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yellowcake · 04-01-2020, 08:07 AM

I believe I can repair the holes with bamboo and Titebond glue leaving it clamped for 24 hours, then replace with pre-glued wood dowels. The screws that have been drilled from the outside of the cabinet into the horizontal top piece are covered by a piece of corner molding (not sure what it is called). How do I remove this corner piece so I can remove the existing screws? I think it may be glued on and It might break if I use a screwdriver to wedge it and a hammer to knock it off. I guess it is replaceable and I can live with an ugly corner for the time being.

Mollysdad · 04-01-2020, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyguyscott

I agree the wardrobe wall needs additional support.

But if you'd rather not attach it to the aluminum wall, either because of the hassle or because you want to retain the "float" of the wardrobe, you could instead cut additional (sold, real) wood cross pieces and place them along the top and back, connecting both sides of the wardrobe.

That's a great Idea, but as I see it the other side of the wardrobe butts up against the shower. How will you attach additional struts to the shower wall?

I suggested my plan based on the number of complaints of wardrobes falling apart due to the weight of the TV. One? Not on this forum! That's why I opined that I believed Airstream did not glue the wood dowels that supply most of the joint strength. That left the two screws to hold the pieces together, and screws into end grain are not very strong. I also think the plywood AS uses is very soft from my experience drilling into it. My drill flew through it!
I think riveting it to the aluminum might cause more trouble since it will be flexed with the chassis.

But, there's many a way to 'fix' it. I'd suggest through bolts except you don't have access to the right side. (shower)

Convert the clothes bar to be a strut holding the two bulkheads together! Pipe and flanges!
That's outside the box!

Mollysdad · 04-01-2020, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowcake

How do I remove this corner piece so I can remove the existing screws? I think it may be glued on and It might break if I use a screwdriver to wedge it and a hammer to knock it off.

Are the screws behind the wood corner trim or the plastic edge trim? I'll assume since you're there, the wood. Rather than break the edge (I'll bet it's glued) think about taking a hand saw and cutting the top 3"?? off. Pry that loose, access the screws, then replace the 3" piece with glue after completing the brace. All you'll see is a horizontal line where you cut.

Looking at your photos, it's pretty clear there's no glue anywhere near that joint.

skyguyscott · 04-01-2020, 08:59 AM

I like the pipe idea.

Can you remove the entire wardrobe from the wall to which it is attached?

If so, this would give you access behind the board that is attached to the shower wall.

I am guessing that is how airstream constructed this. This would make repairing the entire wardrobe a lot easier. I would remove the wardrobe door and look for some screws that attach the wardrobe to the shower wall. It looks like the top cross piece might also be screwed to the ceiling, from the pictures I see.

This assumes the wardrobe is not glued to the shower wall. It’s hard to guess, from the looks of things airstream slaps these together as quickly and cheaply as possible, rather than making them well or engineering them to withstand the rigors of travel.

Another approach to repairing the original cross piece is to simply take a hacksaw or dremel to the protruding screws and carefully cut them off flush with the wall, then simply countersink some screws or wooden dowels from the outside through the molding. You could then cover the screw holes with some wooden dowel plugs.

Mollysdad · 04-01-2020, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyguyscott

Another approach to repairing the original cross piece is to simply take a hacksaw or dremel to the protruding screws and carefully cut them off flush with the wall, then simply countersink some screws or wooden dowels from the outside through the molding. You could then cover the screw holes with some wooden dowel plugs.

That's a great Idea....except he's going to glue the dowels back in place, which means the new screws would be into the old screws. I see a bracket into the ceiling so the horizontal piece can't move a lot.

Darn. Good thinking though!

I'll stick for now to my idea of cutting off the top of the trim and replacing it after the repair.

ROBERTSUNRUS · 04-01-2020, 11:35 PM

Hi, this might help. I have two corners in my trailer that have started to come loose and / or separate. I pushed them back together, drilled pilot holes, installed screws, and used plastic caps. I used six screws per corner. Looks almost like a factory install. Here is a picture showing one top corner.

