Jumping Chairs

[Islander]

On our 1st trip out with our Wildcat it was a highway trip for 2 hrs.
Smooth ride, not many bumps, quick stops or turns.
All A-OK on the trip there. Different story on the way home:

The lashing down of our rocker recliners was as follows:
Turned them sideways facing out to the sides and backed onto the fixed center table at the rear of the unit.
The fit was snug and provided no rocking movement.
I made a cinch strap that went around both chairs and pulled it tight ...pulling the chairs very snug against the table, with anti-chafe foam in place
All seemed quit snuggly in place when tested.

Well... we took a different route home... a slower road, but one with lots of bumps, curves and several railroad tracks.

With the Rocker Recliners at the very rear of the rig they experienced most of the repercussion of the rough road.

There was no damage, however, the chairs were dislodged from their 'secure' location.

Could some of you Seasoned Travellers with Rocker Recliners at the rear of your rigs please share..... How do you Secure them ?

Thanks in advance
-Islander-

[jonrjen]

Are you making use of the anchor points on the floor to strap down the chairs? If so make sure that the chair is centered between the two anchor points. If they are not centered, even with the straps pulled tight there will be play due to there being more strap extended on one side of the chair than the other. This will allow the chairs to move around under rough road conditions.

[Oaklevel]

Keep in mind inside the trailer going down the road is like a 4.0 magnitude earthquake.

[BombDoc]

I must be lucky. I have the factory equivalent of the equa-flex (I think that is what its called) installed on my rig. It must work. I used to strap everything down, chairs, movable island, dinette table chairs, everything. I haven't done so in quite a while and probably haven't strapped anything in over a year. I put the recliners in the same spot you do, facing the walls, slide the island in between and lock the four locking wheels. That is it. Drove from SC to Goshen and back and nothing was out of place. I don't even worry about the ice maker anymore. I just sit it on the counter and push it back in the corner. So far so good and I travel on I-95 a lot and it is rough as a cob. Hope you figure out what works for you.

[Islander]

sonrjen.... Thanks for your post.
I have seen other units / brands with tie downs, however, I see nothing in my unit.
Could you tell me where the tie down points would be in the Wildcat with rear recliners ? picture? if you don't mind
Thank you

[jonrjen]

I will shoot a couple of photos of where they are located on my 355LS tomorrow and post them for you. Ours are mounted in a slide out, but the photos will give you an idea as to what to look for. Or what you need to go pick up at your local hardware store and pick up.

I noticed that your trailer is a 2007 model year, there is always the chance that the previous owner removed the tie down anchors in the past. For some reason many do.

[jonrjen]

Another thing that will make a difference as to how items in your trailer may want to shift is if the trailer is hitched too high or low in the front. You really want to try to achieve a level stance of the trailer as it's being towed.

[jonrjen]

OK, as promised here is a couple of photos. The first shows my living area, as you can see my rocker/recliners are mounted in the curbside slide out across from the entertainment center and fireplace.



Here is a photo of the tie down anchor points which as you can tell are small D-Rings that are screwed into the floor. One on each side, which makes use of one tie down strap per chair.



I'm not sure if you can see in the first photo that there are also tie down anchors in the floor at the kitchen table and chairs for securing these while in motion also.

Hope the photos have helped,

[Salt Shaker]

I've pulled all the straps out of mine. I push the recliners into the corner together and the table goes to the other corner. 7 two hundred + mile trips ( 4 back to the dealer) and no issues. I strapped every thing down the first trip and all I was looking at was chaffed chairs.

Good luck trying to figuer out how the table and chairs out.

When I get my rig back and have a chance to set things up I will look at doing a modified strap set up for the long hauls.

Salt

[jonrjen]

Our trailer just made a transport trip from Elkhart, IN back to us south of Dallas without the straps being in place. Everything arrived without issues. Of course the original poster did mention that his rocker/recliners are on the back wall which is where our sleeper sofa is located. I have noticed that it does move somewhat side to side.

[Islander]

Thanks for the post "Salt"....

I thought I should post some pictures.

I know what you mean about "chafe"... the previous owner just let the dining chairs roam at will and now two of the Lambrequins have big chafe marks.
Over the years that we have been RV'ing (in different rigs) we have always been over cautious when it comes to stowing things...it comes from a background of living on and traveling by sailboat for 10 years.

