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Old 08-23-2022, 06:25 AM   #1
turbojimmy
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Bullet 22RBI - bathroom door hits ceiling light

I'm curious as to what has caused this or if I should really care.

I had always wondered why the top of my bathroom door was a couple of inches lower than the door opening. It turns out it's so the door clears the ceiling light when you open it.

The door no longer clears the ceiling light. I'm wondering what has caused this. I think there are 2 possibilities:

1) There is not a single level spot on my property (except for a part of my driveway) so the trailer was parked on a pretty steep grade (I've since moved it to the driveway). I had the jacks down to stabilize it which I figured wouldn't hurt anything despite the uneven ground. When I moved it to the driveway the clearance was much better but the door still rubs a little on the light after having sat on the level surface for about 3 days.

2) I had a guy reseal the roof. He was actually on the roof. When I asked him whether he should be up there, he said it's okay as long as he stays on the ribs. I really didn't think anything of it at the time. The roof is not visibly damaged nor is the ceiling inside visibly lower than the rest in the area of the light in question.

I don't think it's anything that needs fixed but I'm wondering if anyone else has had this experience.
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Old 08-23-2022, 06:32 AM   #2
bsmith0404
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I doubt he stressed the roof, but you can verify if there is a sag by placing a long level/straight edge and seeing if the room is lower in that area. The bodies on RVs will shift as they go through different terrain. Is the gap across the top consistent? For example, is it 1” all the way across of 1” on one end an 3/4” on the other. If that’s the case, and there’s no sag in the roof, then the body/structure has shifted. Make sure it’s actually level, place the level on the floor and then see what you have.
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Old 08-23-2022, 07:05 AM   #3
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I doubt he stressed the roof, but you can verify if there is a sag by placing a long level/straight edge and seeing if the room is lower in that area. The bodies on RVs will shift as they go through different terrain. Is the gap across the top consistent? For example, is it 1” all the way across of 1” on one end an 3/4” on the other. If that’s the case, and there’s no sag in the roof, then the body/structure has shifted. Make sure it’s actually level, place the level on the floor and then see what you have.
Well I wish I had thought of your suggestions earlier. I put a level across the area and it is indeed lower. The door starts out about 2 3/4" from the ceiling, hits the light at about 1 3/4" from the ceiling, and is then 2 3/4" again at full open. So I took a closer look at the roof. There is an indentation about 32" back from the A/C, which not coincidentally is where the light is.

So the guy screwed up the roof. He was a guy that travels around the country doing it for extra cash. He had good recommendations, but I'm sure I really have no recourse.

Water isn't puddling up there. What is the frame made out of? Is it wood or metal. If metal I can try to pop it back up. If wood then it's broken and I don't know what I'd do then.
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Old 08-23-2022, 07:16 AM   #4
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Here is a brochure for the Eastern built Bullet (not sure if construction Ultra Lite is the same:
https://recreationalvehicles.info/20...n-brochure.pdf
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Old 08-23-2022, 07:25 AM   #5
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I think the ceiling might be wood. "5 sides" of aluminum is 4 walls and the floor. I had to replace the bathroom fan and I'm pretty sure the vent was framed in wood. I'll have to pull the trim down again to take a look.
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Old 08-23-2022, 07:36 AM   #6
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Look about 2/3 of the way down that brochure. There is a pic of a trailer with numbers all over it pointing out various construction components (not the interior). #6 says it has stamped steel trusses. In the brochure it seems to show Bullet and Bullet Ultra Light trailers. I does not show different construction standards that I saw. I would just pull the skylight in the bathroom and look. Being an ultra light I doubt it has a walkable roof....
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Old 08-23-2022, 07:42 AM   #7
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Look about 2/3 of the way down that brochure. There is a pic of a trailer with numbers all over it pointing out various construction components (not the interior). #6 says it has stamped steel trusses. In the brochure it seems to show Bullet and Bullet Ultra Light trailers. I does not show different construction standards that I saw. I would just pull the skylight in the bathroom and look. Being an ultra light I doubt it has a walkable roof....
Oh yeah I missed that in the brochure. But it definitely does not have a walkable roof so when I saw him up there I asked him if it was okay. He said it was. Clearly it was not.
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Old 08-23-2022, 07:58 AM   #8
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It has light weight aluminum trusses. They’re strong enough to walk on. The reason the roof is not walkable is the thin material of the decking. That said, it’s possible one could be bent down with weight being directly on it. On a walkable roof, the weight is spread across several trusses by the decking. If there’s a place to get access to the one that is bent, it could probably be straightened a bit.
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Old 08-23-2022, 08:04 AM   #9
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It has light weight aluminum trusses. They’re strong enough to walk on. The reason the roof is not walkable is the thin material of the decking. That said, it’s possible one could be bent down with weight being directly on it. On a walkable roof, the weight is spread across several trusses by the decking. If there’s a place to get access to the one that is bent, it could probably be straightened a bit.
Thanks! He was not a lightweight individual. It feels really solid where the light is so I'm thinking there's a truss right there.
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Old 08-23-2022, 08:05 AM   #10
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It’s probably not going to affect the longevity of performance of your trailer. You might want to just consider a lower profile light.
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Old 08-23-2022, 08:10 AM   #11
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Completely aside from the roof/light issue; if that guy was of fair size and all over the roof, the trailer is a 2015...I would get up there and inspect every seal and seam to make sure there wasn't some old dried dicor or something that cracked or got knocked out/off. Last time I had my roof sealed there were nicks all over the front and rear seams where the brush they used hit them.
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Old 08-23-2022, 08:25 AM   #12
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Yeah I was thinking of maybe just getting a lower profile light. But it's really close. I may employ a little creativity and try to push it back up a bit.

