replacing flip pac torsion bar

[kevek01]

Hey guys
I've had my FlipPac for about 2 1/2 years. It hasn't been used in the past six months and the other day I went to install a rack on the top, and noticed the torsion bar looked like it had snapped. It appears (check out the photo) that perhaps there was water penetration into the casing of the spring and froze splitting the bar like a like a frozen pipe (I live in Maine). Anyway the top does not open now, or at least not easily...I haven't tried to open all the way because I'm afraid I may not get the cap closed or that it will be easier to replace if the cap is still on aligned?

Can I get some advice on replacing. What has worked for you guys, what hasn't? Is this a one person job in a drive way type of job that will take a day to do, or is there a lot of rigging involved and special equipment? Do I have to go through FlipPac to get a new torsion bar (customer service is as you know non-existent) or is there someone else who can supply quicker?

Spring is here and I want to get this done right away. Please any help!!!

 

[Climber Rob]

Read from page 8 on in this thread for Bella's instructions: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3702&highlight=torsion&page=8

You can call Mario at Adventure Trailers first, but may need to go through FRP.

 

[Dave Bennett]

Read from page 8 on in this thread for Bella's instructions: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3702&highlight=torsion&page=8

You can call Mario at Adventure Trailers first, but may need to go through FRP.

x2! :Wow1:

 

[abeaudin1971]

I have to do this tomorrow - You got about a year longer out of yours than I did mine. Mine broke at 16 months.

FRP should have them in stock, I picked up the torsion bar, aluminum cover, two bushings and a one of the retention bushings (the plastic piece with the set screw in it)

FRP tried to tell me that the torsion bar requires maintenance - i.e. putting wd40 on the ends regularly (which to me is a giant load of horsesh*t) but be that as it may, it gets replaced tomorrow.

I'll post up pictures of what I did following the instructions here.

In the meantime, if you're near riverside go in and get what you need in person, I was fortunate enough to be in Los Angeles on business so dropped by in person. If I had to source it remotely it would likely have been a pain in the butt.

 

[abeaudin1971]

Just noticed you're in maine and not anywhere near Los Angeles

 

[cglass]

WOW!

I was just explaining to someone that the same thing happened to the used camper I bought...

<<The first time I tried to open the camper top to show it off to friends and family, that bar across the front bowed out and snapped as the top tent part was coming over the cab (plink! just like that). The bar had a silver tube covering it and it must have let water in as the bar inside was rusted through in a few places. I think it was going out for a while and just gave up the ghost on my watch>>

You can check with these guys about replacement parts:

http://www.adventuretrailers.com/page/vehicles/at_flippac/

 

[abeaudin1971]

Step 1
Decide if you'll replace it on the truck or off the truck, I've opted for on the truck and took an old thick sleeping bag and placed it on the roof of the truck, draping over the sides and tucked down between the truck and the flippac to protect the roof.

The hose clamps on the bar were there with a piece of muffler repair to make sure that the bar didn't drop in the 30 or so kilometers I had to drive before I fixed it.

 

[abeaudin1971]

Step 2
Since the bar is indeed broken, there's no tension on it anymore and you can do most of the work with the camper closed. Disclaimer here, you have to ensure that the tension is off the bar.

I made a hole in the aluminum cover and enlarged it to allow me to drive the longer of the broken pieces from the driver's side towards the passenger side.

 

[abeaudin1971]

Step 2 continued.

On the driver's side is a retainer bushing with a set screw in it - mine was seized so I used a hammer and a chisel, one whack and it was off, allowing me to drive the longer broken piece out.

 

[abeaudin1971]

Step 3
**Partially** install the replacement bar.

There are two sides to the torsion bar - a side with a short splined section and a side with a longer splined section - the short is the passenger side, the long is the driver's side.

The arms that extend into the camper that the torsion bar installs into - one is splined and one is not per side.

On the passenger side, the outer/bottom one is splined and the inner upper takes a bushing.

On the driver side, the inner/upper one is splined and the outer bottom one is not.

So when you're cranking the flippac open or closed, you're actually driving the driver's side inner/upper arm (I should have been able to deduce that on my own without seeing but I never honestly paid much attention to it before)

With the above being said, the torsion bar is installed from the passenger side.

Slide it in until it's almost at the driver's side.
Slide one plastic bushing on to it from the driver's side to the passenger side.
I used some electrical tape at either end and the middle of the torsion bar (non splined sections) to act as a bushing for the aluminum cover so it won't rattle around on the torsion bar once installed.
Have a helper pull down on the flippac roof at the passenger side so that you can install the plastic bushing on the passenger side. You may have to undo the rear latches on the camper to be able to install the bushing.
Install the aluminum cover note - I had to trim mine by about 1/8" in length as it was a little long for my flippac
Get the bar lined up on the drivers side to the splines in the inner/upper arm on the driver's side.
Tap the bar from the passenger's side through the driver's side inner/upper arm and flush to the outside of the driver's side outer/lower.
Repeat the pulldown of the roof with the assistance of a helper to install the bushing on the driver's side.

At this point, the bar is fully splined on the driver's side and flush with the outside of the outer/lower arm.

On the passenger side, the splines are NOT engaged.

This should let me, with the help of a couple of buddies in the morning, get the roof up at a 90 degree angle to the flippac and finish tapping the bar through.

More pictures tomorrow during the allignment and finished product.