One worthwhile item we use a lot for storing and 'anti-chafe' is ...
"pool noodles" ...that I show for the dining chairs (the factory supplied chair locks attached to the table cause chafe) and shown at the back of the recliner chairs (noodle cut in half).

Pool Noodles are cheap, easy to shape & cut , light, and do not absorb water.
Even in cabinets we use pieces of pool noodles to take up any voids where we want to hold something in place.

We even use a piece of Pool Noodle cut to length placed vertically (tight fit) in the microwave to keep the glass turn-table in place....in another 5th wheel at a rest stop we came in to find the microwave turn-table shattered in a million pieces all over the place.

Re: the recliner chairs.. I have found the tie down clips much like "jonrjen" showed in previous post.
I will be using a 4 point tie down for the recliners: side-to-side across the chairs and front-to-back to stop any forward motion.

I am also going to add a 4 point tie down for the dining table and chairs.

In my case the recliners are wedged between the 'fixed' center table and the box that houses the water tank fill hose...that 'box' works quite well so I made a duplicate 'box' for the other side (see pic) with a handle so I can remove the box for long stays.
Thanks for all the input everyone....
-Islander-

[Islander]

I have now added some floor anchor points for the rear recliner / rockers.
Also I placed padded boxes to snug the chairs up against, as shown in the pictures below.
Now the chairs are firmly held in place as we go bouncing merrily down the road.
Thanks for all the input..... this is a Great Forum !

-Islander-

[jonrjen]

We just got back from a week out camping. As we were driving down a section of I-20 on a very rough section of road I was thinking about you and your dancing chairs.

After getting to the house I went in the Wildcat to check things out and again you came to cross my mind. Seems that the road was rough enough to cause the plastic drink holder inserts to jump out of the two shelves on either end of our couch that sets on the back wall.

[OldCoot]

Don't tie anything down, bungee cord the kitchen chairs together and tie the EdenPure heater & printer table to the wall to keep them from rolling and go. Ice maker stays on rear counter. Shocks on the trailer sure make a difference in how the trailer rides.

[mud yapster]

Our new Palomino Columbus 3650TH (41.5') 5er also has the triple axle TrailAir equa-Flex Suspension and a TrailAir pen box and I haven't had to strap anything down since we got it. I stand a broom up in the corner and it is still standing there when we get where we are going.
I do feel your pain of trying to strap items down because we used to have to in out 35' TT and alot of time it would still be in the floor when we get there. I wish I had some ideas for you but I really don't except for the floor ties that are there to strap to. Guess you could try a ratchet strap to get then a little tighter.
I think the TrailAire equa-flex can be added to your trailer fairly easily and the TrialAir pen box also can be added. Just a thought if your pocket book can allow for the add ons

[Islander]

jonrjen....
It seems that the 'rear' of the rig turns into a "bouncy castle".
I have everything under control now after adding the tie down anchors.
Thanks for thinking of me

However...it sounds like "Oldcoot" has the answer having shock absorbers on the rig...sure must smooth thing out.

-Islander-

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Islander

.. However...it sounds like "Oldcoot" has the answer having shock absorbers on the rig...sure must smooth thing out. -Islander-

Other than the homemade JT Strongarms, the shocks are the best money I've spent on the trailer. Took me a week to design, fab and install them, but man, they sure make the trailer ride nice and smooth.

[jonrjen]

Originally Posted by Islander

jonrjen....
It seems that the 'rear' of the rig turns into a "bouncy castle".
I have everything under control now after adding the tie down anchors.
Thanks for thinking of me
-Islander-

That section of I-20 makes every vehicle a Bounce House, our 40' diesel pusher was like riding a bucking bronco. YeeHaw

[TeamPlumlee]

We've never tied down our rockers.

[ColoradoRick]

Some of our mountain passes can be pretty rough so my dealer had a pair of tie downs he said he'd gotten from Forest River. I screwed them into the floor next to the side windows and then in the middle of the chairs, next to the back window. (Just like Islander posted.)
We were also instructed to put all of our shades in the UP (open) position whenever traveling so they won't swing around and break their strings.
If anyone is ridden in the back of a school bus, they know the extra buck felt in the back versus the front.....I've memories of hitting my head on the roof a couple of times!