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ouR escaPOD mods

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StephenH View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: ouR escaPOD mods
    Posted: 19 Aug 2020 at 7:20am
Okay. So R1 is the hitch and R2 is the axle. Thanks.
StephenH
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ouR escaPOD mods
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Aug 2020 at 5:56am
Originally posted by StephenH

Which end is which? I'm not sure how to read the picture.

Sorry, just saw this question. The left end is the hitch and the right end is the back of the trailer. The beam is being supported at the left/hitch end and a point towards the right end. That point represents the axle.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Aug 2020 at 1:19pm
I did not have the scraping across the fender, but I did notice a bit of sag. I wanted to catch it before it got worse. I only did this modification just prior to posting it, so the date on the posting detailing this mod is right on. We have not had a chance to get it out on the road yet to test it, but I expect it will work well for keeping the floor from sagging. I raised the side up to level it out as best I could before putting them in place so my floor is pretty level right now. For that, I used both a floor jack and a 15 ton bottle jack with long boards to spread the stress and placed the boards just inboard of the cover trim and raised it up. I ended up then moving the bottle jack to under the outriggers one at a time as I was installing them and raising them up to also help push the floor up before attaching them to the frame rail.

Placement was determined in part on avoiding the black and gray water drains. Placement ended up being 15" from the front edge of the slide-out flange for one and 31" from the back edge of the slide-out flange for the rear one, or one on each side of the axle. The picture should give you a visualization of this.
StephenH
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ouR escaPOD mods
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Mirado Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Aug 2020 at 10:03am
Stephen - I see when you posted the mod for the sagging outboard floor under the slideout - I am wondering when you actually performed this mod and how well it is working out after use.  My slideout has been rubbing across the top of the fender, and I thought maybe my slideout needed adjustment...but after seeing your mod, I examined the outboard flooring and I see there is some slight sagging there - not a lot, but certainly enough to cause the symptom I have.  I am seriously considering doing a similar fix in my case.

Did you install your braces at the extreme ends of the slideout, or space them inward a bit?

Doug
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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2020 at 12:44pm
Which end is which? I'm not sure how to read the picture.
StephenH
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ouR escaPOD mods
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2020 at 8:19am
Here are the calcs and graphs for the case of a uniformly loaded beam supported at one end (the hitch) and overhanging  the support at the other end (the axle). The uniform loading is a rough approximation for our trailers but isn't probably too far off. There will be additional point loads due to the wdh and the batteries that will tend to make the hitch/box area worse. Look at the moment diagram, that represents the bending stress on the frame. 

You can see that there are two locations where the frame is likely to bend, one up (axle) and one down (box/tongue). There are also points in front of the axle and right at the hitch and far aft end of the trailer with essentially no bending moments, no need for reinforcement in those areas. 


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Post Options Post Options   Quote Pod People Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2020 at 3:43pm
I had an old utility trailer that bent in the exact location you are talking about-where the A meets the box.  simple welding of additional box beam took care of the problem
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2020 at 11:36am
Originally posted by StephenH

I think I missed something. I remember reading about the axle area frame reinforcement. What was it about the tongue area?

There is another high stress area for the frame members, around the area where the tongue ends and the box begins, that one bending the frame down rather than up as in the area of the axle. Since that is also where batteries generally are located as well as the downforce generated by a wdh, it would be a good area to reinforce as well. I think just another length of 2x4 box tube under the existing ones and either welded or TEK screwed with gusset plates would work well for both areas. In the axle area it would just replace the lift kit. Somewhere in a post I estimated the lengths of frame that should be reinforced, IIRC it was several feet in both areas. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2020 at 8:16am
I think I missed something. I remember reading about the axle area frame reinforcement. What was it about the tongue area?
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2020 at 6:24am
Nice job.

Now we have between us all the pieces to create an rpod structural upgrade kit. It would consist of

1) Axle reinforcement
2) Frame tube reinforcement (tongue and axle areas)
3) Kitchen floor stiffeners
4) Side wall and slide supports

Add to that wheel and tire upgrades and the kit is complete. Installation instructions included. Only $1998 plus shipping.....Thumbs Up
1994 Chinook Concourse
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