Regarding the rest of the seams, he was very thorough. He did every seam as he worked his way across the roof, including the edges where the roof meets the sides and front, the front cap, etc. I think I'm good there. I just got back from Watkins Glen where it absolutely POURED rain for hours, and for a good chunk of the 4 hour ride home. Everything is nice and dry.
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Old 08-23-2022, 08:38 AM   #13
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I would trim the top of the door if it isn't much.
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Old 08-23-2022, 08:53 AM   #14
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I would trim the top of the door if it isn't much.
It's fractions of an inch. It will slide past without much effort, but is starting to scrape up the lens. That's why I'm thinking if I can put enough pressure in that spot to move it up a bit, it will clear and take the dent out of the roof.

But like others have said it's not likely hurting the integrity of the trailer so I don't want to go nuts trying to fix it. I was thinking bottle jack and 2x4s with some gentle pressure spread across a foot or two on the ceiling. I can feel where the beam is.
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Old 08-23-2022, 10:58 AM   #15
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That’s gutsy, can’t say I wouldn’t try the same thing. Be careful and good luck.
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Old 08-23-2022, 11:12 AM   #16
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I would take a hand plane and shave off a little bit from the top of the door. If it get's worse then I'd investigate it further and consider other options.
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Old 08-23-2022, 11:12 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by turbojimmy View Post
It's fractions of an inch. It will slide past without much effort, but is starting to scrape up the lens. That's why I'm thinking if I can put enough pressure in that spot to move it up a bit, it will clear and take the dent out of the roof.

But like others have said it's not likely hurting the integrity of the trailer so I don't want to go nuts trying to fix it. I was thinking bottle jack and 2x4s with some gentle pressure spread across a foot or two on the ceiling. I can feel where the beam is.
Personally I think your asking for trouble if you try to jack the ceiling. I’d trim the top of the door as suggested.
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Old 08-23-2022, 11:18 AM   #18
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Personally I think your asking for trouble if you try to jack the ceiling. I’d trim the top of the door as suggested.
It's a 20 ton bottle jack what could go wrong?
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Old 08-23-2022, 11:21 AM   #19
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Let me know how it works out.
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Old 08-23-2022, 11:49 AM   #20
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I would personally shave the door if it's only that much. You figure a big guy planted a foot in one spot and bent that truss with concentrated weight/pressure. Throw a jack under there, spread the pressure out over an xxx sized area and then try to recreate that much pressure across that entire area?? I figure you're going to hear a lot of things cracking..... Just pull the door and grab a plane or sanding block and be done with it. Good luck on whatever route you choose.
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