LeeChastain
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- Joined
- Nov 8, 2023
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The rear floor of my camper is moving side to side causing the rear side walls on the outside of camper to bulge.
The rear floor of my camper is moving side to side causing the rear side walls on the outside of camper to bulge.
The rear floor of my camper is moving side to side causing the rear side walls on the outside of camper to bulge.
Thanks for those details - really appreciate. I am not familiar with the terms. I understand the need to remove the black skirting. Did you also remove the interior rear ‘wall’ - than thin covering?This is exactly what my 2017 Reflection 27RL looked like!! I can positively tell you it was not anything connected to the I-Beam frame. The problem is caused by the bottom of the rear wall of the trailer is not bolted to anything solid !!!! The small 1/2 inch aluminum angle shown in the photo is fastened to the rear wall with short screws into the lauan board and the bottom of the angle is screwed into the floor. This is the only thing keeping the rear wall from moving back and forth during transit. Lauan board is only 1/4 inch thick and has no structural strength. It's basically used to provide something to glue the vinyl covering to. Using this surface with short screws accomplishes nothing. I eventually found my trailer had some 2 inch wide aluminum that went all the way across the back of the wall behind this lauan and about 3 inches above the floor. I purchased 4 inch aluminum angle and used 1 inch long self tapping screws to secure this new 4 inch angle to the floor and to the aluminum behind the lauan. I spaced the screws on the new aluminum angle about 6 inches apart. As they threaded into the aluminum I could feel them getting tight and drawing the angle up tight against the lauan.
Before I started this task I removed the bottom skirt from the outside of the trailer and could grab hold of the rear ladder and actually shift the back wall from side to side about 2 inches!!!!! All the screws in my trailer were missing or scattered about under the sofa. There are many youtubes on this problem and it's not just confined to Grand Design. This is just the way some of these trailers are assembled.
The screws tore the back wall because 1/4 lauan has no structural value. You must find the aluminum vertical or horizontal metal behind the lauan. There are two ways you can do this. Mine was simple because the sofa sits against the rear wall and when removed I could explore by cutting small pieces of lauan out or by taking a small drill and drilling through the lauan. When the drill hit metal it was obvious so I marked the height with a Sharpie. Before long I knew exactly what was behind the lauan. The sofa covers my destroying the lauan in the small places where I explored and found aluminum . When you hit metal it's very obvious. This is what you want to fasten the angle to. Like stated earlier, my trailer has a two inch wide aluminum plate or square tubing behind the lauan about 3 inches above floor level. It goes from one side of the trailer to the other.......all the way across the back. The 4 inch angle I put in was tall enough to allow my screws to go into this metal. Watch the first video again. I'm not sure this guy went high enough to allow the screws to penetrate the aluminum. If not then the screws will pull back out. Lauan cannot be counted on.Thanks for the help. Given that the screws tore the back wall, I don’t think that would work for me.
Appreciate the input
1/4" luan? I thought it was only 1/8". Regardless not enough meat for the job.The screws tore the back wall because 1/4 lauan has no structural value. You must find the aluminum vertical or horizontal metal behind the lauan. There are two ways you can do this. Mine was simple because the sofa sits against the rear wall and when removed I could explore by cutting small pieces of lauan out or by taking a small drill and drilling through the lauan. When the drill hit metal it was obvious so I marked the height with a Sharpie. Before long I knew exactly what was behind the lauan. The sofa covers my destroying the lauan in the small places where I explored and found aluminum . When you hit metal it's very obvious. This is what you want to fasten the angle to. Like stated earlier, my trailer has a two inch wide aluminum plate or square tubing behind the lauan about 3 inches above floor level. It goes from one side of the trailer to the other.......all the way across the back. The 4 inch angle I put in was tall enough to allow my screws to go into this metal. Watch the first video again. I'm not sure this guy went high enough to allow the screws to penetrate the aluminum. If not then the screws will pull back out. Lauan cannot be counted on.
I believe the 1/2 inch angle already in place from the factory with those short screws has already secured the rear wall to the floor. Screws fell out and now the rear wall shifts side to side which allows the floor to protrude beyond the wall and bend the lower skirt on the outside of the trailer. I would be interested in continuing this conversation after you get input from Grand Design!!Yeah, either way, paper thin.
I will ask GD for recommendation as the original design does not secure the rear wall to the floor but to aluminum tuning on side walls of rv, so I don’t really see this as long term fix