Thanks Dak, I appreciate it. :)
With all the metal up, it was time to go back over all of it for evaluation and rectification. I guess I say it that way because it sounds cooler than find and fix, but find and fix is basically all it was.
The biggest thing I still wanted to address was that whole sidewall bulging thing. It still had me annoyed and although it wasn't bad, or even all that visible - at least in my garage light - it was just a tad bit loose in places. The whole camper feels so solid and stout, I didn't want just these few spots to have a bit of loose feel.
So I closely evaluated it - and rectified in this way.
In the above photo you see two new screws above the color band. That horizontal line was first verified (on both sides) to have a backing board. The locations are also precisely measured and marked to fall the same distance from the color edge (not the seam) as they are below the color band. Also, because the screw placement would offer better end result, I offset the top row of screws to the bottom row by exactly half. When looking at the side straight on, the eye will pick up a balanced zig-zag pattern, as opposed to a right above and below pattern. There's almost a (dare I say it) "Winnebago W" effect. Which is kind of cool.
Here's the one in the front - and this was a particularly helpful spot to place a screw, believe it or not.
So THAT side only received those three screws, and they helped quite a bit, but it was the driver side which really benefited, especially here toward the front half of the camper. And you can now see the zig-zag more readily.
These pictures show the before, with just a pencil marking X, and one really reveals the bulge.
Now something else you might have noticed on this side were three missing screws along the bottom of the color band. In this photo you easily see two in the foreground, then there's one screw that had a backer, and then a hard to see third missing screw.
When I was doing the major rebuild and design on this utility wall from what was here originally, I failed to locate a backing board for these particular sheet metal holes. Doh!
Driving these screws into foam board was kind of a bummer. I could have gotten longer screws and run them into the interior 1/8" paneling, but felt that was too weak. Or place a small screw block on the other side of the paneling - that would work.
I hadn't noticed these screws at any of the home centers during past visits. They are 3/4" lath screws that DS had left me after completing a job here last October. I called him and asked if they had longer ones and at which store. He said he was sure they did and told me where.
When I showed up, they did have some in 1", and some others in 1 5/8" (those would work). But the longest ones were self-tapping metal, and I felt the thread was too fine. So I altered plans.
What a wanted to retain was the same head design, for similarity of looks, partly in the case of the Phillips drive style - but also because with the wide head and the built-in flat washer, they were superior for a non-leaking fastener on this application. And I'll have them in and out a few times (for sanding), but will place a dab of sealer on them for final insertion prior to paint.
And this is how I made it work.
I couldn't believe I didn't have more dowel scraps, but cut the 3/4" length to these plugs from a 3/4" diameter dowel I DID have. Drilled pilot holes offset so two screws could come from either direction. Cut some 1/4" ply to fasten to the plug in a "truss-like" tee fashion.
Then I through drilled the exterior screw hole spots through to the interior. You can see all three holes in this photo, but the nearest is the clearest.
Then I marked the offset - for drilling from the interior, using that spot for the center pilot of the hole saw.
After initially cutting through the paneling, I removed the center pilot drill bit and just ran the hole saw in to cut out the foam board.
I assembled my truss blocks on the bench.
Also pre-setting the thread for the exterior screws for easier installation.
And held them in place through the window opening while driving the screw from the outside.
I'll slap some primer on them for clean looks and maybe even add two small screws per unit to hold it in place against the interior paneling (so I can remove/replace the screw from the outside without losing the position later when I have a window and a counter involved).
