Manual steps outrigger broke

[Skeetzee]

I have a 2014 flagstaff microlite 21fbrs. The right outrigger that the steps get bolted to broke. Can that outrigger be welded and fixed or do I need to buy a new one. And do those literally carriage bolt up into the botton of the trailer? I haven't started taking it apart yet. Hoping one of yall has done it before. I found the steps and the outriggers on etrailer. Nothing wrong with my steps or the left outrigger. They are the 2 steps that fold up manually and then slide up under the trailer. Thank you..

[Tlmgcamp]

Tough to answer without a picture

[Skeetzee]

Yes..pictures are good! So now that look at it again, the new outriggers I found on etrailer are not the right ones. One bolt goes through the frame in the back..no problem. The front bolt looks like it comes down through the floor...maybe underneath the threshold? Would love to hear if anyone has done this and if y'all think this thing can be welded and work? Thanks!

[Aussieguy]

find someone that can weld..


loosen the bolt on the frame a little,
slide a protective piece of sheet steel under the bracket so welding won't damage flooring


weld it .... remove protecting sheet steel, then re-tighten the bolt

[Skeetzee]

Thank you!

[Skeetzee]

They can weld lying down and that close to it?

And if i took it apart, do yall think that front bolt would be really hard to get tightened again?
Would certainly be easier to just take the bracket in rather than the whole trailer.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

find someone that can weld..

loosen the bolt on the frame a little,
slide a protective piece of sheet steel under the bracket so welding won't damage flooring

weld it .... remove protecting sheet steel, then re-tighten the bolt

I'd disassemble that and weld it on the bench. No way would I weld it in contact with plywood. And electric welding is not something you can do upside-down.

If you don't weld, take the two pieces to the nearest muffler shop. Last time I did that (out of town, didn't have my welder with me), they charged me $5 and had already sprayed it with black paint by the time I got back to pick it up. Really nice young kid--I gave him $10 and declined change back.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

I'd disassemble that and weld it on the bench. No way would I weld it in contact with plywood. And electric welding is not something you can do upside-down.

If you don't weld, take the two pieces to the nearest muffler shop. Last time I did that (out of town, didn't have my welder with me), they charged me $5 and had already sprayed it with black paint by the time I got back to pick it up. Really nice young kid--I gave him $10 and declined change back.

For the record in arc welding it's not called "upside down", it's called "Overhead" and done all the time. I have welded broken things like this many times in my past. Just made sure I had enough room to lower my hood and wore protective leather gear.

A muffler shop is a great place to go as they weld items "overhead" all the time and most use a mig welder with a gas mixture that minimized splatter.

Aussieguy's suggestion to loosen one end and put a piece of sheet metal between broken bracket and flooring wood is a valid suggestion. Thicker the better on the sheet metal however and welder has to make sure his weld doesn't over-penetrate or the sheet metal will be a permanent addition.

[Skeetzee]

Thanks for all this..the reason i was hoping to find someone who has done it on this model is because of the front bolt. If they didnt secure that thing in place from above somehow when they put it in, it seems like that bolt is going to spin when i try to tighten it..or loosen it..and the only way to get to the head of it is to remove the threshold..which looks like is part of the door frame. If it aint one thing..its your ....

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Skeetzee

Thanks for all this..the reason i was hoping to find someone who has done it on this model is because of the front bolt. If they didnt secure that thing in place from above somehow when they put it in, it seems like that bolt is going to spin when i try to tighten it..or loosen it..and the only way to get to the head of it is to remove the threshold..which looks like is part of the door frame. If it aint one thing..its your ....

It could be a carriage bolt that is "secured" when pushed into the hole and tightened:




Commonly used when the head is to be covered and there is enough material thickness for the square portion under the head to be fully gripped without leaving the head protruding.

I'd first try to loosen the nut after spraying some penetrating oil on the exposed threads. If the nut turns without the bolt itself turning you're good to go. If bolt does turn and nut has loosened at all just grip the exposed threads and re-tighten.

FWIW, gripping the threads to loosen as much as possible would also facilitate welding as the other end could be lowered. maybe even swung out from under the RV.

To add:

Once you do get the bracket repaired you might consider installing this:



It's called a "Lippert Solid Stance RV Stabilizer Kit" and sells for < $50 at e-trailer, Amazon, and others.

I installed this a season or two ago and the steps no longer feel like I'm stepping onto a "diving board". Takes moments to deploy and adjust with the added benefit of not breaking things like happened in your case.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Skeetzee

Thanks for all this..the reason i was hoping to find someone who has done it on this model is because of the front bolt. If they didnt secure that thing in place from above somehow when they put it in, it seems like that bolt is going to spin when i try to tighten it..or loosen it..and the only way to get to the head of it is to remove the threshold..which looks like is part of the door frame. If it aint one thing..its your ....

That overhead bolt is long enough that you could put two more nuts on it and use two wrenches to tighten them against each other. Then hold the pair with one wrench and use the other to loosen the original nut and spin it down to where it meets the other two. Then separate the two that are clamped together and you can spin all three off, one at a time.

[Skeetzee]

I love you guys! You never let me down..that front bolt is very secure. Thanks to Forest River (Rockwood) for being kind and securing it. Y'all fixed another one! Thank u..

[gkehman]

I had the same thing happen on my 2304KS. I got a piece of bandstock, bent the end to attach to the frame and continued it to the front. I drilled holes to attach it to the angle portion and the align with the front bolt. The bolt stayed put and I was able to remove the nut and replace it over the new piece of bandstock. If you notice the original piece of stock is very thin. A thicker piece (3/16) made a significant improvement in stability.

[Skeetzee]

It took 10 years for this thing to break. I'll talk to the welding shop about making it stronger, particularly since this is a repair.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Skeetzee

It took 10 years for this thing to break. I'll talk to the welding shop about making it stronger, particularly since this is a repair.

Most welders that do a lot of repair work are pretty well versed in how to keep their work from breaking again.

Glad you found a way to remove it.

[Skeetzee]

Thank u...yall gave me courage to go forward.

[Aussieguy]

get your self a wire brush and some sand paper


give it a good brushing and sanding to remove all the rust from all the stair parts

rattle can of some killrust primer and black paint.
will last another 15 years...


Harbor freight has some wire brush attachments that will fit into a electric drill ... use a variable speed and don't go to FAST.
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-piec...BoCbl0QAvD_BwE

[Skeetzee]

Will do!