Check your mounting bolts... !!!

[paul paquette]

This is a general post to all f/g trailer owners out there...

I bought a 1972 Trillium 1300 last year. When I got it home I began giving it a thorough once over.

I was SHOCKED and HORRIFIED at how corroded the U-shaped mounting bolts which hold the cabin to the chassis were. One of them had completely failed on one side – and the other three were so rusted I could bend them with my fingers.

I feared that if I had hit a big bump on the highway my trailer might well have come apart!

I have now replaced them all with new ones and doubled them up – so I now have eight.

Don't assume yours are solid. I strongly recommend replacing them... especially if your trailer is older.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Jon in AZ]

This comes up regularly, and it’s a good reminder, as every year new folks buy vintage trailers. Yup, check the frame attachment!

Note that only the “bathtub” designs attach the shell to the frame using a few bolts. Others, like Scamp and some Boler-based designs, attach the floor to the frame with lots of screws, and the shell is fiberglassed to the floor. Less susceptible to sudden shell separation, but more trouble when you do want to separate the shell from the frame.

Glad you caught it in time.

[thrifty bill]

Yes, I am amazed with the people that avoid this really simple task. Replacement is a one hour job or less, and costs around $5 or less. Its out there that Trilliums have this issue, one that is so easy to address! Ignorance is not bliss. Just imagine the body coming loose while you are traveling down the road. Major disaster.

All eight of my bolts looked like this. There is nothing to inspect, the rot will be hidden. The ends of the bolts look normal. All of them came out super easy as within half a turn, they all broke in half. Save the top washer, as its a unique piece with a square cut out.

And FWIW, my 1977 Trillium spent at least half of its life unused, stored inside a garage.

fullsizeoutput_f2e by wrk101, on Flickr

[thrifty bill]

And for those that think their windows are OK because they don't see any leaks, check those screws. The only way these window screw below rotted is with leaks.

All of the screws started like the lower right screw.


1977 Trillium Rebuild by wrk101, on Flickr