Floor pack problems

[camelracer]

I've only had the camper off the truck a couple of times so I haven't paid much attention to the floor pack. Now that I have it off I did an inspection and noticed that the horizontal section of the floor pack in the area of the tie down rings is pulling away from the vertical section. I'm not sure if this is normal or not so I'm asking the WTW experts.

I don't know how FWC assembles this area. Is it just the staples holding it together or is the joint also glued? Maybe Stan can answer this question.

I'm thinking of pushing the horizontal section back in place and running some screws in where the staples are but I'm not sure about screwing into the end grain of the plywood. I don't want to make the problem, if there is a problem, worse. Woodworking is not my forte. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Hittheroad]

How about screwing on some angle brackets, say 3" x 3". There is a lot of pull on the eyebolt so this area gets stressed.

 

[mynxd]

A variation on the angle brackets suggested by "Hittheroad".

Use 1/8" x 1.5" x 1.5" aluminum angle on the outside with 1/2" #8 screws placed 2" apart on both surfaces (vertical and horizontal).. do the same on the inside surface with 3/4" aluminum angle. 13 to 15 inch lengths should be sufficient. I would not put screws through the edges of the plywood.

 

[Lighthawk]

Both ideas are good, but the farther the screws are from the edge of the plywood, the better. I like the idea of a pair 2" or 3" angle brackets on either side of the tie down rings. The bomb would be a metal ell-bracket, with a hole for the tie down bolt and a vertical leg with three or four screw holes to attach to the vertical ply. You may not be a woodworker, but your metal skills are well known and appreciated by those of us with your jack mount bracket.

Even if FWC does glue the joint, it's just a butt joint, so there's really no strength, other than the shear of the staple legs into the horizontal sheet. Makes me want to inspect my rig, next time I dismount the camper.

 

[craig333]

Probably about time to look at mine. I saw some signs of stress the last time i had it off.

 

[Ted]

Early in our FWC days we left the legs on when traveling. I would use them to level the camper in camp. Why not? Each leg is rated for 2000 lbs. Then pulled the camper one day and we had the same problem only worse. Didn't occur to me I was lifting the truck by the camper, not the legs.

FWC pushed the floorpack back into place and shot more staples in there. It worked fine for the rest of the time we had the camper. So it probably won't take much to repair yours. That said, I like the idea of the angle brackets but get some of those big ones, like 6 inch, and put two along side each eye bolt and up your side.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hey Camelracer

That should be a pretty easy fix.

We normally use a small block of wood and hit the small block with a hammer to knock that wood back up, level. Then we add a bunch more staples along the side to make it stronger. That usually does the trick for many more years. If you don't have the proper staple gun you could use wood screws as well.

But if you wanted to brace it with some sort of L bracket, aluminum or steel, that would really make it bullet proof.

While you're at it, I would also HIGHLY suggest switching out the bolts that are connected through the camper to the eye nut. You can find replacements at the hardware store and can use a normal Grade 8 bolt. It looks like yours are bent.

And even better idea .. add an aluminum backing plate on the top as well.

This should keep things going for many many years.

Hope this helps. : )

If you want me to put together a short video on YouTube I can do that this week, just let me know.

PS: The attached pictures are how we did things on the older campers like yours. On the newer FWC's we are using a brace on the top, three bolts through the camper base for ech tie down bracket, and a stainless steel bracket on the bottom. We wanted them to be stronger than they have ever been.

Thanks.

Stan



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[Stan@FourWheel]

more pics ...

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Part 2 (more pics ...)

 

[Wildbiologist]

I visited ATC last month, the day after purchasing a '92 Ranger II made for mounting with bolts through the floor (i.e., no hatches to reach eye-bolts). Although the floor joints look tight, Marty and Jeff suggested that a weak point on some older floor-bolted campers was the floor joint.

To camelracer's question, "...not sure about screwing into the end grain of the plywood..." -that is exactly what Jeff and Marty recommended if I wanted to guard against separation. I drove a bunch of narrow self-tapping screws into the edge of the floor, and don't notice any visible bulging of the plywood where I shot screws between the staples. Lots of other suggestions (including Stan's -while I typed) that are likely to create a beefy joint, but I'm happy with screwing into the plywood.

Oh, and great forum; I appreciate the useful info. you all share here.

 

[camelracer]

Thanks for the advise guys. I think my first step will be to push it back in position and add some screws. I'm also going to figure out an angle bracket setup and swap out the elevator bolts for grade 8. I'll post some pictures once it's done.

Stan - On the passenger side do you have to relieve the panel under the couch to make room for the bolt heads?

 

[M1010 Mike]

I had the same thing but I tore my mount all the way out. Here is the thread I did on reparing mine. 1000's of miles later, on some fairly hardcore trails and washboard and no problems since. I made plates for the top and bottom areas, so the load is distributed over a wider area and I don't have to worry about any wood compressing at any point. I used Grade 8 bolts, as I don't trust elevator/cairrage bolts.

Here's my thread.

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/4725-tore-out-mounting-tiedown-on-camper/?hl=cummins_mike#entry51819