Rocinante Sunrader 88 Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Since my honey backed my 21' Sunrader into a telephone pole last week, that flimsy back bumper is bent just enough that I can't fit the sewage hose into it. Gotta fix it, as it would be too embarrassing to go down the road with the hose tied onto my ladder! Probably easier to replace the bumper than to try and straighten it (it helps that I'm an OK welder) and since I'm going that far, I intend reinforce the rear frame extensions, to put on a hitch receiver for light towing of my sailboat and also fabricate a bike rack along the lines of some I have seen on this forum. I looked under the rig today and was struck by how much it had sagged on the sides. The floor is supported by the truck frame in the middle, with some outrigggers welded on to support the shell on the outside, but those outriggers long ago bent down, and the floor is seriously bowed. I notice this inside when I level, as when the rig is sitting level the counters on each side slope to the outside. As long as I'm doing all this work, I'm thinking about just jacking up the outside points to level the floor and then welding gussets on to keep it level. Has anyone tried this? It is acceptable now and I don't want to create a major problem while trying to fix a minor one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra-rader Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Thread resurrection, i know... Did you end up trying this? Our sunrader's floor has a little wave to it, which would make repairing the sink / stove cabinet more challenging, it seems, when it comes time to put a new face on it and level it out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I looked under the rig today and was struck by how much it had sagged on the sides. The floor is supported by the truck frame in the middle, with some outrigggers welded on to support the shell on the outside, but those outriggers long ago bent down, and the floor is seriously bowed. I notice this inside when I level, as when the rig is sitting level the counters on each side slope to the outside. I had the exact same problem with my Chinook. the sides of the camper body drooped over the frame. That resulted in any cabinets and beds inside being badly tilted. I used aluminum to fix instead of steel. Steel is much cheaper but also a lot heavier. I installed three cross pieces near 7 foot long. They are 3" wide channel aluminum that is 3/8" thick, with 1" returns (3" X 1" ). Since the main 3" wide portion is 3/8" thick, installing would of only raised the entire body by 3/8". But I shaved 3/8" off the original raised mounts so when finished - all stayed the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.