HW end wall bed support...

[IonicBrick]

My wife and I took possession of a 2014 HW31SCTH in February, and have camped in it a total of three times. The first two times I noticed that the front end wall (above the deck) was flimsy and I could see some of the screws from the cabinet coming out of the wall. The wall separated a bit from the cabinet as well. I reinstalled the screws with everything tight, and made sure it was snug before leaving on our week long trip last week. Plus, I didn't think much of it since we had planned on sleeping on the back bunk anyway. That back wall is very sturdy and the weight of us on the bed doesn't pull it out at all.

Well, this last week we kept quite a bit of luggage on that front bed. From time to time my wife had to climb up there to get things out or organize them. My guess is with her on the bed there was around 300lbs up there. Well, when I put the camper away this morning, the wall had pulled almost an inch away from the cabinet. I verified by pushing down on just the support poles with the bed slid in, and the wall moved pretty easily.

Has anyone else had this problem with any of their high walls? How did you fix it?

I'm thinking of getting the cabinet and wall snug again, setting everything up as if we were to camp, and installing some support blocks onto the bottom side of the bed snug up against the end of the support poles. This way, when the weight on the bed pushes down on the pole, the pole will slide forward against the block and not bow the crap out of that wall. Does anyone see any issue with this? I'm thinking the blocks could be ⅜" or ½" thick. Whatever might still slide into the camper without me removing it every time...




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[IonicBrick]

Well, I installed a couple of ½" X 2" oak blocks on the end of the poles and now the bed is rock solid! So much so that I did the other side too! The piece of Oak and 1" screws cost me $4 at Home Depot. Everything closes up just fine, you just have to lift the bed up ½" before you slide it in.


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[macshane]

Originally Posted by IonicBrick

Well, I installed a couple of ½" X 2" oak blocks on the end of the poles and now the bed is rock solid! So much so that I did the other side too! The piece of Oak and 1" screws cost me $4 at Home Depot. Everything closes up just fine, you just have to lift the bed up ½" before you slide it in. Attachment 57374Attachment 57375


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Sorry if I don't get it, but how does that help??


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[IonicBrick]

The bed rests on the poles, that are attached at the top of the wall (right underneath the inside edge of the bed) and the deck. When weight is applied to them, the downward force on the poles is shared by the wall and the deck. The thing is, that front wall is flimsy...so the poles pull the wall forward and slide a little bit under the bed as they do. The blocks I installed keep the poles from sliding and distribute more of the weight to the deck than the flimsy wall.

I was worried that I could damage the bed with the installed blocks, which we'll have to find out on our next camping trip...Or that the blocks might hinder the set up and tear down of the camper. It does not. You just have to remember to lift the bed end up ½" to get it to start sliding in. The bed locks open of the inside with two pins, but it also locks outside by my new blocks.


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