loose roof ladder

I had this same issue with my 1994 coachman . I had to remove the out side skin and rebuild the inner structure as it had completely rotted out ,,It wasnt to much of a job it took me abt 3 days to complete but ladder is now strong and the wall is solid.. I also have some delam. starting on my side wall behind the roll out awning support arm which I will tackle this yr.

I've had to deal with stripped screws in wood a couple of times on my RV. But I'm not sure you can trust them anymore no matter what.

I use Gorilla Glue. It is a glue that expands on contact with moisture. First I take a syringe and squirt water into the hole. Then I squirt in the Gorilla Glue. I push the nozzle up to the hole and squeeze like crazy to inject as much glue as possible. Then I screw in the screw as "tight" as it can get, assuming there is anything left to bite into. The glue will expand and squirt out if possible, and it is a bear to remove so if it starts squirting out I would clean it up immediately. Sometimes you can use a razor to remove the hardened expanded glue foam if you are careful. You might consider wiping the surrounding area with a thin coat of petroleum jelly to prevent the expanding glue from sticking if it is going to be in a place of concern.

The expanding glue tends to get squirted into all the remnants of the wood around the screw.

Steve

Chances are the star nut nut is rusted out. I had to repair mine last year. I took the ladder off and brought it to a bike shop to match up the rise size ID of tube and got new stainless screws at the hardware store. Google an image of a star nut and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Travlr41 wrote:

IAMICHABOD wrote:
In my case I had a screw come loose like that and I used some JB WELD any type will do, just wad it up and push it in the hole let it dry for a bit then screw the screw in, haven't had it come loose after 5 years.

I have the same problem. The ladder was removed by a serviceman and I suspect he put the screws back with a power tool and stripped them. Can you cram the Kwikwood in with the ladder still in place? Do you put the screws back in before the epoxy has completely setup?

TIA

Bob in Houston

It may be easier to remove the ladder so you have a good shot at filling the holes.
I let it set up, then if necessary drill a small pilot hole. Then tighten.

Steel wool works well also. Just pack it in the hole with an awl. I would think using any type of glue or epoxy, it would be next to impossible to remove the screw latter if necessary.

IAMICHABOD wrote:
In my case I had a screw come loose like that and I used some JB WELD any type will do, just wad it up and push it in the hole let it dry for a bit then screw the screw in, haven't had it come loose after 5 years.

I have the same problem. The ladder was removed by a serviceman and I suspect he put the screws back with a power tool and stripped them. Can you cram the Kwikwood in with the ladder still in place? Do you put the screws back in before the epoxy has completely setup?

TIA

Bob in Houston

In my case I had a screw come loose like that and I used some JB WELD any type will do, just wad it up and push it in the hole let it dry for a bit then screw the screw in, haven't had it come loose after 5 years.

I had a similar issue with my dinette. I used a little bigger screw and filled the hole with a strong adhesive like "liquid nails".

might try a screw just a little bigger make sure you silicone in the screw hole on,the screw and behind the head of the screw .very first thing you do is look for muisture when you take the old screw out. also look for rot.