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yet another stupid bulkhead question

June 25, 2013, 07:54:29 pm

I've read and read, and used the "search button", and so far haven't found an answer to my stupid question. If the 2 sections that meet at the Rolock Junction are held in place with bolts torqued to only 250 in/lb, why weren't they just welded together and then rustcoated?  I've checked... so far so good, no issues here. But is sure seems like it'd be nice and easy to stitchweld that seam and then cover it over with some POR. The collective here knows so much more about these things than I do that it just isn't funny so I await and abide... for if and when I see loose bolts.

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Re: yet another stupid bulkhead question

Reply #1 – June 25, 2013, 10:05:47 pm

It might be helpful to understand the construction of the bulkhead joint. The actual bulkhead itself, in my view is the 16 gauge sheet metal which is sandwiched between the quarter inch angle iron and the transverse inch and a half square by 1/8" thick tubing on the other side. The sheet metal is tack welded to the angle iron at intervals. Additionally, there is some thin aluminum flashing type trim also sandwiched in between the joint that wraps around the edge of fiberglass bottom skin. If you cut the bottom fiberglass skin back an inch so and removed the aluminum trim from between the joint, I suppose you might be able to weld a seam along the joint on the bottom, but it would not be a structurally sound joint. If you took it apart to the extent that I did, you could conceivably weld the top and bottom of the joint, but what would be doing is welding the frame members to either side of the sheet metal. I will include a few pictures of our coach in various stages of the bulkhead repair project and I hope that it will make clearer the way the bulkhead joint is constructed. The bulkhead joint could have been designed differently and welded from the factory, but that has other issues which I won't not go into. I hope that helps!
Don

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Re: yet another stupid bulkhead question

Reply #2 – June 26, 2013, 07:57:26 am

While my expieience is limited to my coach.  I believe the best precaution you could take would be to either move the fresh water overflow or be careful not to overfill, as a matter of fact leave it at maybe 3/4 full.  While mine wasn't near as bad as pics I have seen on the forum I had the repair done to the rear because I couldn't see it improving.  My front bulkhead looks brand new while the issue was at the rear.  It was very easy to identfy the path from the fresh tank overflow to the bulkhead.  Hope this helps.  Just my opinion.
Jerry

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Re: yet another stupid bulkhead question

Reply #3 – June 26, 2013, 10:36:35 am

It wasn't quite as stupid a question as i had thought. I've never seen that joint taken apart as far as those photos show. That isn't enough meat to weld on, and now the bolts make more sense. When it's all together, it looks like a simple stitchweld would have worked just fine but it would be holding only one corner. Thanks for the input.
I've only had this rig for a few months and already this forum is in the 'read daily, critical info found here" category. Thanks y'all.

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Re: yet another stupid bulkhead question

Reply #4 – June 26, 2013, 06:27:35 pm

The secret to a sound bulkhead is preventative maintenance. The 250 inch ponds is a check of the Rolok bolt integrity I believe it receives a higher torque at installation. A yearly check of both bulkheads and addressing any failures is mandatory for "bulkhead bliss".

Roland

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