Dragline · 04-02-2020, 04:31 AM

I have been following this thread with Concern regarding our own AS, while I’ll relinquish to better qualified ideas regarding a fix I would like to add a idea which I have implemented during towing. I noticed that the tv when “locked” back in place for towing is still very loose/flexible which translates to a lot of vibration on the wall which caused me concern for this very same reason, subsequently after thinking about how to tighten/secure during transport I came up with the idea of using an air wedge behind the bracing of the tv itself once inflated it uses pressure to stop the constant vibration of tv on the wall. I fully understand this is not a cure all for the OP’s current problem it is an idea to help alleviate one of the stresses on the wall I will also due to this thread be reinforcing this wall as well with ideas already listed or new.

ROBERT CROSS · 04-02-2020, 06:05 AM

I glued a wall door opening in place braced with 1/4 round.
More than one way to skin an Airstream .🤓

Bob
🇺🇸

ROBERTSUNRUS · 04-02-2020, 06:13 PM

Hi, I just checked my cabinet and there is only two things holding it up horizontally. The top piece of wood that broke on your trailer, which is held up by a piece of angle aluminum with three screws into the ceiling panel. [One of which is stripped on mine] And on the bottom of the bottom shelf, there are two pocket screws into the back of the aluminum wall. This is very minimal. I'm sure that if my trailer had a television hanging on it, mine would have broken too. The closet rod might help a tiny bit.

I would check to see if your cabinet has these two bottom screws or maybe they were accidentally left out.

yellowcake · 04-04-2020, 11:33 AM

Thank you all very much for the suggestions, photos and advice. It is really appreciated. I used bamboo sticks and Titebond to fill the holes and glue the dowels, removed the top 3” of the corner molding and re-screwed the screws - then glued the top corner piece back in place. It will do temporarily. I can fill the gap in the corner molding later.

I like the idea of additional bracing between the walls of the cabinet (shower wall to outside wall) with a more solid piece of wood.

Once I am off the “Stay at Home” orders, I can go buy the additional pieces and install them before I have to travel (which reminds me, that it is fairly simple to remove the TV from the wall bracket and lay it on the bed - so I may consider doing this before travelling - to keep the weight bouncing on the outside wall to a minimum).

I also reshuffled the shelves inside the cabinet so that there are now only 2 shelves in each cabinet, rather than all 4 in one cabinet and the hanging rack in the other cabinet. Not sure if this contributed to the problem, but the shelves weigh a pound or two, so I’ve eliminated a little extra weight.

It doesn’t look that great - but I’m satisfied for the time being!

Thanks again!

Mollysdad · 04-04-2020, 12:46 PM

Great work!
Exactly as I envisioned. You can later fill the gap, or think of a creative solution. By re-using the original part, the grain matches.
Later look for a wood filler in a tube. It comes already tinted.
Or do nothing. You notice it more now, but it will fade from memory soon.

gypsydad · 04-04-2020, 01:25 PM

We had same thing happen to our 2017 28' FC. I took off the TV, and put L-brackets under the bottom and also on the shelf we had installed inside. (we don't hang in those closets; just folded stuff) Anyway, when I got to Jackson Center last October for some warranty work, I mentioned the issue, and they replaced the L-brackets with what they are using currently, which is 4- 3-4" black risen or composite material blocks under each side. One of the posts above also shows the adjustable shelving inside. Mine did not have, so they also put those blocks under our shelves, all of these screwed in to the shower or bathroom walls they were against. Works fine. That TV bouncing around had a lot to do with it, but poor design originally, being hung from the overhead IMHO...

yellowcake · 04-04-2020, 04:05 PM

Can you post pictures of the blocks and how they are installed?

gypsydad · 04-05-2020, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowcake

Can you post pictures of the blocks and how they are installed?

Sure-here you go....note my cabinet with TV was coming loose from the overhead also. I lifted it up with my shoulder while wife drilled the holes for the L-bracket (book shelf brackets) prior to going to Jackson Center. The black blocks are standard in the newer 28's and i was able to get them installed on our visit in November no charge; I left the L brackets to be sure no issues with TV installed.