trailer body seperating from the frame

[S. Heisley]

The manufacturer will quite often cover a recall problem even if the warranty has run out or was not transferred, especially if it is a possible liability problem. (Of course, if the cause is wood rot from water damage or something, they won't cover that.)

[satch]

Warranty or not, That looks like a manufactur issue. Post the name and e-mail of this builder and we could swamp them with complaints.

[Hoosier Greg]

This may sound a bit crazy, then again I'm a crazy kind of a guy.
The first thing I would do is to take my Saw all if the manufacturer did not want to fix the problem . Stick the blade in to the crack and cut all the remaining screws all around the trailer. Lift he body off ,examine the trouble area/fix and reinstall the body on the frame as it should have been from the get go.

I don't like patch jobs ..
Greg.

[Micro469]

Just in case the manufacturer won't fix it, one way to do it is to pull the carpet back, and epoxy a piece of HARDWOOD along the entire side of the trailer. Screw it down to the floor as well. Then , put epoxy between the wall and the strip ( a 1x1 or 1x2 should do the trick), push the walls back into place and carefully screw the walls tight to the strip. Depends on the thickness of your walls, tho. This will make it stonger as well as seal the crack.

[2bits]

Yes, who is the manufacturer??? *I* can build a tear that WON'T last that long, but they are in business! I am so sorry that you bought a tear and now you have to build one anyway.

[Ron Dickey]

Hmm according to your Alubum and you got it this year.... July or is that when it was posted. or was that 07

Most folks I know who have this brand are happy with it and I see they are about to come out with a Eddy Bauer addition. And No Warranty? did I read that right. Anything for that money has to have a Warranty. It says one year has it been longer then that??

Nice looking unit. Did you try calling them and tell them to look on the forum to see the shots. sounds to me like they need to take a closer look at the guys who are making them. Unless the management wanted to cut some corners to move up in the company

If they are not covering it You may need to do some striping and if you can't get to the top of those bolt then cut them and add new parts if needed get out the Garilla Glue and see if you can bolt it on.

Might check in the forum for those folks who have that brand and see if they too have had that problem. check the Better Business Bureu. this is a saftey issue and might requier the Fed Gov.to get into this and may become a recall. They have a lot of compatition seems they would want more business not less.

You might check with your local TV station some have investagative reporters that follow up on such things to see if they can get your money back if not get it fixed. The Power of the media, Might check consumers Reports too, a national publication.

Ron D.

[dreadcptflint]

They were out on vacation until today. I want to give the manufacturer every opertunity to do right. I have already had minor problems with plumbing and had to reattach the panelling on the hatch. I really love my trailer despite it's problems and am more than interested in seeing how they want to handle it. To let you know Ron I picked it up this year.

[boardhead]

After looking at your pictures, I'll hazard a guess for what is happening. Keep in mind that I could be wrong since there are only the pic's to go from.

The aluminum diamond plate on the sides of your trailer is going to expand in hot weather - causing the diamond plate to bow out and pull away. That's why you don't have the problem around the shelves - there is no aluminum diamond plate around the perimeter that high.

Aluminum, being a light soft metal, has a large CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion). That's why some owners of teardrops sheeted with aluminum complain about pillowing or ballooning, in hot weather. Wood has a much, much smaller CTE than aluminum. When it gets hot, the aluminum is going to expand a lot, the plywood is only going to expand a little, so the aluminum is going to bow, pillow, or balloon.

Self tapping screws and/or glue would likely still pull loose in very hot weather. Attaching the sides with nuts and bolts extending through the diamond plate, plywood, floor stringer, and interior metal frame rails (if any) would be the best way to secure it.

[dreadcptflint]

Well Boardhead that makes a lot of sense to me. It reached over a hundred for a couple of days and the side exposed to the sun had the most seperation. The interesting thing is the sides are painted aluminum and that made a bit of a difference for the expansion.

I have a partner in crime picked out tomorrow (big time local rat rod guy) and we will be gluing and screwing the body back to the frame. We will also be sinking in some bolts at the diamond plate level to stop it from doing it in the future.

I will be sure to post pictures. I know of at least on other Mobi owner on this site. I just have to chalk it up as practice for when I build my own.

