Seeing Daylight!!!

[JanAndBill]

Ever since we've had our 3260 we've had a crack on each side of the front compartment between the panel and the flange inside that it is supposed to mount to. Don't think about it till I've moved the stuff out of the way, and I see daylight. It starts about halfway up on each side and gets progressively wider, with it being almost a 1/4" at the bottom. The bottom flange that goes horizontal is tight, though it appears that it may be slightly deformed, which is causing the panel to not make contact with the flange on the sides. It doesn't appear to be getting any worse. Any ideas as to if I should be concerned or just fill it in with caulk. All the screws are as tight as they can be without popping.

 

[cookie]

A picture of the suspect area would be great to see.
I suspect that a good caulk job would do the trick though.

Peace
Dave

 

[sengli]

They arent made to be air tight, at least that is what I have found too. When my last two fivers were new. First thing I did was to go over them with a can of expandable foam, and a tube of RTV filling cracks and seems.

 

[JanAndBill]

The pictures aren't the greatest but maybe this will give an idea or what it looks like. The crack seems to get gradually wider as it goes down, approaching a 1/4" at the bottom. It hasn't gotten any wider that I can tell, and the screws are tight. The bottom horizontal flange is tight against it, so I don't think I can pull it in anymore without "bowing the panel. Is this maybe just a misalignment from the factory??? Does this panel serve any structural support function?

 

[cookie]

Looks just like my rig....and my last rig.

Peace
Dave

 

[JohnDar]

Pretty small, if you ask me. Mine were considerably wider until I filled them with expanding foam and screen backer. Once parked, I stuff some soft foam around the jack leg openings to keep visitors out.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Really nothing to worry about. Seal it if you desire. Ours has a 1/4" gapall along the lower front section. I keep my compressor in there along with a shop vac and other things that don't need protection from the elements. I've really never noticed that it gets wet or very dirty in there either. The hydraulics are also in that compartment.

 

[JanAndBill]

Thanks all, pretty much the way I thought, but it helps to have others confirm your beliefs. Think I'll seal them off with caulk as we do store some items in there that are prone to rust. I had already taped off the cutout holes in the floor with duct tape and put in a rubber mat.

 

[JohnDar]

Mice and insects are a bigger concern than moisture. There isn't a lot of road water getting thrown up there by the truck tires.