covered_wagon
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Joined 21 years ago
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Re: Aluminum vs Steel flatbed
be sure and ground the aluminum well with a good bond to the cab. Use all stainless mounting bolts. I recounted the years with my aluminum and it's actually almost 26 yrs now. Been on two different trucks. If it was steel it would look like 26 years are on it. It still looks good but, has scratches like your old pots and pans. no corrosion1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Broken Frame on a RAM 3500
I hear you all. My source said it was a short bed. So looked at it and thought it was a short also. The rear axle appears to be too close to the back end for some reason all the weight and mass of the camper seems to be too far to the rear of the axle.479Views0likes0CommentsRe: Levelling blocks for camper on driveway with 2 degree grade
Depending on how high your truck bed is sometimes it's easy to over extend the jacks and cause damage to them so putting wood 2x6's under the foot adds some lea way making it less likely to over extend them. My 15 year old plastic ones, two packages of them, sometimes don't go high enough for level. They do get damaged sometimes without a pad or sink without a pad. If I was to do it over I would appreciate the wood blocks more since they have greater leveling ability/ more lift with each block.693Views0likes0CommentsRe: Overloaded or wrong truck?
Center of gravity may be too far back, not forward enough but, the failed frame is the hydroformed modern day engineered frame. My first generation dodge had a real frame like that of the big rigs. First thing I noticed going to the newer dodge was the flexing I could feel in the frame while running gravel roads, you could feel a solid difference by comparison. When comparing frame thickness there was a noticeble difference in the thickness of the steel Yes the camper is too much for that truck. Still can't understand why the front went up rather than down because proper center of gravity location would mean the front failing in the downward position. However, wind and road dynamics may play a roll no pun intended. This thread would be more effective having been posted in the Truck Campers forum.494Views0likes0CommentsRe: Any Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
Thank you HMSBeagle, I will do the testing and find some flexible XPS. I will need to cut the headliner along two lines because one edge of the loose panel will fold down giving the access needed and the other is at the outside wall. The headliner is boat headliner, stretches both directions, is available at West Marine and will allow me to make hemmed trim that will get hot glued to hide the cut line in the headliner. This will be a great learning experience and may find some areas that will benefit from some spray foam between panels as they feel like there are some small gaps where the loose panel doesn't fit snug to the one next to it. Spray foam itself has an adhesive quality as long as you use it sparingly so as to not distort anything during it's expansion time frame.937Views0likes0CommentsRe: Any Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
Cannon George wrote: As warning/advice to others, need to ask did water entry from roof (lack of Dicor or other sealing on roof penetrations lead up to this? Understand delamination can occur for other reasons. No leaks camper is tight but was camped in very cold weather for 2 months. Condesation began to build and show deterioration in other areas and various areas. Vents are serviced every 2/3 years and nothing let go. HMSBeagle, I wasn't going to say it but, since you did I thank you. Also very good suggestion on the XPS.937Views0likes0CommentsRe: Any Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
notsobigjoe wrote: what is bead board? It is foam board or rigid foam insulation made of small round balls or beads of various sizes, usually around 1/8 inch in size that are formed together into sheets of various thicknesses of rigid foam board. Northern lite uses this for insulation because it is less rigid and will glue and flex onto compounded curves and shapes to insulate and strengthen the fiberglass shell. Keeping it lightweight.937Views0likes0CommentsRe: Any Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
Thank you HMS Beagle. Your thoughts on removing that section means cutting the headliner fabric to remove the panel for access and gain a full spread of glue to both surfaces, is best. Esp. since bead board would not hold well with only spots of glue, would tend to break away versus fully spread glue. I suppose one could apply a length of 2 inch wide hemmed matching headliner fabric to the cut seam. Sort of like trim hot glued to cover the seam of the headliner938Views0likes0CommentsAny Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
My Northern Lite is 20 years old and still looks good inside and out with plenty of maintenance over the years. Some problems exist but, I have camped in some real cold weather and condensation build up caused the glue to fail, holding the bead board to the fiberglass shell on the ceiling. A full bead board panel behind the headliner fabric is coming down, now held only by the fabric. You can push it up back into place and the old glue wants to hold for a split second but just drops back down. Would anyone have some powerful thoughts on how to solve this problem? Can you get glue that will go thru a syringe and needle to inject thru the headliner & beadboard? I could then use temporary supports till the glue cures. Welcome to my world of RV solutions... thank you in advance3.6KViews0likes9Comments
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