Restoring Front End Stabilization

Rick's fall ended up being a blessing.

We came to realize that we attempted too much without providing compensating structural support. The upper shell was attached to the chassis by a couple of clecos--but we'd left the belly pan detatched. But as we pulled out wood, critical points of support got removed. It seemed manageable as we removed more and more rotted areas, until the cross-wise support of the belly pan got removed. Then we realized it had started to sink off the frame. Slowly the aluminum was dipping past the steel of the chassis frame where it was unsupported--causing it to rise elsewhere. The twist became clear when the door wouldn't shut easily.

So, this weekend has been a reconstruction effort.

First--we had errands to accomplish. For some odd reason, the little package containing the necessary hardware (except the hitch screws, which aren't included) and assembly instructions missing from our new power jack. Fortunately, our preferred parts supplier (Restless Wheels) is extremely reputable. They took a packet from an unsold jack and called Barker for a replacement for the missing one. So, we picked that up and picked up hitch screws (I had a chopped off piece of the old screws to match). While in Manassas, we went to Lowes (which doesn't have any closer stores) for a supply of insulation and aluminum tape. For some odd reason, our local orange big box store doesn't sell either Reflectix (reflective bubble wrap insulation) or aluminum tape. Once stocked up, we headed back home.

Since we had more exposed frame, we got cracking on getting it sealed. To be honest, we spent a good bit of time looking in on the hole, trying to figure out what went wrong. It quickly became clear that the problem was that by opening up so much of the floor, we lost stability in the upper shell. Cracking open the belly pan may have been a bit of a blessing. However, we still couldn't shut the door effectively.

So, taking a page from Frank's bathroom repair, we installed a jack to support the upper shell. However, since we hadn't completely opened the belly pan, we couldn't stabilize it against the ground. Instead, we used the frame as our base. That helped, but not quite enough. Our next thought was to put the lost rivets back in on the belly pan, but Rick felt we needed more space to get underneath. So, we started cranking on the new jack. Watching the frame, it became quickly clear it was still unattached, so we cranked it back down. However, as I uncranked, Rick let the door swing...and it shut. We stopped cranking, went up, went down. We shut the door again. It's never closed this well before. Result? The upper shell has been set at its best location. Both of us breathed much, much easier.

Based on that, we pulled out the clecos in the front, pulled the belly pan up and placed new rivets in. This required a bit of drilling (the holes were too small), but the aluminum went right up and the holes lined up perfectly. That was a good thing. There are more rivets to go up higher, on the belly pan and along the banana wrap line (the horizontal wrap at the base--you can see its shadow running laterally above the tongue in the photo above), but the process of stabilizing is in force. Rick squared and we cut out a new replacement panel for the floor.

So, now we're in reconstruction mode, which is a really good place to get to.