Well, I've finally done something that probably would have happened sooner or later (inadvertently, of course) no matter how much care is taken. On my latest trip out I was setting up camp for the night and forgot to disengage the roof slide-bolt latch (inside rear of camper) before starting to raise the roof of our '11 Grandby. (Note, my usual procedure is to: 1) disengage the latch; 2) raise the front roof; 3) raise the back roof; I know most of you do steps 2 and 3 in a reverse order, but this is easiest for me given my setup). As the front was raising I realized my goof, but by then the front struts (the only ones) had done their job, so the front was fully raised and I looked back to see the latch still engaged: GULP!
So I quickly dropped the front and then went back to disengage the latch and then went about raising the roof without any particular difficulty, although there were a few audible 'buckling' sounds from the roof area. A later visual inspection of the rear portion of the roof, both inside and out, made it appear that no real damage had occurred from my boneheadedness, and the roof dropped down and secured just fine as per usual upon leaving.
However, it got me to wondering... Has this happened to others? Is there likely some hidden damage that I just haven't discovered yet?
And btw, just what useful function does the slide-bolt latch serve anyway? I could understand if the latch was intended as a fail-safe for the front end of the camper if the outside-front clamps were to dislodge or something while driving, but what value does the latch add in protecting the rear roof portion? Should I consider not engaging it at all?
Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Rico
So I quickly dropped the front and then went back to disengage the latch and then went about raising the roof without any particular difficulty, although there were a few audible 'buckling' sounds from the roof area. A later visual inspection of the rear portion of the roof, both inside and out, made it appear that no real damage had occurred from my boneheadedness, and the roof dropped down and secured just fine as per usual upon leaving.
However, it got me to wondering... Has this happened to others? Is there likely some hidden damage that I just haven't discovered yet?
And btw, just what useful function does the slide-bolt latch serve anyway? I could understand if the latch was intended as a fail-safe for the front end of the camper if the outside-front clamps were to dislodge or something while driving, but what value does the latch add in protecting the rear roof portion? Should I consider not engaging it at all?
Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Rico