Sagging floor and outriggers

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   I just got the outriggers from Innovative Machine, and I think we have a (collective) fitment issue.
Our RP-179 has a very shallow, inverted U-shape rail that runs along the outside wall on both sides of the Rpod. I think it is used to close out the edge along that outside wall, BUT it interferes with the proper installation of the outrigger(s). See the picture below.

I see several potential ways to deal with this:
add a 1/4 inch spacer for most of the length of the
      outrigger to "fill the gap so to speak
cut the rail out underneath the outrigger
notch the outrigger to match the shape of the rail
just mount the outrigger such that it contacts the high points on the rail
I'm inclined to do a hybrid of #1 and #2; cut just enough of the rail to allow the outrigger to have a very small space between it and the bottom of the floor, and then add a very thin shim between the outrigger and the bottom of the floor (not sure how thick the flat part of the rail is, but it only looks to be a few thousandths thick).

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GlueGuy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2629	Post Options Post Reply Quote GlueGuy Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Sagging floor and outriggers Posted: 11 Mar 2022 at 4:23pm
	I just got the outriggers from Innovative Machine, and I think we have a (collective) fitment issue. Our RP-179 has a very shallow, inverted U-shape rail that runs along the outside wall on both sides of the Rpod. I think it is used to close out the edge along that outside wall, BUT it interferes with the proper installation of the outrigger(s). See the picture below. I see several potential ways to deal with this: add a 1/4 inch spacer for most of the length of the outrigger to "fill the gap so to speak cut the rail out underneath the outrigger notch the outrigger to match the shape of the rail just mount the outrigger such that it contacts the high points on the rail I'm inclined to do a hybrid of #1 and #2; cut just enough of the rail to allow the outrigger to have a very small space between it and the bottom of the floor, and then add a very thin shim between the outrigger and the bottom of the floor (not sure how thick the flat part of the rail is, but it only looks to be a few thousandths thick).
	bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

lostagain Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587	Post Options Post Reply Quote lostagain Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Mar 2022 at 4:47pm
	In my trailer modification class in law school they taught us to never......... In all seriousness, I'd be real nervous about making any holes in the bottom where water could sneak in and stay [if it ever rains again in CA or if you come to visit us in CT]. If you make a notch in the outrigger [option 3] would it materially affect its integrity? From a carpentry point of view, my trade in retirement, notching the outrigger sure seems like a lot less work and if there is no structural down side, why not? Good luck with the work.
	Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

sjesse Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 04 Jan 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote sjesse Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Mar 2022 at 7:05pm
	The outriggers from Innovative Machine or Forest River all rest on the extruded aluminum on the outside wall. I inserted a 1/8" x 1/2" piece of aluminum in that inverted u gap that I cut from a 3' piece purchased from Lowe's. On the quarter inch gap between the outrigger and the floor, I inserted a 1/4" thick piece of PVC trim board with a dab of silicone to hold in place on top of the outrigger; I cut the pieces from a 24" by 4' Vernada PVC trim board from Home Depot. Wasn't sure if all of this was needed due to the critical weight load is on the extruded aluminum outer piece, which is why I inserted the little aluminum shims there.

Atranvt Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 23 Jan 2022 Location: Male Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote Atranvt Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 Mar 2022 at 5:45pm
	I made my own outriggers and wasn’t sure what to do about the rail. I decided to cut the rail where the outrigger goes so that it is resting on the floor and not the rail. After cutting the aluminum rail, I covered the area with silicone caulking to prevent any water penetration.

sjesse Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 04 Jan 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote sjesse Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 Mar 2022 at 7:14pm
	I think either way is ok as long as the weight of the outer 1 1/2" of the wall is on the outrigger since the floor underneath is only 1/8 luan plywood and would not be able to hold much weight. So we want the outrigger on the 1 1/2" aluminum floor framing, not mainly on the floor. I opted to put the outrigger over the aluminum channel with a 1/8"x1/2" aluminum shim in the open area of the channel with caulking to seal the 2 screws we put up threw the wall, my thinking was it would help distribute the weight over a little larger area of the wall. Like I said earlier I did put some 1/4" thick PVC on top of the outriggers for a little more support. I cut them from a piece of 1/4"x2'x4' Vernada PVC trim board I got from Home Depot. Our Rpod 190 which had no outriggers originally was sagging 1" ( tire was hitting fender) and after jacking the walls back up over a 2 week with 4 scissor jacks and 4x4 under the walls we put on a total of 13 outriggers from Innovative Machine, 7 on slide side & 6 on door side it seems to be fine now. I do have a list of parts I used if anyone wants them. PLEASE report a safety problem on the NHTSA web site( upper right of their web page) so as to force Forest River to do a recall, and maybe reimburse us for this.

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: 13 Mar 2022 at 12:11pm
	I would notch the outrigger. This won't weaken it significantly, the bending moment (torque) on the outrigger increases toward where it attaches to the frame and is very small out at it's end. As LA says the less you modify/make holes in the trailer itself the better.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

GlueGuy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2629	Post Options Post Reply Quote GlueGuy Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 15 Mar 2022 at 6:35pm
	I emailed Innovative Machine, and they suggested not cutting the rail or the outrigger, but shimming it thusly: I would suggest the following: 1) purchase some 1/4 PVC board at Home Depot and cut strips to be siliconed on the top of the outriggers to fill the gap with the wood floor 2) Do not cut the rail or notch the outrigger - the gap is approx 1/8 in the alum rail - I would suggest finding some washers and adding 2 on each bolt to fill that gap
	bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

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: 15 Mar 2022 at 7:11pm
	Well, fabricators aren't engineers and vice versa. I can tell you with certainty that notching that outrigger would be fine. The purpose of the outrigger is to carry a moment (think torque) load back to the rpod frame. That moment load starts at zero out at the end and increases to it's max where the outigger attached to the frame rail. It's exactly like when you drive a nail a little into a piece of wood and then push sideways on it. The nail will bend where it enters the wood every time, never out at the end. I'd be a lot more concerned that the outrigger would pull out of the thin wall frame rail than I would that that little notch would cause a problem.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

MitchReef Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 15 Sep 2020 Location: Oviedo, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 27	Post Options Post Reply Quote MitchReef Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 23 Mar 2022 at 9:04pm
	What does everyone think of getting a piece of 1/4 thick steel and put it under the floor in the gap over outriggers? Further support at the same time.
	Mitch and Laurie Carter.... Still rolling....

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: 24 Mar 2022 at 5:10am
	should work fine but the PV trim suggested above is probably better long term bc it won't rust.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold