Sagging floor and outriggers |
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Mojavered
Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
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Topic: Sagging floor and outriggers Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 7:07am |
Hello Everyone, new to the forum.
We have a 2017 HR 178 and after checking I find that my floor is sagging on the slide side, door side is perfectly square. I am at the point where I am ready to install the outriggers but have ran into a problem. When I place the hydraulic jack under the side wall that is sagging it only moves the floor and wall up about 1/4" after that the whole trailer is being lifted. This leaves the floor and frame about 1/4" off of being square but the floor and wall will not move any higher. could use some help. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2656 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 11:21am |
I might suggest giving it a little time and/or adding some weight to the trailer. You don't want to push too much, as it might fracture the floor.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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Mojavered
Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 1:21pm |
Thanks GlueGuy I'll keep that in mind.
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 7:28pm |
Is the spot where you are jacking coming into alignment leaving other floor areas still too low? If so try placing blocks and shims in that area and jacking somewhere else. IOW applying upward force at several points might help.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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Mojavered
Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 7:52pm |
Hi Offgrid,
No, it doesn't seem to matter where I place the jack the wall only moves up about 1/4" before it starts lifting the trailer. At that point it's still about 1/4" out of square. One thing I was thinking today was if I raise it the 1/4" then install the outrigger the weight of the wall would be on the last inch (outside edge) of the outrigger and I'm not sure it that would be good or not.
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Pod People
Senior Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1080 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 8:25pm |
. I would suspect that having the wall drop 1/2" was happening over a period of time and not instant. I would suggest that you jack up the wall area the 1/4" and leave it in that position( jacked up) for a day or two and let it slowly acclimate to the new stresses. I would spread the stress over several horizontal feet. After several days you "MAY" be able to jack it up the last 1/4" needed. but, it may also be at its limit and further jacking would cause damage. That decision would have to be made after leaving it jacked up for some given time period. Safe travels Vann
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 3:47am |
How are you determining what is actually plumb, square, or level and what isn't? Try to jack the floor level first, both laterally and longitudinally, so you have a baseline. Then get the walls plumb.
It could well be for example that the floor outer edges are bent permanently downward relative to the rest of the floor making it impossible to close the last quarter inch gap. Or it could be there is just something (caulk, wood, misalighned fasteners) between the wall and floor surface keeping the two from engaging fully. By carefully measuring to determine what's off you might be able to ID the problem. If the floor has been bent downward you my not be able to get everythjng closer than that 1/4 inch. Thats OK, it's a travel trailer not a moon rocket. I'm just going though the rig on my airplane's wings and the max dimensional tolerances on that are 1/2 inch. And it has to fly straight and level, all the trailer needs to do is roll down the road and not come apart. The outriggers are going to take most of their load on the outer inch where where the wall is. That's what they're intended to do. If you're concerned about overloading them you can add more and just space them closer to each other in that area. |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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Mojavered
Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 8:19pm |
Hi Vann,
Thanks for the idea it sounds like it's worth a try. I'll let you know the outcome in a few days.
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Mojavered
Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 8:37pm |
Offgrid, great info, lots to think about. Your right, it's only a travel trailer so as long as everything is working and tight it should be ok. I've been thinking that if I can't get the last 1/4" then I will just make sure the floor is even (same distance from the outer edge of the floor to the bottom of the frame) under the slide and install the outriggers as needed. That would at least prevent any further sagging, hopefully. |
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pedwards2932
Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 333 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 06 Dec 2021 at 2:29pm |
NA
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