Reinforce the dinette

[TravelinMan]

Though I'm still loathing Jayco for the poor quality craftsmanship leading to my current delamination issues, I continue to work on repairs and reinforcements between camping trips. I just knocked out a simple reinforcement where the back of my dinette booth nearest the door was separating from the wood work. Thought I'd throw a few before and after pics.


The arrows point to all the areas where there is separation going on.


This was the biggest problem, made worse by a previous attempt by my father to fix the problem.


Staples are the main fasteners in the TT, and the biggest pain. I remove and replace with screws when possible.

2015 Jayco Jayflight 26BH.

[TravelinMan]

Removal Time:


I removed the two screws attaching the dinette back to the wall and tapped the back until all the remaining staples came loose.


I didn't feel like detaching the CO2 detector, so I simply leaned the back against the sofa.


Pulled all the staples. A few stubborn ones were clipped flush with the wood and flattened with a dremel.


I went ahead and removed this piece as well; figured I'd replace with new wood rather than mess with the staples in this one.


This piece looked bad, but was otherwise secure so I decided not to replace it. I pulled the staples though, as well as that crappy Jayco screw job.


Another view of the screwed up spot.

[TravelinMan]

Repair:


First I removed this screw, dipped it in some wood filler, and screwed it back into the wall. With the back panel removed, the dinette frame can be shifted easily until it's flush with the wall.


There are two long screws securing the 3/4" x 3/4" beam to the floor. They were removed and reinserted into the floor slightly so they wouldn't be lost. Once I cut a new 3/4" board (picked up at Home Depot), I placed the old and new board side by side. I inserted two, small nails into the screw holes of the old board to mark the angle of each hole. I dropped bown to eye level and with a small drill bit, I drilled two pilot holes into the new board to match the angle. This allowed me to insert the same screws into the same holes exactly.


I ended up using one of these corner backets (Home Depot). You'll see where in another photo.


I did not disassemble the frame where the booth door is. I pulled the pieces apart far enough to reach in with a dremel and cut the staple flush. Staples typically will prevent you from joining wood as they never seem to go in the way they came out. Staples have to be removed or cut for a good seal.


After cutting the staples, I clamped the frame of the door to the booth frame.


Clamp job from the top.


With the leftover 3/4" wood I had remaining from the floor piece, I cut and placed a center beam to help with weight distribution. Totally optional.

[TravelinMan]

After clamping, I used some 1" wood screws to join to frames, careful not to place a screw where I cut the staples.


After removing the clamps, I placed the l bracket in the corner to reinforce the corner where separation occurs the most.


You can see there is now minimal seraration at the corner.

[ALJO]

That's the way to go; "repair and modify to your liking". There are still units from the 60's and 70's who been well taken care off. It is no different than a home........maintenance is the keen point.

[TravelinMan]

Repair complete, but I really wanted to ensure this does not happen again. The dinette back is prone to weight from leaning and pulling, so I was not confident my bracket and screws woud hold forever.


I went ahead and marked evenly a few spots along the back board, even with the top of the frame on the other side. I drilled some pilot holes to place some fasteners.


These 1/4" Everbuilt fasteners were perfect, as they would pull the board and frame towards each other from both sides. Drill holes as specified on package.


Here is the hole from the frame side. I did have to drill this side a little wider because the fasteners didn't connect as much as I wanted. I used a slightly larger bit and drilled maybe a 1/8".


Using an allen wrench, I tightened both sides of the fasteners until snug.


Doesn't look half bad in my opinion. Though I am constantly reminding the family to not lean in the seat, they continue to test the strength of this repair. So far, so good. Next up, rust proof the trailer frame.

[Duke_26]

Well done and well documented! Looks great! When we were looking at the 26BH's last fall, I noticed the brand new 2016 model on the showroom floor had this exact problem. Must be from the sheer volume of people checking out the unit. This "wall" seems to be very prone to abuse by design and location. I made a mental note when we got ours to keep an eye on this. I've had to remind the kids not to be leaning or pulling on the back of the dinette seat. So far no issues with ours, but if it does separate in the future, I will be following your detailed instructions to fix.

Cheers!


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