Check This Bolt!

2019 R-Pod 190

Yuck...

So now, I also have the dreaded r-pod 'poop-chute droop'.... 

So, I'm building a new bracket as we speak. 

Sure glad I saw this before I head out in a couple of days!

That happened to mine also. 

In my case, it happened once but the valve did not open. I strapped it up and had to replace the spigot end. When it went to the factory for repair, a second hanger was installed.

Both of them came loose on our long trip last year and this time, the valve came open, emptying the contents on the Interstate. I'm sure there were a number of irate drivers. I was hailed by a passing driver who alerted me and we pulled off at the next exit where I strapped it up again (it is a good thing that sunshine is a good disinfectant). When we got home, I determined this was never going to happen again so I fashioned a new hanger (see my mods) which is not physically clamped to the pipe, but goes around it and is fastened to the frame. That way, the pipe can move and not work nuts and bolts loose. I showed my work to some factory reps at the Kentucky Mini-Mini/10th Anniversary RPod Rally last year. They told me the engineers were working on a redesign of the hanger to prevent this from happening. Even if something is done, I don't think FR will retrofit all the existing RPods.

We just got back from a trip to Florida. Again, I did not need to be worried that it would cvome loose because my design is much stronger than the factory design even though it is very simple--just a piece of strap aluminum wrapped around the pipe and attached to the frame with two of the self-tapping screws like FR uses for the factory hangers.

Bottom line for this is go ahead and fix it before it breaks.

You can see the busted factory bracket, then the heavy gauge steel bracket I built: Bent, drilled, painted, then attached to the original clamp, reversing the attachment point to go UNDER the sewer discharge. 

This should allow slightly more 'flex' along the length of the new (and longer) metal bracket, reducing metal fatigue at the stress points. Plus it reduces 'tension' on the smaller clamp-to-bracket bolt. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it!

I attached it at an existing body-to-frame bolt, rather than reuse the light duty screw in the side of the frame channel. I simply used a similar nut, attaching the new bracket onto the existing stud. It does not have a full 'purchase' on the threads, but with a lockwasher in place I believe it should be sufficient.

The entire assembly is very sturdy. I think it should be fine now.