Forum Discussion
joerg68
Sep 26, 2023Nomad III
From memory, many years ago. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
The corner brackets need to be square and level. Lift the roof fully up, then insert the (unloaded) torsion bar and lower the roof. This will load the spring. To get the torsion bar in, it may be neccessary to lift the roof higher than the canvas will let you. The camper we worked on way back when got a completely new roof and the canvas was not in place yet. There are no other springs in that mechanism.
As you have noted, the torsion force is pretty big. The wood that the brackets are mounted to needs to be in very good shape and the whole frame needs to be structurally sound. A patch job will not last long, if at all.
When the roof is lowered and the spring is loaded, that force keeps trying to rotate the corner brackets for as long as the roof is down. Once the structure is compromised, the brackets begin to turn out of level. You see that a lot in older campers, it is a tell-tale sign.
Good luck with your project!
The corner brackets need to be square and level. Lift the roof fully up, then insert the (unloaded) torsion bar and lower the roof. This will load the spring. To get the torsion bar in, it may be neccessary to lift the roof higher than the canvas will let you. The camper we worked on way back when got a completely new roof and the canvas was not in place yet. There are no other springs in that mechanism.
As you have noted, the torsion force is pretty big. The wood that the brackets are mounted to needs to be in very good shape and the whole frame needs to be structurally sound. A patch job will not last long, if at all.
When the roof is lowered and the spring is loaded, that force keeps trying to rotate the corner brackets for as long as the roof is down. Once the structure is compromised, the brackets begin to turn out of level. You see that a lot in older campers, it is a tell-tale sign.
Good luck with your project!
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