Sagging floor and outriggers

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   Hello everyone,

Well I now have 4 outriggers installed. I jacked up the floor / wall in three places and left it that way for about 3 days. That didn't help get the floor to raise up to the point it would be square, it did make a bit of a difference of about 1/8 inch.Anyway, I installed 4 of the outriggers trying to get then as even as possible so the slide works properly. Everything went good and the slide works fine, time will tell if 4 outriggers will be enough.

Thanks for all the replies.

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Mojavered Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mojavered Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Sagging floor and outriggers Posted: 12 Dec 2021 at 2:19pm
	Hello everyone, Well I now have 4 outriggers installed. I jacked up the floor / wall in three places and left it that way for about 3 days. That didn't help get the floor to raise up to the point it would be square, it did make a bit of a difference of about 1/8 inch. Anyway, I installed 4 of the outriggers trying to get then as even as possible so the slide works properly. Everything went good and the slide works fine, time will tell if 4 outriggers will be enough. Thanks for all the replies.

Mojavered Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mojavered Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Dec 2021 at 7:16pm
	I agree it probably does not make a difference in what model it is. I was just curious because I haven't heard anyone else say about jacking it up until the wheels are off the ground and the floor still not squaring up with the frame. I have mine lifted now and braced in 3 places to see if the floor and wall will move closer to square in a couple of days, tomorrow is day 3 so I plan to install the outriggers then. Just want to make sure the slide works properly. I plan on 3 outriggers for sure and possibly 5 total just under the slide.

pedwards2932 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 338	Post Options Post Reply Quote pedwards2932 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Dec 2021 at 5:46pm
	Mine is a 189 not sure it makes a difference as it seems to happen to models with slide out.

Mojavered Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mojavered Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Dec 2021 at 8:39am
	Hi Pedwards, That's interesting. What model Rpod do you have?

pedwards2932 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 338	Post Options Post Reply Quote pedwards2932 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Dec 2021 at 2:29pm
	When I did mine it did the same thing. It was fairly square on the outside but about 1/4" down measured from the inside. I had jacked it up enough for the wheels to be off the ground. I will say that after installing the outrigger you could see visually that it was trying to bend.....so I added an extra. After my trip all the way to the Keys from Virginia you can see that that both outriggers are slightly bent. I may need to construct stronger outriggers

Mojavered Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mojavered Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 8:37pm
	Offgrid, great info, lots to think about. I'm using a framing square from the frame to the floor, for the wall I just put a level on the slide to make sure it is level vertically. Your right, it's only a travel trailer so as long as everything is working and tight it should be ok. I've been thinking that if I can't get the last 1/4" then I will just make sure the floor is even (same distance from the outer edge of the floor to the bottom of the frame) under the slide and install the outriggers as needed. That would at least prevent any further sagging, hopefully.

Mojavered Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mojavered Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 8:19pm
	Hi Vann, Thanks for the idea it sounds like it's worth a try. I'll let you know the outcome in a few days.

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Post Options Post Reply Quote offgrid Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 3:47am
	How are you determining what is actually plumb, square, or level and what isn't? Try to jack the floor level first, both laterally and longitudinally, so you have a baseline. Then get the walls plumb. It could well be for example that the floor outer edges are bent permanently downward relative to the rest of the floor making it impossible to close the last quarter inch gap. Or it could be there is just something (caulk, wood, misalighned fasteners) between the wall and floor surface keeping the two from engaging fully. By carefully measuring to determine what's off you might be able to ID the problem. If the floor has been bent downward you my not be able to get everythjng closer than that 1/4 inch. Thats OK, it's a travel trailer not a moon rocket. I'm just going though the rig on my airplane's wings and the max dimensional tolerances on that are 1/2 inch. And it has to fly straight and level, all the trailer needs to do is roll down the road and not come apart. The outriggers are going to take most of their load on the outer inch where where the wall is. That's what they're intended to do. If you're concerned about overloading them you can add more and just space them closer to each other in that area.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Pod People Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1067	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pod People Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 8:25pm
	. I would suspect that having the wall drop 1/2" was happening over a period of time and not instant. I would suggest that you jack up the wall area the 1/4" and leave it in that position( jacked up) for a day or two and let it slowly acclimate to the new stresses. I would spread the stress over several horizontal feet. After several days you "MAY" be able to jack it up the last 1/4" needed. but, it may also be at its limit and further jacking would cause damage. That decision would have to be made after leaving it jacked up for some given time period. Safe travels Vann
	Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179

Mojavered Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mojavered Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 7:52pm
	Hi Offgrid, No, it doesn't seem to matter where I place the jack the wall only moves up about 1/4" before it starts lifting the trailer. At that point it's still about 1/4" out of square. One thing I was thinking today was if I raise it the 1/4" then install the outrigger the weight of the wall would be on the last inch (outside edge) of the outrigger and I'm not sure it that would be good or not.