Hit a Speed Bump then "Crunch"
I hit a unmarked speed bump at about 25mph or so on a main st (by a school. The truck & camper bounced pretty hard. I pulled the rear mount down about a 1/2" or so & disformed the aluminum trim & side...
Forum Discussion
....this had already happened to a former member of this Forum with a very well built totally aluminum-framed camper. The aluminum *tubing* (hollow) with a steel bolt passing through it simply sheared through the tube (not quite like butter, but pretty close!).
Think about it: a thin-walled aluminum tube with steel bolt through it...just the act of torquing the eyelet through the hollow aluminum tube will partially squash the aluminum, forget about any emergency catastrophic instantaneous stress on this assembly from an 7000 LB truck bucking/launching a 3000, 4000+ LB camper with just a 3/8 inch eyelet through aluminum tube with a 3/4 inch washer !
Aluminum framed campers should employ a solid aluminum block insert about 10 inches long (inside the aluminum tube framing) through which the tie-down eyelets are attached. Wood framed campers should absolutely have 2 appropriate metal plates sandwiching the wood framing where each of the 4 eyelets attach....
S-
Think about it: a thin-walled aluminum tube with steel bolt through it...just the act of torquing the eyelet through the hollow aluminum tube will partially squash the aluminum, forget about any emergency catastrophic instantaneous stress on this assembly from an 7000 LB truck bucking/launching a 3000, 4000+ LB camper with just a 3/8 inch eyelet through aluminum tube with a 3/4 inch washer !
Aluminum framed campers should employ a solid aluminum block insert about 10 inches long (inside the aluminum tube framing) through which the tie-down eyelets are attached. Wood framed campers should absolutely have 2 appropriate metal plates sandwiching the wood framing where each of the 4 eyelets attach....
S-
