My bulkhead experience

Topic: My bulkhead experience (Read 6389 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #50 – November 03, 2010, 08:29:27 am

I think the proximity of the steel to the fiberglass, foam insulation and wood would prevent welding.

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #51 – November 03, 2010, 08:35:42 am

John,

Accessing the area to weld would be very difficult and the sandwich material in the basement floor (where you are working) would not tolerate heat.

Through bolting is a good fix.

Brett Wolfe

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #52 – November 07, 2010, 04:16:13 pm

Guys, just started this bulkhead inspection and have three 4 or five thread bolts, and 2 more that torque CW to 20 but CCW they back out, so I suspect they are broken....How long were the original rolocks? Do you have to use the hole say to get the remainder of the bolt out ...How much room do you have up front before you hit the fuel tank.....I have searched the forums, but still do not have a clear idea of what has to be done....thanks, Dave and Wendy 99u320, 05 mini cooper

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #53 – November 07, 2010, 04:40:11 pm

Dave,

You will never hit the fuel tank. The Roloks thread into the beams below the floor of the fuel tank compartment-- floor of coach below the beam and floor of the basement above.

The standard Rolock used in the Foretravel bulkhead assembly is 3" long. Some of the newer coaches have longer bolts threaded into two 1 1/2" box beams at the outboard ends of the bulkheads, so those bolts will be longer.

And you will need to drill a hole in the floor to access the "back" of the Rolok and to install the washer and nut on the new bolt to replace the Rolock.

See my earlier post for plug part numbers, etc.

Brett Wolfe

new rolocs?

Reply #54 – November 07, 2010, 06:58:25 pm

has anyone ruled out putting new rolocs, into new drilled holes?

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #55 – November 07, 2010, 08:09:45 pm

Since I have no bulkhead separation, that is exactly what I intend to do. The old ones have funtioned for 17 years, I would be happy with another 17.

I purchased a dozen new Roloks from the parts department when I was at FOT last month. I will drill new holes next to the old ones when I get a chance and install the new bolts.

Thanks for all the input

Reply #56 – November 12, 2010, 09:20:01 am

Just finished the bulkhead repair on the back of our 99u320, and am sure the front will go rapidly...Could not have done it without all the info available here..

For what it is worth, Foretravel now has a kit, with the caps, bolts, and rolocs, for those who do not want to track them down on their own......

Re: Thanks for all the input

Reply #57 – November 12, 2010, 09:22:29 am

Hi,

Hum...how much for the kit?

Jim
2002 U320

Quote

Just finished the bulkhead repair on the back of our 99u320, and am sure the front will go rapidly...Could not have done it without all the info available here..

For what it is worth, Foretravel now has a kit, with the caps, bolts, and rolocs, for those who do not want to track them done on their own......

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #58 – November 12, 2010, 09:26:05 am

Quote

Hum...how much for the kit?

From Don Hay 1992 U280 36' 11/12/09
I learned that FOT Parts sells a "kit" to fix the bulkhead separation, so this afternoon, I went over to Parts and found out the contents of the kit:

1. There are 8, 3/8", 2 ½" long, grade 8 bolts with flat and lock washers and nuts.
2. Also, at least an equal number (I think there were more like 10) of "roll-lock" bolts. These look like lag bolts and are what was installed originally. They are 3" long, 5/16" diameter, black steel. The inside head of the bolt has grooves in it that dig in to the angle iron, preventing the head from vibrating/backing out.
3. 8 plastic plugs for the nuts on the through-hole bolts.
4. No instructions included, so parts put me through to Mark Harvey, who patiently explained to me:
a) For the 3/8" bolts, holes must be drilled large enough for the bolts to pass cleanly through both angle iron and square tubing.
b) Square tubing is not the heavy-duty tubing used for the side frame , but a thinner tubing used for internal support.
c) It would be possible to crush this tubing if too much pressure were placed on the nuts. Therefore the recommended torque on these heads is 20 ft-lbs, or for a "mechanically inclined" person, 'firm but not excessive' was the description.
d) When drilling the holes for the "roll-lock" bolts through the angle iron, the holes have to be larger diameter than the 5/16" bolt, so it passes freely through the angle iron.
e) In between the angle iron and the square tubing is a piece of "sheet steel" (I couldn't detect any in my coach); must also drill the larger hole through it.
f) The hole in the square tubing should be 9/32" or smaller, for the roll-lock bolts to grip into. He said smaller would work to grip better, but would be harder to torque into tubing. No mention of torque limitations for the roll-lock bolts.
5. Mark said that the 3/8" bolts and nuts are designed to pull the angle iron and square tubing together.
6. Then, the roll-lock bolts are installed between through-hole bolts to firmly connect the components together. The kit sells for $35. If Wayne is using huck bolts, then I doubt that he is even using this kit. That would indicate that it is intended for us do-it-yourselfers That's about it.