[NW_Subie]

Sorry to hear about your problems. My guess is Justin will make it right and find a solution. This is one of the reasons I hesitated... Mobi was a new TD manufacturer, and I didn't want to deal with big problems. Let us know how how it works out.

[halfdome, Danny]

If you do a frame off repair the use of Bennett Clipscould be quite useful. I have used the Bennet Clips to draw wood parts together where outside fasteners can't be used. They are used quite a lot in the Store Fixture (Cabinet) business. They need to be painted for outside applications. They are sold by the case. You could make your own from angle iron if there is enough room between wall and frame. Good luck with the repair. Danny

[dreadcptflint]

As soon as I finished unscrewing the screws everything popped back into place. I had to pry everything apart for the glue then I replaced the fender screws with something with a little more bite. I am seeing how that works before I punch through that frame. (I am a little hesitant due to corrosion and mixing metals) I will pop the clamps tomorrow and see how everything looks.

NW_Subie. Yeah that is why I hesitated before making a purchase. So far when it comes to support you are on your own. It got me rolling without freaking out my slumlords. I think that a lot of the problem comes with trying to build a six foot wide using five wide technology.

[dreadcptflint]

I pulled our Mobi out of storage this week. It looks like the fix that I did at the end of last season did not hold. I will have to drill through the frame and side and attach some bolts. Seeing daylight though the bottom of my trailer does not please me.

[kennyrayandersen]

This is an old thread, so your problem and saga continue. I never did see the name of the manufacturer but not to stand behind your product is an admission that the problem, or the solution, it too big for you to handle (and further that you have no integrity). The construction is clearly substandard, and if they are still making trailers, I can’t imagine that they have not modified their assembly method to address this problem. If so, they should fix yours similarly.

There are likely several problems including screwing into plywood end grain, not enough glue, not enough screws. The thermally induced stresses IMO, and maybe also a contributor, but shouldn’t be a show stopper if the rest of it had been done properly. Really though, this shouldn’t be too difficult to fix, which makes the manufacturers refusal to take care of it all the more egregious (or are they just not very clever?).

If possible, you will need an angle that runs the length of the tear. It could be put on the inside or the outside, but if you put it on the outside (underneath) it can also be used to prevent the ingress of water [if installed with sealant]. If your frame is steel, then I suggest a light-weight steel angle – maybe 16-18 gage 1x1. Pre-drill holes every 6 inches or so on both legs. Squeeze the sides together using some long bar clamps (or by whatever means necessary) then install the angle with strong (polyurethane?) adhesive or something like Sikaflex to join the sides and floor. Screw the angle onto the floor and onto the side using the longest wood screw that you can get that won’t poke through the other side. BTW, you can also use that adhesive between the side and the floor as well as on the angle.

If there is no room from underneath due to a clash of the frame and the ‘new’ angle, then you can do it from the inside, but I’d also put some sealant in the corner [if you can get access] from the bottom. If you have to go through the inside, then you don’t have to worry about dissimilar metals and galvanic corrosion and you could use aluminum (probably 1/8 inch thick – at least that’s what’s probably easily available).

And lastly, I would frankly print the manufacturer’s name. Their behavior is unacceptable. If I remember reading correctly when you first started having trouble you were only 90 days out. If they can’t build a product that they can stand behind for a year (at least material and quality of workmanship), then they should find another ‘hobby’ – this one ain’t working out for them.

[dreadcptflint]

Since everyone is asking. Here you go:

Off Grant's site
Justin Robinson
8025 W. Woodlark
Boise, ID 83709
Phone: 208-323-8033
Fax: 208-362-8024

Website: http://mobiteardrops.com/

(He is a good guy and is trying hard).

The lead screw holding the fender sheared off. I was surprised the adhessive didn't hold however there is conciderable less bowing than the first time around. It also pulled off the molding around the door so I will have to reattach that as well. I liked Doug's Cleat idea so I am going to do that.

I was able to get some of the preliminary work. I am using some brick molding. I have them cut and predrilled and awaiting some dry weather for the stain. I have the carpet cut and pulled up wear the molding is going to sit. I am using heavy duty cabnet screws which will go 1/2 beyond the molding and into the plywood. I am also using more adheasive because I am a firm believer in gluing and screwing.

I will add pictures with the next round of posting.