Overhang sagging

khd995

Active Member
Has anyone had the overhang (area underneath the bedroom) begin to sag. Seems like the panel (fiberglass, plastic, or whatever it's made of ) is coming lose. Does anyone know how it is fixed on to the frame.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
khd992, I think they all have a little sag. As far as I know, they are attached along the edge, around the pinbox, where the small light is and where the latch that holds the garage door up is.
Peace
Dave
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Has anyone had the overhang (area underneath the bedroom) begin to sag. Seems like the panel (fiberglass, plastic, or whatever it's made of ) is coming lose. Does anyone know how it is fixed on to the frame.

Yes ours was wavy and saggy. We had it checked while under warranty and it was replaced as it was defective. If your are under warranty I would suggest you have it checked by a dealer. One reason it could sag is because of moisture getting under it. Ours is fine now after replacement.
 

khd995

Active Member
I don't think moisture is an issue. I has been a little saggy since I got it. It just seems to be sagging more as time goes on. Unfortunately It is out of warranty.

Any ideas on a quick fix that I could do.
 

Niles

Well-known member
If you don't mind a few screws showing, find the cross member and put in some self tapping metal screws. They have painted ones that wouldn't be that noticeable. You can kinda see by looking in your pin box towards the trailer what I'm referring to as for the cross members.
 
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bsummit

Arkansas Chapter Leader-Retired
CJ, I believe KHD995 was talking about the front overhang behind the pin Box.
And yes, mine sags a little also. I was also wondering if it could be secured to a cross member. Maybe a strip of molding with screws thru the molding which would prevent the screw heads from pulling thru the fiberglas.
 

boatdoc

Well-known member
Looked at our's tonight. I think some stainless boat finishing washers and screws would do a nice job under there. The support members are running back and forth not accross that I could see, positioned a little towards the outside rather than dead middle between the outside and pin box. Should bring the sag up nicely. I'd fear the molding piece might get in the way of the bedrail/overhang distance, maybe???
 

khd995

Active Member
Any idea where the cross members are. If I can find them, I guess I should predrill a hole then screw it in with a little loctite on it.

Any chance Heartland would have the specs on where the precise placement of the crossmembers might be.
 

LBallard

Well-known member
I noticed my overhang was sagging. Further investigation appears to be water collected in the area. Not very much, but can hear it slosh when I push the fiberglass up against the floor.

Wondering where the water may have come from? We did tow a couple hundred miles in the rain three weeks ago. Also it rained about 2" here in RGV last week.

There is no apparent water damage in and around the closet area.
Any ideas, suggestions? :confused:
 

mountainlovers76

Mississippi Chapter Leaders
Mine is sagging also, badly enough that it is pulling away at the sides. My Bighorn was two years old last month and I am very disappointed. Shortly after purchasing my coach I discovered several areas along the front mouldings that the chaulking was not applied properly and a couple of areas where there was none at all. Poor quality control from factory. The area around the pin box was full of water. I removed a small section of chaulking at the lowest point to let the water drain out. It took two days before all the water stopped dripping out. After it had time to dry out, I rechaulked the moulding. A few months later I was having to reattach the the screw moulding strips along the outer edges due to the previous water damage softening the the wood the short screws were attached to. The screws are only screwed into a thin wood backing behind the fiberglass sidewall. Now it is beginning to sag badly and the edge mouldings are plugging away again. I suspect more water has gotten in somewhere. That is a large area around the pin box and under the closet area not to have any real support holding it up. There is a lot of flexing going on with that large fiberglass panel going down the road. As soon as it warms up I will check to see how much damage has occured. I am really dreading what I may find.
 

