fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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So, now it is easy to see why those wooden pieces are in there. I would never have figured they would support that kind of weight, but they do.
That was one of the reasons I did the aluminum testing earlier gluing it to the wood frame, because I wanted to see how it performed, with a bunch of weight on top of it. After I saw what Fleetwood did, I just had to find out.
Fleetwood also used those wooden pieces to help support 1/2 of the weight of the black water tank.
They also used them to support another storage bin on the other side of the rv, and yes, I am impressed.
Here is the above pic again, just for reference.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/storage3.jpg)
And YES, that was a long winded explanation for something so simple. I suppose I could have said, those 2 x 3's supported the storage bins underneath, but hey, what fun would that have been?... LOL.
Hope you enjoyed the explanation, and the pictures.
Will try to get back to more pics of new construction work tomorrow.
If you want to do something, you will find a way.
If you don't, you will find an excuse.
-------------------------------------------------
Good judgement comes from experience.
A lot of experience, comes from bad judgement.
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Thought I was done with the storage bin, but, I have one more thing to add.
Here is a pic of what the bin looks like after it is removed from the coach.
You will notice that there is a lip on the top, on 3 sides.
The lip at the back, circled in red, is screwed through the bottom of the floor, into the WOOD. Yup, that is what the wood is in the floor for.
The sides of this, indicated in yellow, could be screwed to either wood or the steel floor joist. In the pic above, one side is screwed to the steel joist, the other is screwed to the wood.
All 3 of those, (red and yellow), are screwed from the bottom.
The lips with the 2 green circles, are the ones that are screwed into the steel pieces, just inside the fiberglass, and are screwed from the back side into the steel.
The front side, (where the door is), has a lip on the top side, and is screwed from the top, down into the steel, also just inside the fiberglass.
So, if you need to remove one of these, you have 3 sets of screws to remove from the bottom up, 2 sets from the backside of the fiberglass, and also one set, that is accessed after the door is opened.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/storage7.jpg)
Simple, isn't it?
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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And here is another step, LOL, in the right direction. The red line here represents the line between the aluminum under the floor, and the floor joist.
I glued them together, (Por 15, actually, but that stuff works great), and clamped them together with wood under the aluminum, to hold it in place until it dries.
I also covered the welds, for the step brackets, with Por 15. I will also need to insulate the areas, below and along the sides of the brackets.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/steprebuildpor155.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Here is a shot of the area right behind the passenger side dually's.
The green arrows point to a steel brace, that runs from the bottom of the fiberglass, to a piece of wood that was glued on top of the aluminum.
The wood is indicated by a yellow arrow.
The 2 bolts/screws are indicated by light blue arrows, and although you cant see the bolt on the left side. It does show up in a later pic.
The red circle is the aluminum, which was, and is supposed to be glued to the bottom of the floor joist (dark blue circle).
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/fiberglassbrace.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Here you can see the same area from the top, after I glued, (Por 15), the aluminum to the bottom of the steel floor framing.
Then, I clamped a couple of pieces of lumber to the bottom side of the aluminum, and left it in place for it to dry.
Right in the center of the pic, just below 2 of the clamps, you can see the brace that was in the last pic.
The wood on top of the aluminum, is not longer glued to the aluminum, but the screw that is holding up that end of the steel brace, is holding the lumber in place.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/gluingaluminum.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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And here is a shot from the inside toward the outside, underneath what was the steel "hump" over top of the dually's.
The yellow circles are where Fleetwood cut the floor joists, (or never put a piece in there to start).
The green circle, shows the inside of the fiberglass, which is directly in the way of the floor framing, if there was a piece of steel between the 2 yellow circles.
I am going to put a piece in between them, which means the fiberglass has to come off there.
The 2 red arrows, show that Fleetwood "bridged" the space over top of the wheels, so they could put a wheel well, over top of the wheels, and both of them are coming out, just like the drivers side.
The top red arrow shows the steel wall framing, which has the trim riveted to it from the outside. Also, shown in the next pic.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/passengersideoverduallys.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Here is a shot from the outside of the passenger side duallys.
The bottom 2 green arrows, on the left and right side, show the bolts that go through the fiberglass, and hold the bottom end of the steel brace, which was seen in the prior pic.
The upper green arrow on the right side, shows a steel brace, in front of the tires, just like the brace behind the tires, also held in place on top, by being screwed into a piece of wood that is glued to the top of the aluminum.
And for those of you with an eagle eye, just to the right of the upper green arrow, is an air valve, where I can check, add, or let out air, for the rr air bag.
While on the subject of air bags, this motor home has air bags front and rear, in addition to the leaf springs in the rear, and coil springs in the front.
On this coach, they make a HUGE difference in how the coach handles on the road, especially when in high cross winds, or if a semi passes us.
With the air bags properly inflated, the coach does not wander all over the road, like it would without them, or with no air in them.
Back on topic.
Looking at the top of the wheel well, you can see there is space between the top of the tires, and the bottom of the fiberglass wheel well. So, I will be removing that fiberglass to weld up some steel inside, and will still have plenty of room to remove the tires and wheels.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/passengersideduallys.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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On the drivers side, you can see that there is room between the top of the tires, and the new steel framing I welded in there, to remove the tires and wheels.
So, I will do the same on the other side of the coach, to match this side.
Hey, maybe I'll put fender skirts on this puppy. Then again, maybe not. Just thinking out loud. Don't really have a plan one way or the other.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/driversideduallys.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Here is a little better shot of the same tires as pictured above, showing the top of the tires are below the floor frame.
The yellow arrow is inside the coach, and the green arrow is the outside of the coach.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/driversideduallys1.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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The third picture above, shows the bolts that go through the fiberglass, and are attached to a steel brace that runs up to the wood in the floor.
Just in case you thought that Fleetwood just put a bolt through there and then into the steel, ha! You lose.... Lol.
Here is a pic of what is inside the fiberglass. Looking at the inside, you can see there is a built up portion of fiberglass. Typically, they would enclose a piece of wood or steel there with fiberglass, to give it more strength.
I didn't look all that close, but judging by the thickness of it, I am assuming that it is wood. As long as the fiberglass is water tight, the wood won't rot.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/fiberglassbrace1.jpg)
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