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My belly is sagging...

Gsturner
Explorer
Explorer
The beer belly I understand. I'm talking about the underbelly on my Rockwood. Each of the underbelly panels seem to be sagging significantly at their center. Hadn't noticed this phenomenon until yesterday in Santa Rosa NM with ridiculous winds. The plastic panel at the rear behind the bumper completely ripped loose from the top edge. Appears glued/plastic riveted? Duct taped that back in place-Nothing solid to screw it back into-arrgh! Anyhow, the "protected underbelly" feature I specifically sought out is now compromised. Heading to Quartzsite with some cold weather yet to come. Sigh.
SKP 115048
2016 Winnebago View 24M
2015 Harley Heritage Softail as toad
Retired:
2007 Titan LE with the Big Tow Package
2010 Rockwood 8315BSS
2008 Suzuki GZ 250-Response to 3/4 Life Crisis :C
23 REPLIES 23

JBarca
Nomad II
Nomad II
mrekim wrote:
JBarca wrote:

Taped over edge to create a hem seal then put both up onto the bottom of the camper.


OK, I guess I was a little confused. I thought you only "hemmed" the area by the tires. I was wondering if you just depended on compression for the rest.


Sorry, need to clarify. I did the entire wheel well area as even the coroplast would get water in the flutes. In my case there this is about ~ 6 feet that is fully taped by the wheels. The other areas I just used ~ 6" long strips to hold the Reflectix to the coroplast to get it up. I have no water concerns in these areas and the sandwich compresses enough to not be a problem.
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10 RA, 21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR, upgraded 2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver. Hitched with a 1,700# Reese HP WD, HP Dual Cam to a 2004 Sunline Solaris T310R travel trailer.

mrekim
Explorer
Explorer
JBarca wrote:

Taped over edge to create a hem seal then put both up onto the bottom of the camper.


OK, I guess I was a little confused. I thought you only "hemmed" the area by the tires. I was wondering if you just depended on compression for the rest.

JBarca wrote:

LOL.... I was shocked the radiant heat off the ducts actually was that warm. In my case the furnace has to run when cold weather (below freezing) camping or the tank compartment will not be indirectly heated.

WOW

Is that the only under floor duct - maybe not insulated on purpose?

JBarca
Nomad II
Nomad II
Comments in blue


mrekim wrote:
JBarca wrote:

I am using Reflectix insulation on the inside of the cover and hem the seams by the wheels so water does not work its way into the Reflectix.

Hem = silicon seal? No, not silicone. I used Gorilla tape . Stuck 1" to the Coroplast, then fold over onto the Reflectix to hold it in place and keep water from getting the Coroplast and Reflectrix

JBarca wrote:

The Coroplast cover them compresses the Reflectix on the frame mount to make an effective enough seal.


Do you just sandwich it in there or affix to frame or Corplast? See response above. Taped over edge to create a hem seal then put both up onto the bottom of the camper.


JBarca wrote:

If I was to use the foam along the entire perimeter I was afraid I would almost destroy Corplast if I ever wanted to get it off to service the under side of the camper. My slide drive motor is in there and the holding tanks.


Yes, That's why I'm looking to steal some ideas. I had some work done and they didn't seal up the Coroplast at all. OK I know what you are referring to. I think anyway (the camper work that is). The coroplast when brand new is stiffer pending how thick it is. Once it goes up and down a few times it is not as rigid. PS steal all the ideas you can from my mods stuff. Willing to share


JBarca wrote:
I have tested it down to 19F and the tank compartment is still at 46F as the lowest temp in the middle of the night. The highest was like 86F when the furnace kicked on.


Ha - you're going to need to get that temp sensor hooked up to a electronic damper to keep from having only hot water.
LOL.... I was shocked the radiant heat off the ducts actually was that warm. In my case the furnace has to run when cold weather (below freezing) camping or the tank compartment will not be indirectly heated.
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10 RA, 21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR, upgraded 2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver. Hitched with a 1,700# Reese HP WD, HP Dual Cam to a 2004 Sunline Solaris T310R travel trailer.

mrekim
Explorer
Explorer
JBarca wrote:

I am using Reflectix insulation on the inside of the cover and hem the seams by the wheels so water does not work its way into the Reflectix.

