Well we're down here in Mesa enjoying beautiful weather but we've had a couple of issues with our trailer, one minor, one not so minor.
The first was a loose and leaky water connection to the hot water tap at the bathroom sink. No a big deal to tighten and I think we caught it before the water did any damage...but very annoying and so very preventable with a little care and attention on Jayco's part.
Second item was more serious and a lot more work. It involved the inflatable hide-a-bed and could be a probem for anyone who uses this bed. I'll try to describe the problem and the fix.
When extended, the frame that supports the mattress is itself supported on either side of the frame by mild steel 5/16ths bolts about 1 1/2" long. These bolts are screwed and lock-tighted into the steel frame that supports the couch. In our trailer the extended frame rested on the bolt near the head, that is about an inch from the threaded end (this being at the end of the couch closest the rear of the trailer). The puny little bolt couldn't take the strain and bent and sheared right where it threaded into the couch frame. Taking the couch apart is not a big deal so after contacting Jayco and finding out that they would be no help at all eventhough the trailer is only a few months into a 2 year warranty, I got to work. The under couch drawer is easily removed and after a little investigation, the extendable frame proved no problem either. Once I could get at the problem, I tried to drill out the broken bolt stub, thinking I could use an Easy-Out to back the broken part of the bolt out but that failed when I accidently broke the drill off in the bolt stub.
A quick trip to Home Depot produced a length of 1 1/4 X 1 1/4 angle iron, a hacksaw, and some pan-head metal screws. A 5 1/4" inch length of angle iron was cut and drilled with three 1/4" inch holes to allow free passage of the #10 X 1/4 screws. At that length, the angle iron rests on 2 members of the steel couch frame so that the bottom is supported and the top, free end, of the angle iron is positioned exactly where the support bolt had been. Quarter inch holes were drilled through the 3/32" steel plate that forms the end of the couch frame and 1/8" pilot holes for the screws were drilled beyond them into the hardwood frame of the upholstered end of the couch. The angle iron was quickly screwed in place and voila! a support that is better and stronger than new!
Honestly how these furniture manufacturers get away with the junk they produce is way beyond me. Any engineer or skilled designer with his head on even a little bit tight could not help but know those support bolts will fail. But I guess the attitude is; once it's out the door it's somebody else's problem. And like I said Jayco was no help at all and definitely not making it their problem so I plan to raise some grief for them when we get home.
Anyway eventhough it was a little cooler and windy today, the pool at Val Vista was great and empty except for us two crazy canucks who thought it was a perfect day for a swim.
I think the folks at home are freezin' their buns off which makes it even better.:B
Cheers,
Dave