http://www.beamalarm.com/Documents/bulkhead_separation.htm

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #59 – November 12, 2010, 09:44:09 am

Barry or anyone who has seen one of these kits,

Are they still using the 1 3/4" NON-waterproof plugs or have they switched to the 1 3/8" waterproof plug (same manufacturer) as I used.

I recently did a mechanical inspection on a coach with the original style 1 3/4" plugs, and all but one had allowed water to leak into the joint area.

1 3/8" is the largest water proof plug they make and it IS large enough to work through.

Brett Wolfe

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #60 – November 12, 2010, 12:20:09 pm

Quote

Quote from Brett Wolfe: "Are they still using the 1 3/4" NON-waterproof plugs or have they switched to the 1 3/8" waterproof plug (same manufacturer) as I used."

Brett,

As of last year at this time, they were still using the 1 3/4" plugs. However, what I did was put a healthy amount of PolyseamSeal around the edge of each plug before I shoved it into the hole. The excess oozed out around the circumference and dried/cured there. I am therefore fairly confident that water is not getting up into the joint from the access holes I cut.

Now that you have bought the subject up, I am going underneath and inspect all of the access holes.

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #61 – November 12, 2010, 02:05:28 pm

If one is worried about the plugs leaking, fiberglassing over the holes should solve any leak problem. It wasn't too hard to do, but it is messy and takes some time. If one has never worked with fiberglass and polyester resin, I would not recommend covering a hole on the bottom of a panel as a first experience. I found that I could do about 2 holes at a time before the resin would start to harden. Each hole required about 1 oz of resin for a patch of 2 layers of mat, one a bit larger than the other. I had a board with a layer of foam covered with flexible plastic that I jacked up against the patch until it hardened. Later found that surface tension alone was enough to hold the patch in place until it hardened. Clean around the hole with a wet cloth or whatever it takes to get it clean. Sand to roughen the surface and wipe with acetone. Fill the cavity with foam and sand smooth after it hardens. If there are any voids, fill with bondo and sand smooth. Prepare your patch. Measure resin into a can or plastic container, add white color if desired, add hardener and stir thoroughly but not fast which will create bubbles. Let it sit for 3 minutes. Brush a thick coat of resin around the hole. Pour some resin on the patch and put it in place. Use the brush to dab on more resin to wet out the patch. You cannot use the brush like you are painting, place it flat against the patch to wet the patch. Once wet, jab the brush straight up and down to work out any bubbles and get loose strands in place. After it is hard the patch can be sanded smooth. I used a small disk in an electric drill. Acetone is used for clean up before the resin hardens. Read a book about working with fiberglass if you have no experience with it. Make a small panel of fiberglass, drill a hole and patch it as a learning experience.

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #62 – November 12, 2010, 02:21:50 pm

Jerry,

A bomb-proof solution, but MUCH more difficult than just using waterproof plugs (which are available).

Brett Wolfe

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #63 – November 12, 2010, 02:27:55 pm

My solution was low tech and from no experience. I cut round discs from the lids of margarine tubs, put a ring of caulk around the edge and pushed it into place. That was 9 months ago. They are still in place.

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #64 – February 22, 2011, 01:12:04 pm

I met James at Xtreme Graphics when I was at MOT. His shop did the bulkhead repair on my coach. My coach was the first one he did. It was amazing to hear the story about how a lot of this came about. James tried to get FT to cover these repairs under warrenty back when he worked there. But they didn't. At least that is the way I remember it.

I do believe that his shop did a great job on the repair and I am very pleased to recommend him to every FT owner I see.

His shop also did my headlight conversion.