Hem = silicon seal?


JBarca wrote:

The Coroplast cover them compresses the Reflectix on the frame mount to make an effective enough seal.


Do you just sandwich it in there or affix to frame or Corplast?


JBarca wrote:

If I was to use the foam along the entire perimeter I was afraid I would almost destroy Corplast if I ever wanted to get it off to service the under side of the camper. My slide drive motor is in there and the holding tanks.


Yes, That's why I'm looking to steal some ideas. I had some work done and they didn't seal up the Coroplast at all.




JBarca wrote:
I have tested it down to 19F and the tank compartment is still at 46F as the lowest temp in the middle of the night. The highest was like 86F when the furnace kicked on.


Ha - you're going to need to get that temp sensor hooked up to a electronic damper to keep from having only hot water.

JBarca
Nomad II
Nomad II
Here are some more pic of the Reflectix setup










This was part of making the heated tank compartment more dependable. I could not find anyone who could tell me how cold out I can go. So I fixed up the insulation system to what I felt was a whole lot better and installed a air temp sensor inside the compartment to prove to myself how cold I can go. I have tested it down to 19F and the tank compartment is still at 46F as the lowest temp in the middle of the night. The highest was like 86F when the furnace kicked on.
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10 RA, 21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR, upgraded 2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver. Hitched with a 1,700# Reese HP WD, HP Dual Cam to a 2004 Sunline Solaris T310R travel trailer.

JBarca
Nomad II
Nomad II
mrekim wrote:

Did you then use expanding foam to seal everything back up?


I only used the foam where I had a pipe etc that creates an air space. I am using Reflectix insulation on the inside of the cover and hem the seams by the wheels so water does not work its way into the Reflectix.

The Coroplast cover them compresses the Reflectix on the frame mount to make an effective enough seal.

If I was to use the foam along the entire perimeter I was afraid I would almost destroy Corplast if I ever wanted to get it off to service the under side of the camper. My slide drive motor is in there and the holding tanks.
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10 RA, 21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR, upgraded 2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver. Hitched with a 1,700# Reese HP WD, HP Dual Cam to a 2004 Sunline Solaris T310R travel trailer.

Huntindog
Explorer
Explorer
JBarca wrote:
I do not have your brand camper, but have dealt with the issue of sagging Coroplast (plastic corrugated sheet) belly cover.

Here is a pic of ours a year after we bought the camper. It had a slight sag in it then and the camper was 4 years old on this pic.


On ours Sunline welded on a 1/16" x 2" flat strip that hung inside I shape main frame rails. They used 1/4" self tapping screws to hold the cover on. See here


I did a qty of work in the enclosed tank compartment and after taking it on and off a few times, the sag became worse.


The structure of this Coroplast is not very strong, however it is light , makes a cover and will not rot. But it does sag over time.

I had to do something with the sag so I make up a few holders to span the width of the frame rails and added fender washer over the screws. Went into Lowes/Home Depot to look at options and that did not cost a small fortune. Found 1/2" x 1 1/2" wide pressure treated wood strips and 3/4" EMT conduit. I used a few stainless steel hose clamps to hold the flat strip to the conduit then bolted the whole thing to the main frame rails. Note: Drill the holes towards the center of the web, not on the outside.

I wanted something more elegant and was going to change it out at a later date, however that time has not yet come and probably won't. They work well. I have them spaced about every 30"


Just passing this along as an option in case someone needs it.

Hope this helps

John
I did something similar when I installed pipe insulation and heat tape to all of my plumbing.
I removed the coroplast completely, and used 1x4 pieces of pine cut to a length that would fit above the bottom of the frame rails crosswise. You gotta put them in at a angle, then straighten them out so they rest on the inside of the bottom beam. On some, there was a hole already from the previous coroplast install so I put a screw thru it into the pine to secure it, but it really isn't needed.
I cut the coroplast into smaller easier to remove sections of 4-6 ft.
And over lapped it front to rear so the wind can't catch it. Everywhere there is a overlap, there is a pine board to screw into, and some in the middle of the bigger sections.
Now there is no sag, and access for repairs etc. is easy
Huntindog
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mrekim
Explorer
Explorer
JBarca wrote:
They work well. I have them spaced about every 30"


Just passing this along as an option in case someone needs it.

