开云体育

I noticed that my roof bungies are
showing quite a bit of wear.

The back end of the bungee fastening
point might look like a crimped fastner,
but scrape off all the RTV, it might
be fastened by 3 screws like mine. If
not, standard electrical crimp terminals
should work. I wouldn't worry about them
until about half of the rubber bands have
broken away. The main thing the bungees do
is to keep the roof halves from blowing away
in the wind, which would do some damage.
I have used the trailer with both of them
missing, but I was very careful to position
it so the wind came from the front. Also the
back half can come down and bang your head.

This is a reprint of my answer to the
bungee question some time ago.
---------------------------------------

how hard is it to replace the bungee cords

Actually pretty easy. There are 2 different
ends of the bungee, the "straight" end, and
the "upper" end that curls around the screw.

On the straight end, getting the plastic
wiremold cover open is the trick, but if
you mess it up, it's a standard wiremold product.

Get a 48" bungee. (I have plenty or find your
local Taiwan Tools dealer) Then cut the hooks off.
When you open the wiremold, there are 3 screws in
a row, remove them & put the new bungee back in
place. (scraping out the RTV too)

The upper end is easier, just remove the one screw, pull the old
cord out, then loop the loose end of the new one around it, with
a little tension, less than 1 lb, tighten the screw.
Cut off the excess with a razor, then apply sufficient RTV
to cover. They don't need to be real tight in the down position.

and what is the average life expectancy of the cords.

About a year, or 2 if you keep it inside.

Another thing to watch is the big HINGE for the top roofs.
The tension of the springs tends to put a strain on the ends of the
hinges. This causes them to break at the ends.
Mine has around 6 hinge sections broken on each end, and I am going
to have to find a way to clamp them down.
If you have a way to store it popped up (not folded down), that takes
the tension off, and your hinges may last longer. Also bouncing along
the road contributes to this hinge failure too.

The rubber seals will shrink up before long, and it gets drafty in
the winter time unless you stuff some strips of cloth in the edges.

.... friz

rollercoaster_guy wrote:

I noticed that my roof bungies are showing quite a bit of wear.
Anyone
have any experience with replacing them? How difficult a job is
this?
Looks easy except that where they attach to the rear roof section,
they
seem to be crimped on.

thanks
-Monte

2000Chalet Arrowhead

My '98 Chalet is outside and up all the time and the sun baked the
bungie cords until the rubber strands inside started breaking, so I
changed mine a couple of years ago. The ends that are part way down the
rear top section are held on with a couple of screws each through the
middle. No problem. As I remember it, the other ends, the ones at the
top edge, were clamped and RTV'd under a 1" square formed plate with a
screw through it. Had to remove the screw, cut the old RTV away, and
remove the old bungie. Start the screw and plate until there is a 3/8"
or so gap, wrap the end of the new bungie around the screw between the
plate and the roof end, squirt in some RTV, and tighten the screw the
rest of the way, squeezing the bungie and RTV. Wipe off the excess RTV.
Do the top ends first. I had to do them a couple of times because I had
done the lower ends first and didn't have enough hands to hold, wrap,
and screw. An extra person, or maybe a clamp of some kind, to hold the
bungie in place really helps.

I don't know if the bungie mounting has changed since '98 or not.

I have contemplated replaceing the bungies with long narrow coil
springs, like screen door springs, but haven't found narrow enough ones
to fit between the roof sections when folded. I would probably use short
pieces of nylon webbing at each end to allow for folding. Maybe some day
I'll pursue it further, but the bungie works fine.

-Jay

LynnieWeb wrote:

- do replacement bungies need to be ordered from the dealer, or do
regular old available at any camping store bungie cords work as well?

Lynnie

I used bungies with hooks on the ends from the hardware store. I got the
heaviest, stoutest ones I could find and cut off the hooks. You want
tension on them when the roof is up so measure that distance and use
bungie sections that are a bit shorter. I used 3 foot ones.

-Jay