Enclosed belly sagging

[Steeljag]

Well we returned from a rainey, but fun long weekend at Anastasia S.P in ST. Augustine. While unloading and cleaning the TT, I discovered the enclosed belly is sagging down approx. 1 inch, in the area bellow the steps. The area is approx. two feet in length.

I can see the enclosure plastic material is boarded / framed by a strip of wood and past that I can see the heat ducts.

What I don't see are any screws, glue, caulking or anything that is suppose to be holding it up and in place?


Anyone with experience with this ? What is needed to correct the issue ? First real issue with our camper.........been lucky I guess.


Thanks guys !

[Herk7769]

If it rained while you were towing or if you drove through some puddles there may be water in there. The aft section of my 5th wheel was bowed down and when I went to push it up about 30 gallons of muddy rainwater doused me pretty good.

The water had pulled out the staples that hold it up to a cross board.
If I had waited much longer the whole thing would have eventually come down (probably while towing!)

[Steeljag]

Thanks for the reply. It does not appear wet in there ( area I can see). The underbelly is still connected to the wood strip. The wood strip is sagging and I cannot see anything in that area ( axle back) that held it in place.

There are other areas on the TT where I can see screws which appear to have been used to drill through the frame ( from bottom up) through the wood strip, then the plastic under belly attached to wood.

The screws I have found are in no way uniform ( in distance) and I am now wondering if this would be covered under some type of factory warranty? Of course my purchased 2nd year warranty expired in Feb.

[Herk7769]

Your only option might be to pick a non-windy day and drop the panel; add more wood support (maybe of the 2x4 variety) and reinstall the panel.

[Steeljag]

Thanks again Lou! Can you tell me if the heating ducts are supported in any way, or do they just lay on the underbelly? Hard to see, but it looks that way!

[Hob]

Do you think a 2 X 4 would help my sagging belly? My belt isn't working.

[Steeljag]

Well a follow up to my post. The situation with my FR was this: The underbelly has a frame outlining the bottom of the entire T.T. It is untreated wood and is 1"x 4" . The plastic under belly is attached to that wood frame. After examining the "sag" area, it was determined by both myself and then the tech at Southern RV, the wood framing was only attached to the TT in a few areas by screws.

No rhyme, reason, uniformtivity, spacing, etc. Over the two years of use, what was not supported just began to sag! Took off the plastic edge guard.........used self tapping screws and made the repairs.

It really is disappointing what comes of the assembly line of our factories !