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Originally Posted by crispyboy
Glad my post was of - Argosy - Chesapeake help for you. The quarter panels on my trailer were dented in from road debris hit by the previous owner and the center panel was cracked from fatigue.
One other thing I did before putting back together is to put thick aluminum plating (1/4") inside the skin so the the lower awning support fasteners would have something meaty to sink into and distribute the wind load.
Since your frame is so open this would be a good time to run some stainless steel brake lines "just in case" you ever decide to go the electric over hydraulic brakes in the future.
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Thanks Crispyboy,
You're preaching to the choir. I totally get what you mean. Even before I pulled the shell I had identified a long list of areas that I wanted to reinforce. The awning supports being among them. I'm also going to add support and extra meat to the aluminum around all of the ceiling fan openings and the AC opening so the screws have more to grab, to provide greater support and to fix the damage done by previous installations. I also like the idea of adding additional roof support. I've always been nervous when I've had to do anything on the roof.
All of the quarter panel rock guard mounts will be reinstalled with beefed up reinforcement. The PO that installed the quarter panel rock guards didn't realize the stress they'd be under. Nor did they think to install the upper midsection fasteners. Four years ago, I discovered that the rock guards were actually wearing groves into the upper front midsection of the quarter panels. Not knowing what else to do at the time I attached some 1" thick, dense foam pads to the qps just behind the upper midsection of the rgs and that stopped the rubbing. At that time we were on the road in Pie Town, New Mexico which is a long way from everywhere. I’m not sure why but first I noticed the upper rg curbside fastening post that is located on the upper rear curbside edge seemed to be pulling loose. Well, it wasn’t pulling loose. The skin was splitting around it. When I removed the shell I could easily see the problem. AS had installed a separate sheet of reinforcement skin behind the qp and the “blind” rivets had missed it on one side of the mount. Road vibration and weight stress did the rest. Anyway, at the time, that led me to find the rub damage as well. Now I know that the same post can be mounted in addition at the upper midsection of each rg for added weight support and to secure that area as well and prevent the rubbing .
I believe I saw them being used like that in your photos. I'll be adding those and additional backside reinforcement. Naturally I'm actually going to have to put an exterior patch where the upper curbside rg fastener goes.
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We have a rear awning that literally pulled off in my hands while we were removing the rear window to replace the gasket. It had been installed with blind pop rivets or maybe it was screws, or both, I can't even remember at this point. It must have been added post build. Fortunately that happened after we'd separated the shell and was in full on restoration mode. I do remember that the holes it left were obscenely oversized. We love the rear awning, So, that’s a repair and reinforcement. We actually replaced the awning canvas on the rear and street side awnings three summers ago when I polished the exterior.
Please explain what you are referring to concerning the brakes. Are we talking disc brakes?
Here is a more current picture of the frame. It's hard to see, but the ribs are still open, however the rest is sealed by the floor and belly pan.