Lance Sagging Cabover

Question

I have a 1999 Lance Lite 845 that has a sagging cabover section. While off the truck, if I level the main floor and then measure the angle of bed floor, it’s sagging by 1.43 degrees. (Measured with an instrument capable of .05 degree precision.) That equates to 2 inches over the 80 inch bed length. It’s very noticeable whether I level the main floor or the bed floor. Either way something feels off.

Is this normal or potentially hazardous? As in the cabover section failing and hitting the roof of the truck! I don’t see any wrinkling or stretching of the aluminum siding. It's spent it's whole life in Southern California so not much rain and no apparent leaks but quite a few bouncy dirt roads.

burbman · Answer

I just rebuilt a 2002 Lance 811 with water damage from leaking windows. The sides of the camper are what give the cabover its strength, the framing is just 1x2 wood. There are also diagonal supports that run in those sides, but when the forward windows leak, those rot away and allow the camper to begin to drop. I had to jack mine up in the front and use a laser to re-square it before I re-installed new framing and siding.

Click the link in my sig for the re-build thread, lots of pics. Mine is fiberglas, but they're all built basically the same. The repair isn't difficult if you have basic handyman and woodworking skills. The main thing is the time and a place to work on it, I put a few hundred hours into my build. Then you have to consider that the fridge and appliances are now 22 years old.

I went all the way with new fridge, new converter, new bed, etc etc and I was all in on the repair at about $4k, but when it's all said and done, have basically a brand new camper.

lwiddis wrote:
Get a pro repair estimate.

OP can buy a new one for what they will want to fix this one.

lwiddis · Answer

Not normal and potentially dangerous IMO. Get a pro repair estimate.

greenno · Answer

I used to have a 98 Skyline weekender and had a similar issue. My framework was made out of wood with metal flat brackets stapled in the corners. There were cracks in the main frame supports allowing the weight of the structure to make it sag. After removing some corrugated siding and saw what the problem was I closed it back up and sold it to a guy who wanted to have it parked on a flat pad and not even use it on a vehicle. The siding on yours might be what is giving it some strength to keep it from sagging more.
Don't let my story scare you mine was worst case. Try to investigate and see the cause of the problem and go from there. Good luck.

specta · Answer

I got a bid back in 2017 to repair a sagging cabover on my Skyline camper.

They wanted to do both sides and said $6-7000, and that was an estimate with no "quote" until they opened it up.

That was an easy no because I only paid $2200 for the camper.

h-rider · Answer

Thank you everyone for your responses. Not the news I was hoping for but somewhat expected. I went though Burbman’s rebuild post and it’s a bigger job than I thought. I’m truly impressed at your skill, Burbman. You did an amazing job. Although, I have the skills and most of the tools, I doubt I can free up enough time so the project doesn’t take months to finish.

My first option now would be to find an affordable used camper that is in better shape than mine. (Unfortunately, it seems like a bad time to be RV shopping.) Second option is to attach an external brace which may limit the use of the rear doors on the truck but would allow me additional time to find a replacement camper. The last option would be to fix mine. Definitely, not taking it to a shop based on Specta’s estimate which is probably low for Southern California.

Any further comments, opinions, or suggestions are appreciated.

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Lance Sagging Cabover

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