front hood removal from Journey

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

bajasoon

Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2016
Posts
11
Howdy,
I'm having the darndest time finding any info on removing the front hood (generator compartment) on 2004 winnie journey.  The brackets that the hinges are attached to are pulling away from the body. I read several other's have this problem, but no one has mentioned whether you can take the hinge part off, remove the hood, and thus be able to clamp the bracket (with expoxy) against the body.  I don't see how one could do this with the hood panel still attached...how would you be able to work in there?
It looks, though, as though the hinges are riveted...or attached to the bracket with screws I'm not familiar with.  Doesn't seem like the hinge just unscrews.  Any ideas? 
Thank you so much,
Dawn
 
Hi Dawn, and welcome to the RVForum. I'm pretty sure I understand the problem you're having, but it would help me offer some possible solutions if you could post some pictures of the components.

Kev
 
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for your response. I will try to get some pix  but not sure how much I can get on film. Awkward position in there!  May not be able to until tomorrow, but then I'll post what I can get.
Thanks, again,
Dawn
 
Yes, you can remove the hood (with hinge mechanism attached) and re-bond the piece attached to the back side of the front. Before you do anything however, mark all if the attachment pieces. If you don't, adjusting the hood once reinstalled will be a real bear!
I reattached mine using JB Weld a few years ago, and it's still holding. I cleaned both surfaces, scuffed them real good and clamped them.
If you do a search, you will see that some owners have used stainless bolts to reattach.
 
Hi Red T,
I looked at this again (and took pictures, Kevin, but have to wait till tomorrow to use other computer to download)..and it seems all the bolts holding it on are rivets, not regular bolts. I don't have any tools to either undo those or put it back together far as I can tell.  Did yours have regular nut and bolts? What are these weird connectors?!!!
Thanks, Dawn
 
Hi John,
It is a process ...i have to download into computer from camera, shrink, then upload here. I have to leave for work now and can't do this until this afternoon!  I will get them on here later today. Thank you...and I hope you can check back later.
Dawn
 
For everyone  trying to help me with the hood on a Winnie,  here are some pix.
If you look along the edge of bracket mechanism, you'll see what's left of the white epoxy that either the company used or last owner did. It is very soft and almost powdery now.

And see the bolting system. They are all rivet type things! Nothing I can put a screw driver or wrench to.  The only ones that look workable are the rusted ones going into the hood itself...but even then, I can't actually get behind the plate they go into as the outer shell of hood itself is there.

I'm thinking of just gobbing a mess of PS-7 (says it works with mixed media, which I think means metal to fiberglass or plastic ???) and see if it holds it better at least for a while.

Here are some pix...and Thank you, all, again,
Dawn
 

Attachments

  • 100_3372-002.JPG
    100_3372-002.JPG
    226 KB · Views: 49
  • 100_3373-002.JPG
    100_3373-002.JPG
    172.4 KB · Views: 40
  • 100_3375-002.JPG
    100_3375-002.JPG
    160.4 KB · Views: 36
  • 100_3376-002.JPG
    100_3376-002.JPG
    269.4 KB · Views: 34
  • 100_3378-002.JPG
    100_3378-002.JPG
    144.3 KB · Views: 27
  • 100_3379-002.JPG
    100_3379-002.JPG
    184.9 KB · Views: 27
  • 100_3371-002.JPG
    100_3371-002.JPG
    188 KB · Views: 29
Okay, I see the situation now. No need to remove the panel ("hood") for a fix. You need MEK solvent, two or three popsicle sticks (craft section of store), thick epoxy and two large "C" clamps.  Use a popsicle stick with a cloth soaked in MEK to clean the area between the metal part and the fiberglass cap. Let it dry for a minute or so and mix epoxy, using the stick get a copious amount of epoxy on the end and jam in the space between the metal plate and fiberglass.

Do this a couple of times and clamp. Let dry overnight.
 
Thank you John!  Yes, I think that's the best way to go.  Getting a clamp on there might be tricky, especially on the bottom.  Thing is, it is pulled away a bit with the hood open. To get it up tight to body the hood has to be held up some.  I'll need some extra hands!
Thanks, again,  this forum is great!
Cheers, Dawn
 
Mine is secure to the body (so far), but I would suggest that since you're there, you remove the door and run a bead of 3M 5200 Marine Adhesive around all the bonding contact points of the aluminum square stock to the hood itself. Mine was loose and releasing, so I did this and it's now far stronger than the beautiful job Winnebago did (not). I have wide head Stainless rivets ready to attach the hinge to the body but haven't done it yet.

