dougj Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I'm having structural issues on my 1988 New Horizon: The coach is coming loose from the fiberglass bulkhead that fits over the cab. The left coach wall has detached from this bulkhead, The screws pulled out, and now feel a cold breeze coming through, and can see the wall panel moving up, down, in, and out from my mirror when driving. There's a small gap and a tiny bit of sagging of the coach wall where it mounts to the fiberglass. I notice this after I ran over a few dips in the road while loaded down with four bikes on the back via hitch mount rack. When running over variations in the road, I can feel the wave come thru the coach, moving the drivers seat back a bit, as if the frame is flexing. Does anyone know how to fix this? I;ve crawled under it a few times but can't seem to locate any mounting points on the frame that look loose. The previous owner had a little scooter (Handicap Mobility Scooter) hanging off the back bumper on a custom mount. These scooters weight over 100 lbs, and this may have damaged/fatigued the coach frame. It looks like the bulkhead mounting area under the vinyl strip has been repair once before (screws placed in new locations). I can post pics tomorrow if anyone is curious. Does anybody know any reasonable good shops I can bring it to for a good repair in Northern California or the Bay Area? The local coach repair shop said all it need is to be reattached to the bulkhead, but the flex/fatigued metal needs to be fixed/braced first so separation won't happen again. thanks, Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troads Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 hey doug. i am having the same exact issue with my 1992 dolphin. although previous owner just filled the gap with a whole tube of silicone. i can see the two sides of that joint on the left side moving independantly. the gap on ours runs from the cabover to behind the drivers seat on the floor. seems like the whole wall could separate from the rig going over a bump. is this possible? what does it take to fix this kind of thing? i would greatly appreciate sugguestions. and doug, hope you get it worked out. please update us on any progress. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Separation is usually a sign of major water damage with the result being rotten framing, separation etc. It is possible that you have some sort of frame failure. A through inspection of the frame of course is needed. The frame is a "C" channel type and you will need to look on the inside of the "C" for cracks etc. If you rule out frame problems (or repair the frame) then in Sacramento there is a guy "RV Doctor George" http://www.rvdoctorgeorge.com/ I know of one person who he put back together a Dolphin where the cab over was falling off due to water damage rot. It looked really good, could not even tell there had been major problems. And he rebuilt it stronger than original. Its going to be pricey no mater who does it so you have to weigh the cost, the year of the rig, its overall condition. It might actually be better to take that money and invest in a rig that is not failing structurally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Have a look here to see what might be going on. http://toyota-dolphin.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougj Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 Thanks for all of the info everyone. I will let you know how it turns out. I may make a claim with the insurance company so they can check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Like the previous poster said u probably got rot. Ive attached a photo to show what may be below your bed. The wood is glued and screwed to the sheetmetal roof of the cab of the truck. Ive replaced my framing with wider stock. hope it helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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