Maintenance before storage

[rvcycleguy]

I've brought the TM back from the seasonal campground for the fall and winter period. Decided to do some routine maintenance. I had a couple of corner hold down latch screws pull through the aluminum wall so I ordered new ones. Reviewed the previous repairs that members have done and offered with a rivet kit but I decided to go a different way. I drilled through the exterior wall and replaced the lag/wood screws with sheet metal screws and used a fender washer and lock nut on the inside wall. I used clear sealer on the back of the lower latch hook piece to ensure water does not intrude through the holes. Much more secure clamp than what the factory had set up.

Greased the wheel bearings, cleaned the interior flaps, bag seals, and interior walls with a bleach Soft Scrub product. Tightened all the cabinet hinge screws, and flushed the water heater and holding tanks. Rotated the tires, side to side and checked and adjusted the air pressure. Greased the hitch jack crank, stablizer jacks, and the hitch coupler. Added a wire loom to replace the original on the drivers side wiring bundle.

Ready for storage.... Hope to use it for Thanksgiving and occasional warm weekends.

[TrailManorMan]

Wish I would have been that ambitious ! Just winterized and parked till April

rvcycleguy -

Without looking at my trailer, now that you added locknuts on the inside of a wall that opens and closes, what prevents them from scraping the lower wall as you open and close the shell? Am I missing something?

[davlin]

That could indeed be an issue, MisterP, especially since those shells change positions depending upon how level (side to side)the TM is when putting them up and down. RV, maybe you could post some pics? Another similar approach is to use a T-nut on the backside of the wall. You can buy them at any hardware store. Either way, this fix requires you to have something solid between the two walls, or you run the risk of transferring all the stress to the inner wall and distorting/tearing that. I'm guessing RV had solid wood in between. In my case, there was absolutely nothing solid, so I had to use a different approach.

Dave

[rvcycleguy]

Originally Posted by MisterP

rvcycleguy -

Without looking at my trailer, now that you added locknuts on the inside of a wall that opens and closes, what prevents them from scraping the lower wall as you open and close the shell? Am I missing something?

They are situated between the flap seals on the front bed walls. They do not protrude much beyond the wall thickness. I took that into consideration. I always make sure I'm level side to side when opening when camping or at home. Right now while in front of my home, it's on 2 wood planks under the curb side tire only. I have cheap sight levels on the front and side.

[rvcycleguy]

Originally Posted by davlin

That could indeed be an issue, MisterP, especially since those shells change positions depending upon how level (side to side)the TM is when putting them up and down. RV, maybe you could post some pics? Another similar approach is to use a T-nut on the backside of the wall. You can buy them at any hardware store. Either way, this fix requires you to have something solid between the two walls, or you run the risk of transferring all the stress to the inner wall and distorting/tearing that. I'm guessing RV had solid wood in between. In my case, there was absolutely nothing solid, so I had to use a different approach.

Dave

2002, the wood screws that came out/ pulled out were rusty, so the integrity was poor. The latch hook had been loose for sometime, so water had intruded inside to the screw threads. I don't know if it has wood there or not. When I drilled through, there was not much resistance and when the drill bit came out the inside wall, there was no wood particles on the bit.

Here is a photo from the inside. You can see the bag seal is much wider and there seems to be quite a bit of space between the thread end and the bag. I reached under the roof while it was down and it would take a severe lopsided tilt to side to side to be an issue while raising or lowering. I can still cut off an inch of the thread end if necessary.

Did you rotate radial tires side to side?

[rvcycleguy]

Originally Posted by rumbleweed

Did you rotate radial tires side to side?

Yes. Is that a rhetorical ? It's not like a vehicle with 4 tires that need to be front to back and then side to side over time. It makes me feel good that I do it whether its helpful or not. I take it to my local tire store where they were purchased and we jack both sides up at the same time and make the switch. Roofs have to come up slightly and the wheel covers have to come off as well.