You will find a similar issue on the rear cover. I used the same ultra strong SS rivets drilled into the side of the rear cover so they cannot be seen along with SS washers to fill in the gap to the frame as needed. Once done I did the same 5200 bead between all bonding points from the frame to the cover.

Advice: If you decide to do Stainless rivets, buy an insurance policy or a pneumatic riveter because you're gonna have pulled ligimants from squeezing a manual gun (and likely getting nowhere..) Those things don't like to be squeezed.
 
Thanks, Jeff..
That seems like more than I can do right now. Maybe when camped out in the Baja this winter..if I can afford the fuel now! :)
One more question I have is...if I run the on-board generator, will that charge the engine batteries or just the coach ? Do you know?
Thanks, again,
Dawn
 
If you have a multi-meter, check the voltage at the chassis battery with the gen running and then off. If it changes, it's charging.

If it's not charging from the gen, get a separate battery charger. A "Battery Tender" or other brand that tops off batteries and keeps them charged without over charging is good for this.
 
Hi Steven
I do have a Tric-L charger hooked up. I also have 10 amp solar panel, meager, but suppose to help keep coach batteries up.  But I am confused:

Some say to turn OFF the Aux. Batt switch  (disconnect switch) while unit is stored for a few weeks to keep minor drain from occurring.
But then, with the Tric L charger, I just read that that Aux switch should remain ON so the Tric L can  trickle some to the chassis batteries.
The solar charge is only 10 amps.  Meant for the coach batteries.

So, my quandary is:  Will the solar charger be enough to keep coach batteries up (I know it depends on sun, etc., but if the light is lit I assume it is charging)...and should I then leave the disconnect switch ON.  Will it hurt or help more?  I assume with the switch OFF, the tric L charge won't do a thing for the chassis batteries. But with the switch ON, will I be draining more than re-charging? All 'things' are off, but there are those pesky little things that don't go off.( Lp monitor etc.)
Chassis batteries are reading 12.4.  I also get conflicting info on that. Some info says that that would be 50% and needs charge. Others say 12.1   
Yes, I will have to get a meter and check it out that way. I am really a dummy with electrical things. I've been reading about this stuff a dozen times, quickly forget what I read, read it another time, and still it doesn't sink in!  I'm better with things I can see and touch! :)
 
Unless you have at least a hundred watts of solar, the batteries will drain while just sitting from all the parasitic loads. On the Chassis batteries, they also support the engine AND transmission CPU, and that's enough for 3-4 weeks of sitting before you have dead batteries. Yes the Trik-L-Charge will cross charge the chassis batteries, but it's a trickle charger, and only runs when you have shore or generator power and the house battery voltage exceeds a specified voltage (I forgot), that it passes current to the chassis batteries

edit by staff, fixed italics
 
We are about to get a Journey ourselves.
I find all this very interesting, and could be very helpful in the future.
I have been told on many occasions that 12 volts in your battery, is considered a dead battery.
My lawn tractor starts at 12 volts, but this is from some electricians.
You should have 14. something to have a fully charged battery.

The fifth wheel we are trading in has a marine grade shut off.
It disconnects the 12 volt system from everything. No parasitic drain.

I am beginning to wonder if we made a mistake buying this pusher.
Lee
 
All RVs will die when sitting...  it depends what year you buy as to what's under the hood
I have a master shutoff for the chassis batteries that I never touch (except to exercise) because I won't want to teach the Allison how I drive every time I start it up. That's the prime reason I started with solar was to keep the batteries up and not kill that switch.

For 2006 and up, Winnie installed a Trik-L-Start to cross charge Chassis batteries from the house when plugged in or the generator is running. If u don't have it it's not a big deal to do.

Also 12v is not dead, 10.5v is dead. 12v is considered to be ~50%
 
The above is correct. I'd note that if that is the stock solar panel it is 10 Watts, not 10  Amperes; essentially useless! A fully charged battery is 12.5 Volts. If the rig is plugged in it would read 13.3 or higher which is the charger (converter) output.

Ernie
 
Back
Top Bottom