Forum Discussion

myredracer's avatar
myredracer
Explorer II
Dec 07, 2017

Superstructure settlement??

At the forward side of the pass-through compartment doors and under the door frame, the interior wall paneling has slowly been separating over the past 2-3 years as shown in the photos. There are no signs whatsoever that there is water intrusion because the luan plywood has not delaminated. The luan appears to be pushed downward and away from the wall/frame from vertical pressure from the door frame. The luan has been compressed vertically and forced it away from the wall because the luan was trimmed tight to the floor.

The last two photos show the luan peeled away from the aluminum framing and how it is bent sideways at the lower edge. I don't see the aluminum framing sinking into the floor at all. The same thing has happened on both sides of the trailer.

Is this a sign of something serious or should I just cut some new plywood pieces and glue them in and assume it will be okay? The frame on our TT was a one-off custom factory special that is 8" tall instead of the normal 6". I don't know much about how it was built except that the dealer said they had to sit the superstructure on some blocks to make it work. Maybe the blocks, whatever they are made of, have been compressed a bit over time? Or could there be something structural happening that is hiding behind the walls or floor?
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Dec 07, 2017
    Looks like the "frame" is flexing. Not the frame work of the rig but the base frame. Many rigs are using stamped metal rather than I-beam style.
    Contact the rig's manufacturer, don't trust a dealer's interputation.
  • myredracer's avatar
    myredracer
    Explorer II
    Dec 07, 2017
    enblethen wrote:
    Looks like the "frame" is flexing. Not the frame work of the rig but the base frame. Many rigs are using stamped metal rather than I-beam style.
    Contact the rig's manufacturer, don't trust a dealer's interputation.


    The frame is a heavy duty one with I-beams that are one piece 3/16" steel, 8" tall compared to their standard frame with I-beams made from 3 pieces of 1/8" sheet welded together which are highly flexible. I doubt KZ would have any comments as our TT was built just before Thor bought them out.


    Hmmm, could the aluminum-framed superstructure maybe be bouncing up & down on top of the floor assembly & frame?
  • enblethen's avatar
    enblethen
    Nomad
    Dec 07, 2017
    Yes, it is possible that the frame work is not securely bolted to the frame. Frame would have ells coming off as most of the frames are not full width.
  • Lynnmor's avatar
    Lynnmor
    Explorer
    Dec 07, 2017
    I wonder if the outriggers are not supporting the walls. While the main frame rails are adequate, maybe they still used the paper thin outriggers.
  • TKW's avatar
    TKW
    Explorer
    Dec 08, 2017
    Hi Gil:

    I would open up the underbelly and check on the outriggers. It seems to me the support directly under the floor area has given up. Hopefully it's something easy to get access to.

    Tom
  • myredracer's avatar
    myredracer
    Explorer II
    Dec 08, 2017
    Had a look under the floor next to the I-beams in the area of the front outriggers. Nothing looks unusual that I could tell. The bolts aren't loose and welds look okay. I will have to pull the underbelly down to get a full detail look at everything but will have to wait until the spring now as the bad winter weather is just around the corner.

    The outriggers are 4' apart and are pretty thin sheet metal at approx. 14 gauge. There is a piece of sheet metal that goes from one side of the trailer to the other and closes in the space between the I-beams and acts as an outrigger at the forward end of the trailer. That piece measures approx. 12 gauge. If those thin sheet metal outriggers are all that supports the thousands of lbs of superstructure sitting on them, I'm surprised it hasn't suffered a catastrophic failure while driving down the road...

    It can't hurt to ask the factory what's going on and will do that.
  • Vulcanmars's avatar
    Vulcanmars
    Explorer
    Dec 09, 2017
    A few years ago several builders used a Z channel that the outer wall sat on. Over time some of the walls sagged causing similar damage to what you have. I would definitely look for signs of the of the wall supports sagging/flexing.
  • myredracer's avatar
    myredracer
    Explorer II
    Dec 09, 2017
    Vulcanmars wrote:
    A few years ago several builders used a Z channel that the outer wall sat on. Over time some of the walls sagged causing similar damage to what you have. I would definitely look for signs of the of the wall supports sagging/flexing.


    Interesting. Where can I find a drawing or photo of the Z channel and how it's installed?

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