11 replies to this topic

[Vic Harder]

I had the opportunity to take apart the push bar assembly today. Unfortunately I do not have pictures, but I will describe the fix as well as possible:

 

- remove the push bar (#8 screws w/ lock nuts) with the top in the up position

- drop the top only in the front of the camper

- drill out 3x 1/8" aluminum large flange pop rivets (from the luan) to release the aluminum piece where the hinge is mounted

- drill out 6x 1/8" large flange pop rivets to remove the front luan fascia

- drill out 3x 1/8" small flange pop rivets to remove the hinge

 

The hinge is just a 2" continuous piano hinge. Instead of the stock aluminum, I bought a zinc coated steel part (sadly 48" in length), and cut it to 3 1/2" length. I then cut the hinge pin to size and crimped the two ends of the hinge to retain the pin. I then had to drill 3x holes to match up with the one side of the hinge mounting.

 

Now to reassemble everything. It's a bit of a hassle, since I can't find large flange 1/8" aluminum pop rivets that are long enough to go through both the luan and the aluminum. I'll likely drill out all the holes that connect luan to aluminum to handle 3/16" rivets (with larger heads), since using washers adds a bit more depth than I would wish to deal for aesthetics and for folding between the two hinged luan sheets.

nice work.  I redid mine a while back and also used piano hinge and then used #8 wood screws instead of rivets.  I then used a dremel tool to grind them flush.  It's working fine.

[12valve]

I had to redo mine, but I had a hassle with FWC. Glad to know that ATC is a backup. The spring loaded hinge is a propitiatory item for FWC and they would not sell it to me unless I bought the complete assembly.... for 450.00. No deal. I ended up removing the hinge since it was all bent up, especially  the last 6" from the ends. I ended up cutting the bent and splintered luan panels back 6", cutting the hinge the same and reinstalling everything. I put a 1" 1/16" aluminum backing on the luan to prevent the pop rivets from pulling through. I could see that the luan was really bent from the stress at the hinge point, so I added a 1/8"x1-1/2" aluminum piece on the front, distributing the stress better. The corners of the luan where the hinge ended were all beat up and bent where the canvas would fold in a awkward, thick pile. By cutting the luan back, this left a lot more for the canvas to fold. I noticed that the seam where the canvas, where it met the metal roof was thin, and in a few places, see through. The damage was not bad, but it was starting. Since items rarely fix themselves, I decided to reinforce that long seam. I took a firehose and cut it so there was 1-1/2" on one side, then on the other side of the "fold" in the hose, another 3/4". I glued the hose so the fold would be right at the joint where the canvas met the metal. No stress. So far, everything works perfectly. In retrospect, I should have tossed the original hinge out and install a larger continuous hinge as mentioned above. The springs in the original hinge are not really necessary.