size I needed. (I had to replace the wood behind one of the bag seals.)
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Old 07-13-2022, 12:27 PM   #9
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thanks - after I posted that, I realized I probably did have the aluminum frame Replacing that wood would have been way easier with the right tools - I ended up using a hand saw and a chisel to get it down to the right size. Still worked, but will wait until I have some power tools to take on the other corner
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Old 07-16-2022, 03:12 PM   #10
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Thanks for that post, Bob This exact thing just happened to us on one of the bed corners, so we're reading every word of your post! How exactly did you 'peel back' the aluminum shell? Was that on the inside or the outside? Any more information you can give us about that would be much appreciated! We have a 2002 27/20 SD.
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