At this point

 

[kb7our]

Just curious if anyone knows the rated number of cycles for these torsion bars before metal fatigue sets in? Are new bars manufactured to higher standards so they last longer or is this what one can expect with a Flippac style camper? With a Habitat on the way I'd like to know if it makes sense to have a spare since it appears breakage is inevitable. What does a new bar cost?

Thanks!

 

[elcoyote]

Just curious if anyone knows the rated number of cycles for these torsion bars before metal fatigue sets in? Are new bars manufactured to higher standards so they last longer or is this what one can expect with a Flippac style camper? With a Habitat on the way I'd like to know if it makes sense to have a spare since it appears breakage is inevitable. What does a new bar cost?

Thanks!

I can say that my AT Flippac has been in use for 2 1/2 years and is cycled on a regular basis as it is our shop/show unit. I do put WD40 on the handle side of the spline and am sure to cover it when not in use. I can say that when I close mine, I always give it a little push with one hand while I pull on the handle at the same time to reduce a bit of loading on the torsion rod and ease it closed slowly instead of simply letting it fall. Whether or not that makes a difference to the life of the torsion rod, I could not honestly say. I will follow up on all of this in the coming week after dialog with FRP.

The torsion rod for the Habitat is made differently than the FRP unit. It has a significantly larger spline and shaft diameter. The rod is of a very high grade steel and is heat treated. Exact details I will not reveal for obvious IP reasons. The Habitat torsion rod is made by the same forge that makes several of the Currie products and not the forge that makes the FRP unit. It is not expected that a rod would be necessary spare part to keep on hand for the Habitat.

 

[abeaudin1971]

ok - so here's the before pictures I described yesterday - on the driver's side - tapped through to flush with the edge of the driver's side outer/lower arm.

And on the passenger's side, no engagement with the spline on the passenger's side outer/lower arm.

For the method we used to finalize the installation.

-I pulled the nose of the truck into the garage
-Draped the sleeping bag against the eaves of the house to protect the roof of the flippac.
-opened up the flippac and had a buddy push up on the back with a 2x4 piece of lumber
-I got into the back of the truck, moved the retainer out of the way (the interior roof piece)
-I started lifting the roof from inside the truck.
-Once I got it up about 60 to 70 degrees, it became far less effort and one buddy on each side, slowed it down till it was resting just past 90 degrees against the roof.
-started tapping the bar in and had to play with the angle of the roof a little to get the bushing on the passenger side inner/upper arm lined up.
-once that was done, per Dianne (FRPs) instruction, I tapped until it was a 1/4" left on the passenger side.
In the process of doing so, the bushing on the driver's side outer popped out so we had to go to the other side and lift that corner of the roof and push the bushing back in.

Lastly, the retainer sleeve was installed on the driver's side and we were all done.

If I have to do it another time, it'll be far easier but it's a pretty simple job all in all. Just not one I expected to do this soon after purchasing the flippac.

 

[abeaudin1971]

Finally - pics of the failed unit.

A machinist buddy of mine took a look at it and his comments are that the heat treating isn't very well done. Likely that combined with some corrosion caused the failure. Putting lubricant on the ends of the bar won't do a lick of good for the portion covered by the aluminum sleeve which is, on the passenger side, where mine broke.

The pics are:
1. The long side of the bar at the failure
2. both pieces - short piece is the passenger side
3. the splined end from the driver's side

 

[kevek01]

Everyone, thank you for posting your experience replacing the torsion bar. Abeaudin1971, big thanks to you for posting the step by step.

It's been a long time since I've monitored this post because I've been patiently waiting for my torsion bar replacement. Without the bar there's not much I can do, but I do greatly appreciate the instruction.

My patience has run out. It has been over SIX months since I got my name on FRP's "list" for a replacement torsion bar. I was told they were on back order (sound familiar?) and that it would be three months before they would get any in. So after three months I called to find out what the status was. I was told they hadn't received any bars in yet, but that they were expecting them in soon, and that I should just keep calling back to make sure I got one. If my name was on a list, and they have my phone number doesn't that imply they will call me rather than me pestering them. Maybe there never was a list, I don't think I'll ever know, but that's the least of the problems here. The biggest beef I have is (AND ANYONE THINKING OF BUYING A FLIP PAC SHOULD TAKE NOTE HERE) they still haven't received any replacement torsion bars. This is September and I first called FRP back in March. That's six months of this unusable hunk sitting on the back of my car. Two incredible seasons of camping here in Maine have gone by, not to mention a couple of surf trips up to Nova Scotia, where I could have really showed of the Flip Pac to quite a few people (there loss I guess, but mine too).

I'm still calling Flip Pac once a week. I'm like Bill Murray in Groundhog day, I've gone through frustration, anger, and regret, curiosity and now I call mostly out of habit. And every week I get a new excuse. It's comical really. At this point I regret buying this thing. What a waste of money. I can think of quite a few things FRP can do to make this situation right, but they won't. They'll continue to blame their manufacturer, or shipping, or some mis-communication, or who knows what's next, a global shortage of steel perhaps... But I expect months and months will just keep ticking by with nothing form them.

Anyway, if anyone has any recommendations on how to get my hands on a new torsion bar please let me know. And for those who are banging their head against the wall with FRP...keep up the fight. Maybe a third party will step into play here to do the job they can't seem to do.