Jack bracket question

[Serat]

These two brackets are on the corners of my 2000 Eagle. I'm redoing the siding and cleaning these up. Do I really need the inner L-bracket? I've taped them up to show how they are attached during use. I can't convince myself that the inner one does anything at all. Do other years/models have two brackets?

 

[ckent323]

It was originally engineered that way for a reason.

I recommend using both brackets to avoid a failure due to the camper twisting or tilting while supported by the jacks. During twisting or tilting the two brackets will distribute the loads so that both the back wall and the side wall can share the large force. If you omit or remove one bracket I strongly suspect that the twisting or tilting forces have the potential to tear the single bracket off the camper.

That written I have not seen any engineering analysis of this so I simply trust that the manufacturer designed it that way for a good reason.

I cannot tell from your question and photo if these are the OEM parts or if they are newly made. In any event be sure to paint all of the parts before installing.

Craig

 

[BlueSky]

Keep the inner bracket in there, otherwise you will rip your corner apart. And also don't forget to use lots of silicon sealant on those lag bolts. Now do as your told, or you are in big trouble

 

[Old Crow]

That seems odd. I wonder if that L-bracket might have been added by an owner. I redid the brackets on my 2001 Hawk and there were no such L-brackets on my camper.

 

[Serat]

I'm pretty sure the l-bracket is original due to the paint being in really good shape where it wasn't exposed. The other one was not painted, so I thought it was added on later.
Definitely appreciate the responses, though. I tend to think of the forces on the jack as being static but that is best case; no wind and all jacks moving the load up evenly. Thanks for broadening my perspective.
Now I will do as I'm told and go repaint everything and reapply both brackets.

 

[DavidGraves]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
The process of jacking your camper to load DOES involve dynamic loads as you are jacking each corner separately.

Remember the Flex Frame engineering of the camper body.....which helps the framework survive the jolting compression and stretching along a less than perfect travel surface.

Good luck with your progress.

David Graves