Fun / Projects / with my 1997 America Dream
Borrowed a trailer and getting ready for some fun in the sun (it's cold here now 30's again tonight) I went and bought a 8 inch drop hitch, the 6 inch had the deck at too much of an angle, and ...
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So...once again I am fixing a repair done by a RV service center (Camping World).
We purchased and had installed by Camping World a CareFree Electric awning.
We really like the awning.
These are the screws which Camping World used to bolt the awning to the side of the Motor Home.
Nice beefy screws, the problem is all they were screwed into was the fiberglass siding of the Motor Home which is all of 1/8 thick. No attempt was made to fine the metal sub frame of the side of the Motor Home.
You can guess what happened. It is just fortunate that it happened while sitting still in the pits at the drag strip this weekend.
We were able to make a temporary fix to get the Motor Home, home so that I could fix it correctly.
The temporary fix was to through bolt the upper track of the awning and use washers to spread the load on the inside wall.
We lucked out in that the rear bracket is located on the outside of the closet.
I created a backing plate out of aluminum and powder coated it flat black. Purchased stainless steel bolts the right length and OSI Quad Permanently Flexible Sealant.
Only the back Track pulled away from the side of the motor Home, boy am I glad it happened while standing still. I decided to check the front and found it had been installed the same way.
So...the front backing plate ended up inside the right front speaker cabinet.
and with the speaker put back is completely out of sight.
The rear backing plate is in the upper right rear corner of the cedar closet in the bathroom. You have to lean down and look up to see it.
The silicone sealant they used was doing more holding that the screws they put in.
Both the front and rear brackets are now solidly fastened to the side of the Motor Home.
I'm not worried about the bottom screws as they are in compression and the bottoms of the brackets just need to be held in place, no pulling tension is ever applied to these screws.
There are very few items that have been repaired by RV service centers left on the Motor Home that I have not had to go back and fix.
A couple repairs that still need to be fixed is the new TV antenna that was install by Caledonia RV leaks (rain drips right off the handle), and the new furnace fan that was install by Caledonia RV rubs and it needs to come apart and centered in its housing.
Projects for another day.
We purchased and had installed by Camping World a CareFree Electric awning.
We really like the awning.
These are the screws which Camping World used to bolt the awning to the side of the Motor Home.
Nice beefy screws, the problem is all they were screwed into was the fiberglass siding of the Motor Home which is all of 1/8 thick. No attempt was made to fine the metal sub frame of the side of the Motor Home.
You can guess what happened. It is just fortunate that it happened while sitting still in the pits at the drag strip this weekend.
We were able to make a temporary fix to get the Motor Home, home so that I could fix it correctly.
The temporary fix was to through bolt the upper track of the awning and use washers to spread the load on the inside wall.
We lucked out in that the rear bracket is located on the outside of the closet.
I created a backing plate out of aluminum and powder coated it flat black. Purchased stainless steel bolts the right length and OSI Quad Permanently Flexible Sealant.
Only the back Track pulled away from the side of the motor Home, boy am I glad it happened while standing still. I decided to check the front and found it had been installed the same way.
So...the front backing plate ended up inside the right front speaker cabinet.
and with the speaker put back is completely out of sight.
The rear backing plate is in the upper right rear corner of the cedar closet in the bathroom. You have to lean down and look up to see it.
The silicone sealant they used was doing more holding that the screws they put in.
Both the front and rear brackets are now solidly fastened to the side of the Motor Home.
I'm not worried about the bottom screws as they are in compression and the bottoms of the brackets just need to be held in place, no pulling tension is ever applied to these screws.
There are very few items that have been repaired by RV service centers left on the Motor Home that I have not had to go back and fix.
A couple repairs that still need to be fixed is the new TV antenna that was install by Caledonia RV leaks (rain drips right off the handle), and the new furnace fan that was install by Caledonia RV rubs and it needs to come apart and centered in its housing.
Projects for another day.
