Arm mechanism missing bolts to body

[melissa414]

I just discovered that my 2000 2720 SL is missing all the bolts that would attach the upper roof arms to the steps and body of the camper. See the pictures. How do I go about re-securing this to the camper? I am worried this may be the death sentence for my beautiful old camper. Thank you for the help!

 

[Shrimpburrito]

Lag bolts were in there. The first thing to try to assess is why they fell out. If it was just from repeated vibrations, that would be best case -- get new bolts and put them in with flat and lock washers. But if they pulled out because of wood rot, then you have a bigger problem. But that would be an uncommon spot for rot I think -- I'd stick a probe in those holes to see if you can get any rotted wood to fall out. And certainly if it's from rot, you won't be able to get a new bolt to hold in there.

Dave

 

[melissa414]

Hi Dave,

Thank you. Unfortunately, the probe revealed wood rot. Ugh. I did see another post that I believe you commented on, where it was advised to open that area from inside the camper to rebuild the wood, then re-secure that steel bracket to the new stuff. I would love any recommendations on my approach. Here is what I am thinking -

1. Remove stove which will provide access the wall space where the rotted wood lives.
2. Cut open an access panel through the aluminum sheeting in the area near the floor.
3. Assess the rot and remove it. Hopefully there will be something left to 'sister' new to old. If it's all rotted, then I would rebuild the enter space. If I rebuild it, this may require securing a bolt through the camper wall.
4. Insulate and reseal the access panel. Allow time for this to cure.
5. Close the camper.
6. Using the lag bolts, washers (flat & lock) reattach the bracket/steps to the camper shells and say a prayer

What am I missing??

Thanks,
Melissa

 

[Bill]

A bit off topic, but be careful of the term "lag bolt" or "lag screw". Technically, a "lag" is a large wood screw, with a hex head, a pointed tip, and coarse threads that bite into wood. This is in contrast to a machine screw (nut and bolt), where the threads pass cleanly through a slightly oversize hole and screw into a matching nut, usually with a washer. The terms are often used interchangeably, and the only time it really matters is if you are talking to someone - like a clerk at Home Depot - who means something different from what you are thinking.

As Dave points out, TM used lag bolts (wood screws) in this location, and if they have fallen out and the wood is solid, you can use another lag bolt to refasten. But if there is any wood failure (split, rot, stripped threads in the wood, etc) a lag bolt won't hold. In some cases, at least, you can refasten using a large machine screw with a matching nut above the wood member.

In another Forum thread (Roofs hard to latch) Shane mentioned a T-nut, which is a captive version of a standard hex nut. If you are going to rebuild the base of that section of wall, I think the T-nut approach would be better than a lag.

 

[Shane826]

Also remember the wall sits on top of the floor so the wall framing is on top of the floor framing. That may be difficult to dig out the floor framing and replace it.

Instead, maybe it would work if you drilled a pilot hole straight up through the floor frame and wall frame until you hit foam core, then go inside and cut a small access in the interior wall skin, insert T-nut at the top of the lower wall framing, put some blue Loc-Tite in the washer threads, use a very long bolt with a large washer to hold the bracket snug to the bottom of the floor, then you can fill the access panel with expanding foam to fill the access hole, and bandage it with a piece of Eternabond tape. While this doesn’t fix the floor frame rot issue, it does get your torsion bar brackets attached to solid wood. Unless that entire floor frame rail is rotted end to end, it should work just fine.

 

[melissa414]

Thank you. I ended up pulling all the rotted wood and luckily this was isolated to the floor frame and not the wall frame. However the rot did extend to the door. I cut a 2 x 4 down to fit this space and pounded it in. I used lots of liquid nails and long construction screws. I jacked up the bracket and was able to secure it with lag screws with locking washers to the new wood member.