Trillium 5500 cabinets question

[Carl V]

My 5500 has 90deg metal brackets at various places in the cabinets. Most of them look rusted/dirty, so I will replace them.

Two of them are holding the upper part of the galley to the ceiling:



Two others are holding the shower compartment to the ceiling in a similar fashion:



Wood screws are used to attach them to the cabinets, but on the ceiling the brackets have rivets. There is no wood to screw anything on the ceiling, as it's only the Ensolite and then the FG shell. From outside on the roof I can see, where these rivets are, some blobs of sealant. I assume the rivets go through the FG shell. There are no water leaks nor any evidence or past leakage.





My question is: is this the way these trailers were built originally, with the brackets riveted through the ceiling, or is this another "good idea" a previous owner of my trailer had?

If it wasn't like that off the factory, how were these brackets attached to the ceiling?

I'm thinking of drilling the rivets off, put in nice'n shiny new brackets, then use stainless steel bolts, washers and sealant to re-attach to the FG shell.

[Joe MacDonald]

My trailer is identical Carl, I was just going to pull the brackets off, sandblast and paint them and re-install with rivets/screws as original

[Carl V]

Great, thanks Joe (I hoped you would read my message!)

Strange way of attaching the cabinets, when everything else seems to have been designed with keeping the integrity of the GV as much as possible.

Yep, painting is a good idea. As I've said before I'm thinking of painting the cabinets handles in silver, I might as well use the same paint for these brackets, and I might even try to paint those plastic brackets holding the shelves as well.

Thanks again, I appreciate your help, and I'm sure something else will come up and I'll have more questions coming!!

[Joe MacDonald]

I want to put together an album or similar, with all the changes I have made, a grey water tank, a new black tank, a battery monitor, power tongue jack, heavier axle with bigger brakes, better stabilizer jacks, led lighting, new converter and some other odds and ends .
Joe

[Carl V]

Lots of things that would interest me.

Upcoming on my trailer: counter top, backsplash, new faucet, new table laminate, interior window frames, new dinette cushions, new curtains, new battery, LED lights, battery monitor, UBS plugs, new flooring, new exterior decals, fix the front rock guard, new weight distributing hitch, new spare tire & support bracket, new awning... plus a bunch of small things to fix, add or tinker with.

For many of these items I already have the parts or know exactly what to do or what I want. Some other I still have to think about.

[Carl V]

Originally Posted by Joe MacDonald

...better stabilizer jacks...

Joe

Hi Joe

Can you describe what type of stabilizers you put on your 5500?

I'd like BAL stabs like I had on my popup camper, but it looks like there isn't much vertical clearance at the rear ("departure angle"). My driveway has a slope and I'm afraid they would drag when backing up (or going over a speed bump).

Right now the front has two automotive type scissor jacks welded under the frame, and the rear had some sort of Atwood-style home-made flip-down jacks that were made from ridiculously heavy steel (I think the foot pads were made out of 1/2" thick steel plate!) very heavy so I took them off.

Thanks

[Joe MacDonald]

I can't remember if they were Atwood or Bal, I'll dig thru my pictures and add to this thread
Joe

[Carl V]

Originally Posted by Joe MacDonald

I can't remember if they were Atwood or Bal, I'll dig thru my pictures and add to this thread
Joe

I'd appreciate, thanks!

Carl

[Joe MacDonald]

Hey Carl, the stabilizers I put on were BAL 19 inch units
I added a 4 inch round foot on the bottom
to mount them I welded a new piece of 2*2 box tubing between the rear bumper and the trailer, you can see it in this pic. behind the swing down jack:


and I welded the levellers to the new 2*2 box tube.
in the front I did almost the same thing, it took me a bit longer because I ended up under the floor of the trailer and didn't want to burn it. I also had a hard time figuring out the angle to match the "v" of the tongue on both sides.

When all was complete, I ground off the old jacks in the rear.

[Joe MacDonald]

can't seem to upload the photos, PM me if you wish

Joe