Lou:
Well, They're installed. The job took me about 3.5 hours. Oh my back! Couple of things I ran into:
Carriage RV runs the propane line down the bottom of the right side frame rail so I had to move the line over about 1.5 inches. Just loosened the clamps and was able to push it over and re-clamp.
The frame on the Carriage RV is a box type frame all insulated between the rails. The insulation is attached to the bottom of the frame rails with an aluminum metal strip that is screwed to the frame. I had to notch out a section of the aluminum strip on both sides to get the strut mounts drilled and bolted to the frame.
Since the frame is box type, I had to drill the frame and use the self-tapping bolts. They would not self-tap, so I did have to pre-tap all the holes.
**One thing of caution you may mention is that if it is a box frame, the MFG. May run wires through the box frame*** (They did down the left frame rail on mine, the electric brake wires, luckily I did not hurt the wires)
For the rear scissor jacks, the rear mount to the frame is difficult on the Carriage since they wrap the rear of the RV with a fiberglass cap. The cap is screwed over the frame rail at the rear, so you can't see the frame rail or what you are drilling into. You'd also have to notch the bottom of the cap in order for the strut mounts to sit against the frame. Luckily, I put a trailer hitch on the back and put a piece of box iron between the frame rails. So I attached the mounts to this.
All in all, the installation was pretty easy.
I tested it on our RV pad at home and it seems really stable. I can hardly wait to get it out and camp, probably won't happen till after the holidays. Lou, here are some pictures of the installation on my Carriage RV. If you need any more or different pictures, let me know.
Joe Blair
Metering Crew Supervisor
Roseville Electric |