Elevatorman

Active Member
My BC is at the dealer right now for the same problem (so far 1 month). I stopped by to check out the progress and was told that Heartland is making a new front wall (including overhang) for me. I got to look at that piece that was removed, and was surprised as to the actual construction of the wall. It seems that the laminate is attached to a layer of, for no other words, cardboard! The side walls are on 1/4" luan like boarding, but that front wall and overhang is in essence cardboard. Cause....cut too small at the factory, the horizontal seam where the overhang and side walls come together was not done well, and in some places not sealed at all. This allowed the water to drain down the side walls and seep into the overhang. No where to go then until you upset the level of the unit. Jack the front up and out it comes. I had already started to de-laminate below the front storage door. Luckily the side walls hadn't started to absorb moisture to start what would have been really bad.
 

Elevatorman

Active Member
.....a quick follower. We all know that that area will flex a little. So does Heartland, as evident by the small joint cut into the side wall just below the bedroom slide. This is cut after the wall is applied to prevent a crack from developing there. The material used for that front wall is so they can form a curved area in the upper inside of the overhang to front wall connection. No seam or seal there, just one continueous piece that is flexable. I would think a more flexable caulk could also be used along that area to prevent leakage into the overhang. JMHO.
 

LBallard

Well-known member
I got to looking at the overhang closer. Mine is sagging on the door side half. the off-door side half is not sagging. I managed to push out probably 1/2 gallon of water.
Elevatorman, are you saying the water is coming in from seeping in the caulk line on the outside where the sidewall and overhang meet? It was a light rain overnite and forecasted rain for most of today. I will check for additional water collection.
I have got bigger problems to deal with today. Was at the Wal-Mart in Weslaco, Tx yesterday and some doper/gangster attempted to steal my truck. (2005 F-250). The driverside door lock is damaged and the ignition is FUBAR. Got towed to the local ford dealer, This must be a common occurance here in south Texas, he has the parts on hand and the truck should be out today.
 

jayc

Texas-South Chapter Leaders
LBallard, I had heard that truck theft is very rampant down here in S. Texas. We are in Mission but the next time I go to one of the Wally Worlds in this area we will be a little more careful.
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Jay,

Do not worry they only want the good trucks. I worked with a Hidalgo police officer last year at the Border Fest and he told me that most of the tme the stolen vehicles are over the border before they are reported stolen.
 

jayc

Texas-South Chapter Leaders
Thats why I'm worried Tom. When you drive the best, you worry the most!
 

Elevatorman

Active Member
I got to looking at the overhang closer. Mine is sagging on the door side half. the off-door side half is not sagging. I managed to push out probably 1/2 gallon of water.
Elevatorman, are you saying the water is coming in from seeping in the caulk line on the outside where the sidewall and overhang meet? It was a light rain overnite and forecasted rain for most of today. I will check for additional water collection.
I have got bigger problems to deal with today. Was at the Wal-Mart in Weslaco, Tx yesterday and some doper/gangster attempted to steal my truck. (2005 F-250). The driverside door lock is damaged and the ignition is FUBAR. Got towed to the local ford dealer, This must be a common occurance here in south Texas, he has the parts on hand and the truck should be out today.
That seems to be what the dealer is thinking. After they removed the seals you could see that the joint was cut short. This is the horizontal joint running from the front cap rearward, then turning down towards the front legs on the corners. That is all one piece of material. In some places the caulk barely covered the screws on the seal. Also the caulk had pulled away from the laminate in places. Because of the PDI we did the dealer had already re-caulked the front cap joints, roof to the bottom. The only other joint involved in this piece is where it meets the front cap underneath and behind the hitch. Unlikely to come in there. Best of luck with the truck! I guess this crap is a good sell for using the alarm system on the truck, crooks don't like noise.
 

LBallard

Well-known member
Thanks to all replies and information. I did get my truck back. The idea of an alarm system is starting to sound good. Haven't decided to tear into the overhang myself or take it to the dealer.
 

jayc

Texas-South Chapter Leaders
I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but the Texas Departmant of Public Safety has a program called HEAT, standing for Help End Auto Theft. This is a free program which registers your car/truck and allows the Police to stop your car any time its on the street after midnight, and prevents it from leaving the U.S. borders. You can take your vehicle to the local Police Dept. that participates and have a sticker affixed to it and you're done.
 
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