Hope this helps



Did you then use expanding foam to seal everything back up?

wmoses
Explorer
Explorer
John,

Even if we don't need it your posts are always worth a read as there is simply a wealth of information provided - complete with pictures!

Thanks for taking your valuable time to do this.
Regards,
Wayne
2014 Flagstaff Super Lite 27RLWS Emerald Ed. | Equal-i-zer 1200/12,000 4-point WDH
2010 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE 5.3L 6-speed auto | K&N Filter | Hypertech Max Energy tune | Prodigy P3
_

JBarca
Nomad II
Nomad II
I do not have your brand camper, but have dealt with the issue of sagging Coroplast (plastic corrugated sheet) belly cover.

Here is a pic of ours a year after we bought the camper. It had a slight sag in it then and the camper was 4 years old on this pic.


On ours Sunline welded on a 1/16" x 2" flat strip that hung inside I shape main frame rails. They used 1/4" self tapping screws to hold the cover on. See here


I did a qty of work in the enclosed tank compartment and after taking it on and off a few times, the sag became worse.


The structure of this Coroplast is not very strong, however it is light , makes a cover and will not rot. But it does sag over time.

I had to do something with the sag so I make up a few holders to span the width of the frame rails and added fender washer over the screws. Went into Lowes/Home Depot to look at options and that did not cost a small fortune. Found 1/2" x 1 1/2" wide pressure treated wood strips and 3/4" EMT conduit. I used a few stainless steel hose clamps to hold the flat strip to the conduit then bolted the whole thing to the main frame rails. Note: Drill the holes towards the center of the web, not on the outside.

I wanted something more elegant and was going to change it out at a later date, however that time has not yet come and probably won't. They work well. I have them spaced about every 30"


Just passing this along as an option in case someone needs it.

Hope this helps

John
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10 RA, 21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR, upgraded 2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver. Hitched with a 1,700# Reese HP WD, HP Dual Cam to a 2004 Sunline Solaris T310R travel trailer.

Mike_E_
Explorer II
Explorer II
Had the same issue.
Got to a CG and son noticed the underbelly hanging on one side.
It had worked itself off the frame 'shelf' and dropped. There wasn't a single fastener installed anywhere....guess they just jam the material to one side of the frame, bend it until it pops onto the opposite side and call it good ๐Ÿ˜ž
Whilst under the trailer to repair it I noticed that two of the nuts from the straps that secure the water tank onto their 'ready-rod' supports had completely fallen off....hence a bit of a saggy tank.
Re-secured the water tank and then added self-tapping screws (pre-drilled the beam) and large washers wherever I could find a cross-member to keep the underbelly up.

Even with that, there were spots where the underbelly appeared to be sagging, but it was just for it to get under the holding tanks.

wmoses
Explorer
Explorer
Gsturner wrote:
(Also noticed wind sucked the cap off the end of the bumper!).

I have had good luck so far with this.
Regards,
Wayne
2014 Flagstaff Super Lite 27RLWS Emerald Ed. | Equal-i-zer 1200/12,000 4-point WDH
2010 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE 5.3L 6-speed auto | K&N Filter | Hypertech Max Energy tune | Prodigy P3
_

Gsturner
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for all the input. I scored Gorilla Tape at Home Depot down the road and replaced the nasty duct tape. Black Gorilla tape looks great on that panel right behind the bumper. (Also noticed wind sucked the cap off the end of the bumper!) Decided to stay in North Albuquerque KOA. Joined some old friends for church service and brunch. Settling into Rockwood for Super Bowl. Next stop-Phoenix.
SKP 115048
2016 Winnebago View 24M
2015 Harley Heritage Softail as toad
Retired:
2007 Titan LE with the Big Tow Package
2010 Rockwood 8315BSS
2008 Suzuki GZ 250-Response to 3/4 Life Crisis :C

dalenoel
Explorer II
Explorer II
Wherever I find a cut for access above the plastic sheet I will put a 1 x 2 pine and then screw thru on both sides of the cut into the pine. This gives some rigidity and also something to attach to.

Dale
03 Monaco Neptune 36PBD DP - 18 Focus Toad
Wife, myself, and Oreo the Malshi