2014 Truck Camper Building From Scratch

bka0721 wrote:
Not sure what screws those are, that you are using. You certainly have the skills many don't have. But many are confused in how screws should and are used. The question would be, do these screws have shear force? Screws have exceptional bonding strength but minimal or no shear force. What are these screws designed for? Screwing down decking? Or for screwing the ledger board of a deck into the end cap joist of a house. If it is the former, then you have a problem, especially in the application for propensity for "racking."
b

Fastener choice is always an issue. You can do the math of strengths/forces, etc., but after building for a while, you develop an instinct for choice, usually based on common practices of that specific project or industry. Like choosing beam sizes and types or electrical wire gauges, etc.
Usually comes down to trade-offs (doesn't everything). How long do you want it to last vs. cost? Same here. I see truck campers made of wood with stapled joints, or just glued or just nailed etc. I see some manufacturers that have longer warranty periods for wood made campers than they do for aluminum. It all gets processed and the plan hopefully improves standards above poorer quality building methods .

When a joint is stronger than the material joined, that is usually considered sufficient. Considering corrosion resistance is not the main goal of this screw, since it will be sealed over with epoxy and never be seen, I ruled out the weaker "stainless" types. Shear force is an issue but it has to be balanced with several other factors. It can all get pretty complicated and many times you use your instinct and some research and hope an educated guess will achieve the desired result.