Securing chairs to back wall?

[Larryect]

Any ideas/tips on where to put tie down anchors?

Heartland Sundance 27RKS.

Twice now the chairs have moved enough while driving to interfere with opening the slide. The slide catches the arm of the chair and damages it and/or the trim on the slide.

There is no tie down point supplied by the factory. I am thinking of putting some eye-bolts into the back wall so I can strap the chairs in place.

Any ideas on how to do that?

I am thinking eye-bolts with wood type threads into to frame near the corners and maybe one in the middle. But I am not sure how strong that would be, or even if there is a good way to find the metal frame.

And, no I can't really check on the chair before opening the slide. Have to open the slide to get into the kitchen/rear area......

[DutchmenSport]

Not a 5er, but I had the same problems with my Outback, no where good to put the lawn chairs except in the back of the truck. Attaching a hook to the wall not a good solution. The wall is a simple very thin panel with Styrofoam in the middle. Nothing solid.

My Outback came with D-rings on the floor to secure the rocker chairs that were originally installed. Although I was using them to secure some of the furniture, I went to my local Ace Hardware store and bought some more. 2 short wood screws into the floor and I had a great way to strap the chairs down. I do lay them down on the floor and not upright against the wall. Still, the D-rings could be installed anywhere, provided you have something solid to screw them into. And these little rings can take a lot of stress! But to simply hold a chair from moving, it just needs to be snug. I use bungie cords. Works great!

[Larryect]

Thanks for the ideas. I like the chair rail idea, as well as tying them to the floor.

I might try the floor first, it sounds like less risk. I don't think it should take a whole lot to just hold them in place.

I found these at Home Depot: Anchors

[netjam]

I would think floor anchors would be best. If you do the wall and it pulls out it could be unsightly. Ours came with anchors in the floor but they were just screwed through the carpet into the mdf particle wood that was used as flooring. They pulled out almost immediately but with the carpet you cannot tell. We just let them move around and reposition everything before sending the slides out.

[BB_TX]

Ours (Montana) came with tie down anchors and attached straps at the rear. Anchors are simply screwed to the floor. After 8 yrs and many miles and bumps they are still secure. Keeps the recliners in place and away from the walls.

[the_bear_II]

My first thought would be to put a solid wood chair rail on the wall so you can tie it into the back wall framing. This would spread the stress along the entire back wall. Then put eye bolts or some other means of hold attached to the chair rail.

Or some of the non-skid material like used in RV dish cabinets. We used it to keep our TV from sliding around.

Or Some sort of spring pole like a shower curtain rod between the walls to hold the chairs in place.