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #65 – February 22, 2011, 06:00:09 pm

Finished my bulkhead repair yesterday , On my initial inspection there was no separation and just a little surface rust. Checked all bolts for torque at 21 ft pounds and on the back there was 2 broken bolts so I sure I over did it but I drilled 9 access holes 1 3/8 and 9 3/8 bolt holes evenly spaced between every 2nd bolt . Did the same on the front but only 8 new bolts. After that I cleaned, primed & painted with oil base satin black paint , 2 coats of paint , so it sealed all the bolts from water. Last thing I installed the water tight rubber plugs and cleaned the bottom. Looks Great. I can sleep better now that is behind me. Thanks for the advice on this project. Art

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #66 – February 22, 2011, 06:48:14 pm

Great job.

And that painting/undercoating is an important step for the future. If you look at the Rolok bolt, you will notice that it has raised area-- kind of a locking mechanism where the bolt head meets the shank/meets the 1/4" angle beam. That has to allow water migration into the bolt area. Sealing it eliminates that access point for water.

Brett

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #67 – March 25, 2012, 05:38:33 pm

I drove a 97 u320 two days ago that had banging noises from the middle of the coach under the floor. Anyone have noises in conjunction with the bulkhead bolts?

Or any other reason for noises?

Thank. Bob

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #68 – March 25, 2012, 06:45:40 pm

Bob,

Never heard one that did that, but I guess if it was let go long enough that most or all of the 15+ bolts were broken, I guess it could lead to noise.

But, the bulkheads are not in the middle of the coach-- they are just behind the front wheels and just in front of the drive axle.

Said another way, the front bulkhead is 8" behind the back of the front tire. The rear bulkhead is 8" in front of the front of the back tire.

So, I would probably look for another source of the noise if you heard it in the middle of the coach.

Brett

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #69 – March 25, 2012, 07:11:06 pm

Quote from: Caflashbob – March 25, 2012, 05:38:33 pm

I drove a 97 u320 two days ago that had banging noises from the middle of the coach under the floor.

Middle of the coach could be something unsecured (and stored in an unstable configuration) in one of the storage bays?

-M

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #70 – March 25, 2012, 07:17:30 pm

The oddball noise that I a devil of a time finding was a bottle of scotch under the sink. It was laying on a towel and most of the time it was no problem but under certain conditions while rounding a sharp curve and slowing it would roll up against the plastic drain piping under the sink and I got an odd CLUNK. Only after I drank the scotch did I realize what the noise had been. As an experiment I put my new bottle in the same place and got the same results.
MORAL: Always drink a full bottle of scotch so it won't be noisy.

Gary B

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #71 – March 25, 2012, 07:24:55 pm

I am both a new guy and the oldest guy here. How? I was the foretravel of California salesman and sales manager from 1984 to 1989. I drove the first unihome made when don Moore(boney) drove the prototype out to California in 1987 or so.

Went to Nac in oct 1987 for the unihome introduction and watched them put the bolts in number 1. I asked if they were sure about this? They said no problem. I think James Trianna was there then?

Now 25 years later buying a u320. Almost funny. Almost. Went 50,000 miles in foretravels back then without owning one.

The 97 u320 is sure a better coach. Finally.

I saw the first foretravel ever made at a buddy rally back then. And travco's, gtc's also.

The aqua hot and dual panes and better gel coat and the enclosed tank bays are much better.

I am the reason Monaco had 8 airbags.

Bob

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #72 – September 15, 2022, 12:06:38 pm

Hi
Can anyone recommend (or provide) a good video of this problem area? I am new to Foretravel and we are shopping for a used 320, but I would like to completely understand this issue, so that I can thoroughly inspect any coaches that we are considering purchasing.
Thanks
Barry

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #73 – September 15, 2022, 12:25:57 pm

Barry,

Welcome.

These links should get you started in your quest for info on Foretravel bulkheads:

Bulkhead Repair-- A Comprehensive Look

Bulkhead Repair (Partial Floor Replacement)

Rear Bulkhead Repair

Before, During, After

Re: My bulkhead experience

Reply #74 – September 16, 2022, 02:17:28 pm

Attached is a pic of my rear bulkhead repair. The fiberglass was detached along the bottom of the square tube structiure in the floor. I elected to open it up to clean/inspect and treat the tubing with POR. I then fiberglassed it using West System Epoxy. working overhead under the coach is a real pain but I know the tubing was in good shape now. if you look closely you'll see one of the through bolts and nut. Before glassing I filled all the voids with foam, virtually impossible to get anything to stick to rusty metal. That square tube across the back is not beefy enough for Rolllocks in my opinion. The through bolts are a much better solution. The key to this repair is to keep water out. Once it gets wet in that area the water can't get out.

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