waterman7474
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Re: Tongue flexing / bending when weight put on it
Just got home and checked it. The A-frame goes through the cross member. The A-frame, welds to the frame and the frame are all in really great shape. It maybe looks like the cross-member is going up or sort of "twisting" more the A-frame is bending now. The original owner before me who had it before I had it really took care of it, plus being in Vegas, it doesn't get wet much. I measured the flex and it is only an inch from tongue weight to off.864Views0likes0CommentsTongue flexing / bending when weight put on it
I have a 2006 Thor 182dt (with a WD hitch). - I noticed a few years ago, when I walked back to the car from afar at a gas station, that the front of the frame was flexing and/or bending up when weighted on the ball. I have towed boats my whole life but this is the first RV with a WD hitch so I thought maybe it was just the force on the front of the trailer frame from the WD hitch. - A year or so ago, I noticed the front panel of the trailer separating from the side panel a little toward the bottom where it meets the trailer and figured that since I take it off-road often, that it might just be the whole thing flexing on dirt roads and didn't think much of it. I don't overload the trailer and especially don't put all the weight all in the front. - The other weekend I went on a trip and was particularly loaded out (still well within limits) but had a lot of stuff in the back of the truck and thought I would adjust the WD hitch one more link up on the chain (mine have chains on the end of the bars) and this time I notice that the front of the frame was flexing a LOT, a very noticeable bend in the front (from the front of the trailer to the ball) and thought it was the extra pull on the WD hitch. - This last weekend I was getting ready to move it around the property and where I keep it is very flat so I keep it on the levelers and the hitch stand when I know I'm not going to use it for a while to take some/most of the weight off the tires (I have 4 heavy scissor jacks) and as I went to lift the front and put weight on the tongue, the frame bending up was rather noticeable. I even noticed the bottom diamond plate rock strip start to bow noticeably, (hence the aforementioned front separating from the sides...). Total flex distance from weightless to on the jack-stand is probably 2 inches at least (i can measure it if that helps). The frame is an enclosed box (rectangular tube, not a c-channel) and I don't see any visible cracks or damage. It goes back to flat when the weight is off the tongue. This isn't normal is it?? Could it just be getting "tired" and starting to bend with age? Can I reinforce it? Possibly by welding plates to each side of the frame tube?3.6KViews0likes11CommentsFront of frame flexing / bending
I guess I could put this in the travel trailers as well but since I have a hybrid, I will post it here. I have a 2006 Thor 182dt (with a WD hitch). - I noticed a few years ago, when I walked back to the car from afar at a gas station, that the front of the frame was flexing and/or bending up when weighted on the ball. I have towed boats my whole life but this is the first RV with a WD hitch so I thought maybe it was just the force on the front of the trailer frame. - A year or so ago, I noticed the front panel of the trailer separating from the side panel a little toward the bottom where it meets the trailer and figured that since I take it off-road often, that it might just be the whole thing flexing on dirt roads and didn't think much of it. I don't overload the trailer and especially don't put all the weight all in the front. - The other weekend I went on a trip and was particularly loaded out (still well within limits) but had a lot of stuff in the back of the truck and thought I would adjust the WD hitch one more link up on the chain (mine have chains on the end of the bars) and this time I notice that the front of the frame was flexing a LOT, a very noticeable bend in the front (from the front of the trailer to the ball) and thought it was the extra pull on the WD hitch. - This last weekend I was getting ready to move it around the property, 90% empty and dry. Where I keep it is very flat and I keep it on the levelers and the hitch stand when I know I'm not going to use it for a while to take some of the weight off the tires (I have 4 heavy scissor jacks) and as I went to lift the front and put weight on the tongue, the frame bending up was rather noticeable. I even noticed the bottom diamond plate rock strip start to bow noticeably, (hence the aforementioned front separating from the sides...). It probably move 2+ inches when weight is on the tongue. The frame is an enclosed box (rectangular tube, not a c-channel) and I don't see any visible cracks or damage. It goes back to flat when the weight is off the tongue. This isn't normal is it?? Could it just be getting "tired" and starting to bend with age? Can I reinforce it? Possibly by welding plates to each side of the frame tube?1.3KViews0likes3CommentsRe: Plastic tent canvass attachment point to trailer
scottsnider wrote: Sorry to hear about your problem, I used to have a tent trailer and it was having a similar problem and I just got the canvas up to the place it was to be attached and used some screws to hold it. Lasted about 3 years for me and still holding up when I sold it. Actually, this is a painfully obvious idea.... The tent is a little stretched and this would take up the slack. Thanks!730Views0likes0CommentsRe: Plastic tent canvass attachment point to trailer
Well I did hear back from canvassreplacements.com and they initially thought it was a J hook initially but realize now it isn't. I did find one tag. It is from Shademaster Products in Santee CA but the one number I have doesn't appear to be working any longer. BearCreek is a little stumped as well. They say they used to see them on vintage trailers but don't have anything now. They have had to repair one before and say that they had to sew one back together. There has to be a solution here730Views0likes0CommentsRe: Plastic tent canvass attachment point to trailer
bikendan wrote: your hybrid was made by Thor of California, which closed down years ago. it was pretty much separate from the Thor Corporation. they only made hybrids for about 3 years. the tent tag is usually sewn in along an inside seam. have you tried Bear Creek Canvas? they might be able to help but they may not ever made replacements for your brand of hybrid, since there weren't many made and they are rare animals. Yes, the Thor people told me the same. However, when I was researching it before I bought it, I saw that there was another company that were making the same or very similar hybrids under another name (with different accents, upholstery and different color tents) but I cannot find who it was anymore. I will look again for a tag. I have sent Bear Creek and email but no response.731Views0likes0CommentsRe: Plastic tent canvass attachment point to trailer
Candie4749 wrote: This looks like secure lock. Is there a label on the tents that has the name of the manufacture? Not that I can see. As best I can tell, they were stock from Thor but who knows who actually made them. I may go camping this weekend so I'll have a better look and see if I can find a tag. The current Thor company is of no help as they have no relation anymore to the company then that actually built this one. There aren't too many hybrids around vegas (and those that I have seen are seriously the same trailer...) so I haven't really been able to look at how any others are attached. It is a little hard to see but honestly, it is really just a flat piece of plastic. Almost like a really thick version of what milk jugs are made out of. It is hard to tell but it may or may not have been pre-bent into an L shape. And imagine the vertical part of the L is sewn (double stitched) to the tent and the foot of the L is then just screwed into the interior wall, somewhat randomly I might add. The sewn part rests up against the aluminum frame of the opening and the tent then wraps around the opening and then goes outside. Aren't there some companies that will recreate these tents? canvasreplacements.com doesn't look promising but hasn't responded back yet either. I have tried some google searches but I think I'm not using the correct keywords.731Views0likes0Comments
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