Drop-down bed - bolt torque

[GBM]

This is quite niche but does anyone know how tight the bolts are supposed to be that connect the cantilever arms either side of a drop down bed?
When I collected my pre-owned A-class I noticed the bed plunging a bit more than I would like when the vehicle went over an undulation in the road. I've tightened all the bolts and it's helped, but I don't know what the correct torque should be. One bolt is squeaking which implies I've over overtightened it. Is this a 'suck it and see' type situation, or is there a specific torque setting to use? Any advice welcome!

 

[Tombola]

Sorry cant help with the torque but has the old "lightweight" mattress ever been replaced with a heavier one maybe ?

I found this when I got rid of the duvalay

 

[Lenny HB]

I had one side that squeaked and rattled from new, recently I loosed all the bolts and sprayed all the bolts and bushes with PTFE spray and just tightened them up fairly tight, they are all nyloc nuts so shouldn't come loose.
Result the bed is now absolutely silent even on rough tracks.

 

[GBM]

Sorry cant help with the torque but has the old "lightweight" mattress ever been replaced with a heavier one maybe ?

I found this when I got rid of the duvalay

It's not a lightweight mattress, it's in perfect condition and original matching finish so I'm not even considering replacing it!

 

[GBM]

I had one side that squeaked and rattled from new, recently I loosed all the bolts and sprayed all the bolts and bushes with PTFE spray and just tightened them up fairly tight, they are all nyloc nuts so shouldn't come loose.
Result the bed is now absolutely silent even on rough tracks.

Yes mine are nyloc. Does yours move at all e.g. when going over a pronounced dip in road? I'm reasonably happy that I've solved that but just need to stop the squeak.

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[tonyidle]

The pivots are rather crude in that the bolts are the pivots. So they need to be reasonably tight but not so much that the bed is stiff to move.

 

[GBM]

The pivots are rather crude in that the bolts are the pivots. So they need to be reasonably tight but not so much that the bed is stiff to move.

Exactly. The bed actually moves up and down how I would expect it to it certainly isn't to loose or too tight imo, just a bit more tinkering needed...

 

[TheBig1]

I thought the bolts are sleeved to allow the pivot

 

[tonyidle]

I thought the bolts are sleeved to allow the pivot

If only ...........! The two I've experienced have had no such sophistication.

 

[Lenny HB]

Yes mine are nyloc. Does yours move at all e.g. when going over a pronounced dip in road? I'm reasonably happy that I've solved that but just need to stop the squeak.

Virtually no movement but have had the side latches come unclipped when I hit a very large speed bump far too fast.

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[GBM]

Virtually no movement but have had the side latches come unclipped when I hit a very large speed bump far too fast.

Maniac
Mine has just the one central latch (like a seat belt lock) at the trailing edge, it must've moved about 10-15cm at the forward end at times. That doesn't happen any more!

 

[JockandRita]

On our old Hymer bed, the recommended torque was 40 lbs on each nylock nut. Also, a recommendation from Peter Hambilton,(now retired), was to replace the nylock nuts at frequent intervals. Mine were still the originals at 16 x years old, so I changed them and torqued them. What a difference that made.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Lenny HB]

Maniac
Mine has just the one central latch (like a seat belt lock) at the trailing edge, it must've moved about 10-15cm at the forward end at times. That doesn't happen any more!

Ours is a metal pin on each side, I preferred the seat belt method on our last van even if it doesn't look as pretty.

 

[GBM]

On our old Hymer bed, the recommended torque was 40 lbs on each nylock nut. Also, a recommendation from Peter Hambilton,(now retired), was to replace the nylock nuts at frequent intervals. Mine were still the originals at 16 x years old, so I changed them and torqued them. What a difference that made.

Cheers,

Jock.

Good to know, thanks!

 

[JockandRita]

One bolt is squeaking which implies I've over overtightened it.

I forgot to say that I experienced a lot of squeaking too, when the bed was lowered. Silicone spray soon quietened that down.

On the Flair, new nuts and torque didn't help much, so had to replace the gas struts. What a blooming job and a half that was.

Cheers,

Jock.

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[GBM]

S

I forgot to say that I experienced a lot of squeaking too, when the bed was lowered. Silicone spray soon quietened that down.

On the Flair, new nuts and torque didn't help much, so had to replace the gas struts. What a blooming job and a half that was.

Cheers,

Jock.

I forgot to say that I experienced a lot of squeaking too, when the bed was lowered. Silicone spray soon quietened that down.

On the Flair, new nuts and torque didn't help much, so had to replace the gas struts. What a blooming job and a half that was.

Cheers,

Jock.

Don't forget the corner steadies if you're expecting very severe conditions...

 

[JockandRita]

S



Don't forget the corner steadies if you're expecting very severe conditions...

Ha Ha, no need with hydraulic auto levellers. Anyway, our drop down bed is only used for soft furnishing storage, with the mattress removed.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[SIFTA SAM]

On our old Hymer bed, the recommended torque was 40 lbs on each nylock nut. Also, a recommendation from Peter Hambilton,(now retired), was to replace the nylock nuts at frequent intervals. Mine were still the originals at 16 x years old, so I changed them and torqued them. What a difference that made.

Cheers,

Jock.

My understanding from Peter was that the four bolts that secured the bed to the van are tightened to 40 ft/lbs.
The four bolts that secure the bed to the lower mechanisms need to be fully tightened and then backed off one flat, or be replaced if any slackness is found in the nylock nuts.

Or are we just stating the same?

 

[Toady]

I have just gone through this problem with my Hymer where the drop down bed became detached from anchor points. Nightmare!

I did my research and spoke to Peter (now retired). In my opinion, there are not many specialists out there that deal with drop down beds.

I removed all the bolts and replaced them one at a time. I used thread lock on the new bolts and tightened them up. Liberal amounts of silicone spray used. I did not use a torque wrench on this occasion. Touch wood, no squeaks and all appears to be working fine.

I will definitely be checking these bolts regularly in future.

 

[GBM]

I have just gone through this problem with my Hymer where the drop down bed became detached from anchor points. Nightmare!

I did my research and spoke to Peter (now retired). In my opinion, there are not many specialists out there that deal with drop down beds.

I removed all the bolts and replaced them one at a time. I used thread lock on the new bolts and tightened them up. Liberal amounts of silicone spray used. I did not use a torque wrench on this occasion. Touch wood, no squeaks and all appears to be working fine.

I will definitely be checking these bolts regularly in future.

Hope it didn't happen in the middle of the night!
I think I'll follow a similar procedure, cheers!

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[JockandRita]

My understanding from Peter was that the four bolts that secured the bed to the van are tightened to 40 ft/lbs.
The four bolts that secure the bed to the lower mechanisms need to be fully tightened and then backed off one flat, or be replaced if any slackness is found in the nylock nuts.

Or are we just stating the same?

Sam, there used to be info about it on the Hymer Club International (HCI) website, but I can't find it now, but yes, basically the same.

Toady has it covered above.

BTW, our glorious leader Jim had the bed drop down at one side whilst he was driving.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Lenny HB]

there used to be info about it on the Hymer Club International (HCI) website, but I can't find it now

Looks like they have taken all the info pages down.

 

[JockandRita]

Looks like they have taken all the info pages down.

I thought that too Lenny. They were really handy to make reference to.

Cheers,

Jock.