Re: Re: Roof springs
Hi,
just back from vacation so I haven’t been following the forums.
In addition to the springs, there are brass washers you might need if they’ve been lost from your lifting arm assembly. I don’t remember how many or which order they are put into the assembly (next to the arm or next to the bracket, or both). The original bolt is slotted to accept the springs … see that you get a slotted bolt if yours has been lost.
The springs can apparently tolerate quite a tension. It was mentioned somewhere in Dormobile Lore that this is a dangerous job. Maybe, if you try it with the arms in place! But doing it sensibly isn’t scary at all.
Assemble the lifter arm/springs as in Carl’s photo, with the springs slack (you will see that they insert in the slotted bolt and that turning the bolt adjusts the tension), and install them in the roof. Lift the roof and lock the arms. One at a time, undo the top of one lifter arm from the fiberglass roof and collapse the telescoping part. Let the arm fall toward the hinged side of the fiberglass roof. Loosen the bolt that holds the spring such that you can turn the spring. Turn the spring until its little hooks touch the protrusions on the lifter arm. The bolt will have to be rotated to just the right angle in order to go back into the lifter arm assembly and lock in the setting. You might need to put a wrench on it (11/16″ i think ?) to get it rotated the last bit. While holding the bolt there with slight pressure on the spring, tighten the nut (5/8″ maybe?) until the bolt is drawn into the mounting bracket, which will hold its position. You can now pull the arm up against the spring, extend it, and re-install it in the fiberglass roof. You will definitely feel strong spring tension while doing this. Then do the other one. Takes 5 minutes if nothing’s rusty!
-Jeremy
