Utility Box Repair 2017 11 08

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So if you are a regular reader of my posts, you know that I was an idiot awhile back and jack knifed the trailer into the back of the Motor Home.

I posted about the repairs I did to fix that blunder to the Motor Home. That is only half of the damage that needs to be addressed.

This is the other half, mainly the utility box that is on the tongue of the trailer.

It is truly amazing the amount of damage that was done to the Motor Home by this flimsy aluminum utility box mounted on the tongue of the trailer. I can only attribute it to the structural strength of a box. In reality there was very little damage done to the box.

The box was tweaked out of square.  The top was twisted and would only close with force and would not lock. It was pushed sideways on the tongue. So let’s take a look.

                        

                        

The only other damage was to the alarm sensor mounted on the left side of the box.  It was crushed when the box was twisted out of shape.

Again when you think about the damage to the Motor Home (A large dent in a pretty heavy duty stainless steel bumper), a compartment frame pushed out of shape is not too bad. See the Motor Home repair project posted earlier.

                                                    

The first step to recovery (is to admit you have a problem) but, in this case it is to loosen the box mounting hardware so that it can be put back into the correct position. I had used threaded rod and some angle metal to mount the box originally. The threaded rod was rusted and snapped off a couple of the ends.

I cannot allow these pieces to go back in this condition.  So, into the sandblaster and then the magic of powder coat and they look pretty good again.

                          

                                                   

The box is mounted to the tongue by threaded rod that runs through angle metal inside the box, out the bottom of the box, the treaded rod then passes on either side of the tongue frame members, and then through a metal strip under the tongue frame. This box is now not going anywhere once again. It only takes a Motor Home hitting it to move it.

So now that the box is back in position, we need to square up the box. I just happen to have a couple of handy trees and some ratchet straps to pull it back into shape.

                         

To take care of the corner that was malformed by the incident, I used a block of wood, a ratchet strap, and small hammer to bring it back into shape.

                         

I wrapped the ratchet strap all the way around the box, put a block of wood between the top and the box and cranked away. I actually went a touch too far.  But at this point the box is square, it closes nice and the lock engages again.

Not perfect, but better than what it was and certainly usable.

                          

With the box square again, there is now room for the alarm sensor and a new one was installed. This is what the inside of the sensor looks like. There is a very small sealed micro switch that the magnet closes when the magnet is close to the sensor. The trailer alarm was tested and once again it now works as it should.

                         

The box was loaded up with The flag pole base, the weight distribution torsion bars, the weight distribution hitch that is used when the trailer is towed by the pickup, and the dead hook receiver used when the trailer is pulled by the Motor Home. The black battery box holds the battery used for the tongue jack, the winch inside the trailer to pull the dragster inside, and the 12 volt lights inside the trailer. 

 

I had done the best that I can, not perfect, but usable. From a distance it does not look too bad.