Forum Discussion

Bayley's avatar
Bayley
Explorer
Feb 18, 2016

Interior Grab Handle

Has anyone installed an interior assist handle for going up the stairs to the bedroom area of a 5th wheel? How can I tell if there is any support material in the wall?
Thanks for any suggestions!!
  • I installed one on the left side going up the stairs drilling through the bathroom wall and aligning a hole to the toilet paper holder for strength and also put a grab handle in the shower using inserts secured with gorilla glue. So far so good.
  • Contact the manufacturer of your camper to see if there are any backer plates in the area of the installation.:C
  • I mounted two shower grab handles to counter tops with countersunk machine screws and fender washers, one just inside the door and the other next to the bed. So far they have stayed secure and my partially disabled wife loves them.
  • Ours is primarily just to 'steady' yourself. It is simply installed through the wall with no reinforcements. Inside is in the toilet area, just put chrome acorn nuts on the bolts.
  • When my late Mother in Law was traveling with us at age 93 I installed one assist bar in the stair area and one next to the toilet in the bathroom.

    I went clear through the wall with round head machine screws and fender washers on the "blind" side. Acorn nuts on the handle side. One of my blind sides was in a closet and the other in the washer/dryer cabinet which we use for bathroom supply storage.

    On a previous trailer the one next to the stairs came out not so "blind" on a short wall next to the basin. I took a piece of clear grain 1/2 by 3 trim and routed a decorative edge all the way around. Painted the board and bolt heads/washers to match other woodwork in the bathroom and just left it in plain sight. Nobody ever mentioned it.

    The grab bars are available at Lowes and the tubes can be cut to any specific length to fit your space.
  • For something that you might have to put the weight of your body into I would install two pieces of oak or similar hardwood on both sides of the wall, mount your hand rail from behind in the hallway side, and put multiple bolts with washers right through the wall and through the plate on the other side. Buy some bolt caps to put over the bolt ends or countersink them into the oak and put wooden plugs over the bolts for decoration purposes.
  • Mine has a support handle straight up the wall, on the right side, from the first step. It is a factory install, and very solid. There is a wall corner right there, so there has to be a wooden or aluminum stud in that corner that it fastens to.

    Jerry