Broken roof bows on 2405T
 

On the fourth trip after buying a used 2405T I noticed the roof air unit bouncing up and down while traveling down the Interstate. I took it to an RV shop to have it inspected by them and the insurance adjuster. The RV shop said it appears that I have several broken roof bows. You can see the roof sag and flatten in the area in front and back of the roof air. RV shop said they had no experience with HI-LO and could not provide an estimate without removing the cabinets and ceiling. They mentioned fabricating some sort of support under the ceiling which did not sound good to me. The insurance guy said it was structural failure, so no accident equals no claim. Does anyone have any experience with failures like this?

Hi,

Somewhat the same problem with my 2404T. You could have J&R repair rebuild the roof structure. I have reinforced mine but I am thinking about a tear down. The roof structure relies on the aluminum framing and the interior and exterior luan plywood panels that are glued to it to provide structural integrity. Delamination of the panels weakens the structure.

I removed the cabinets and ceiling panels, wedged a prop under the low spots and pop riveted some aluminum stock to reinforce the aluminum roof bows. It was partially successful, the roof is solid but still low around the AC unit. I might tear off the roof this winter and see if I can do some more reinforcement by replacing the luan if needed and mechanically fastening it as well as some type of adhesive.

Make sure you get some pictures, since we have the same trailer. I haven't had any problems, so far, (knock on wood) but I can foresee that one day I may have the same issue.

Broken roof bows on 2405T
 

thanks for your reply. I spoke to J&R about repair about 2 years ago, but they are a long way from Texas. They were very helpful and even offered to help on the gas, but this repair took a back seat to other things. The trailer has not moved in 2 years. I am considering tearing it down this winter to see if it's possible to make weld repairs and install extra bows to spread the load. If that is successful I will post pictures. If I get in over my head I'll put it back together and pull it to J&R.

I didn't find anything broken, welds looked good, but I can see the top luan panels in several places have popped lose from the framing.

pics
 

Love to see pics on this

Good Luck with the repair.

Later Tim