Corner Steadies

[jennifer_5124345]

Having bought our first van (an old corniche 12ft) we have found the rear offside corner steady appears not to hold. It will wind down fine but any amount of pressure causes it to slip, any ideas? How difficult is it to fit a new one? Where do you get them?

And on another note, how do you cheack if the floors been cracked? What do you do if it has...

Please help!

 

[Ogre]

Easy to replace. just remove the old, and bolt on the new. Sounds like the threaded bit is knackered. You MAY get round it temporarily by putting a block of wood under this particular steady so that it 'bites' the thread in a different place. It would get you through the holiday period at least. Or use a small jack under that corner even.

Most caravan accessory shops sell them.

http://www.leisureshopdirect.com/caravan/chassis/corner_steadies.aspx
Like everything else, they don't last forever. They usually get damaged when somebody forgets to wind them up, and moves the van!!

Not quite sure what you mean by "floor cracked" Most are wooden.........If it's a corniche it's almost certainly wooden.

They do flex, and they do deteriorate over a period of time, but regular repair and maintenance usually keep things at bay. Fillers, mastics etc are your best weapons with a caravan, due to the flexing of the van in general.

 

[jennifer_5124345]

Thanks!

Are changing the wheels soon so will have a crack then! Phew! Thought she was a gonner!

Thanks again!

 

[gs1]

Hi Jennifer,

There are several parts to a corner steady, in my experience I would say from what you described is that the corner steady nut has failed. These are not expensive to by and any good caravan retailer should stock them.(about

 

[ThePlotter]

I would agree I had three of these go on a 1986 Ace at that time they used nylon which if overloaded stripped.On the inboard end of the threded rod is usually a split pin,remove this and the washer behind and the rod should wind out of the 'block ' that moves along it ,new ones are available as stated by the previous post for little money reverse the process job done.It is unlikely that the rod is worn.If you need to remove the whole unit the nuts are under the van and the bolt is usually held captive so loads of WD40 and away you go,only problem will be if you snap one off so easy does it.Good luck.