Community Forums

PanJH · 09-24-2016, 10:24 AM

I was getting ready to climb the ladder to check out the roof and noticed one of the screws that hold the ladder to the standoff had worked it's way put about an inch of so. Screwed it back in, then checked the others. 4 of the 6 were loose. The ladder isn't really that sturdy anyway, and having 2/3 of the screws loose could spell trouble when your weight is put on the ladder. Falling down 13' onto a hard surface would not be a great way to start the day ! For those of you with ladders on the back, you may want to check the attachments before you climb up.

powderman · 09-24-2016, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PanJH

I was getting ready to climb the ladder to check out the roof and noticed one of the screws that hold the ladder to the standoff had worked it's way put about an inch of so. Screwed it back in, then checked the others. 4 of the 6 were loose. The ladder isn't really that sturdy anyway, and having 2/3 of the screws loose could spell trouble when your weight is put on the ladder. Falling down 13' onto a hard surface would not be a great way to start the day ! For those of you with ladders on the back, you may want to check the attachments before you climb up.

Totally agree. Also a check to make sure that the screws actually go into something. I say that as a friend found that they had missed the backing plate on some of his.

bruceisla · 09-24-2016, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PanJH

I was getting ready to climb the ladder to check out the roof and noticed one of the screws that hold the ladder to the standoff had worked it's way put about an inch of so. Screwed it back in, then checked the others. 4 of the 6 were loose. The ladder isn't really that sturdy anyway, and having 2/3 of the screws loose could spell trouble when your weight is put on the ladder. Falling down 13' onto a hard surface would not be a great way to start the day ! For those of you with ladders on the back, you may want to check the attachments before you climb up.

May need some blue threadlocker.

Luv2go · 09-24-2016, 12:56 PM

Had the same issue after my sidewalls were replaced. The painters took off and put on the ladder a couple of times and then the screws wouldn't hold. I replaced them with a size larger stainless steel screws but one is still troublesome, it will loosen after a few times up and down the ladder.

Threadlocker won't work as they screw into wood/fiberglass, but some kind of epoxy probably would, haven't tried any yet. Right now I'm using a variation of the wooden matchstick trick to make it hold, except with cut off tie wraps.

I had a similar issue with my front grille, ended up drilling the holes through and putting in machine screws and nuts. I could easily access the back with those, not so with the ladder screws.

I could use toggle bolts also, I wonder if they make stainless steel ones? Only issue is I'd have to drill relatively large holes in my cap, not very enthusiastic about that...

bruceisla · 09-24-2016, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luv2go

Had the same issue after my sidewalls were replaced. The painters took off and put on the ladder a couple of times and then the screws wouldn't hold. I replaced them with a size larger stainless steel screws but one is still troublesome, it will loosen after a few times up and down the ladder.

Threadlocker won't work as they screw into wood/fiberglass, but some kind of epoxy probably would, haven't tried any yet. Right now I'm using a variation of the wooden matchstick trick to make it hold, except with cut off tie wraps.

I had a similar issue with my front grille, ended up drilling the holes through and putting in machine screws and nuts. I could easily access the back with those, not so with the ladder screws.

I could use toggle bolts also, I wonder if they make stainless steel ones? Only issue is I'd have to drill relatively large holes in my cap, not very enthusiastic about that...

In your case yes ... my understanding was the OP was talking about the screws between the standoffs and the base brackets.

BTW, on my old Holiday Rambler, the base brackets were held to fiberglass that wasn't backed with big rivets. My current RV has some kind of backing behind the fiberglass.

"007" · 09-24-2016, 05:25 PM

Never had a loose screw on rear ladder 03 coach, the ladder portion was screwed through the metal riser rail and a plastic piece curved to the pipe, into the pipe portion that mounted to the rear cap which had wood boards embedded into the fiberglass cap.
The temperature changes with setup never loosened the screws as your experiencing.
Not sure you can duplicate the same setup with your ladders.
The plastic piece may have been a expansion fitting within the mounting pipe.