Community Forums

alilly · 09-16-2014, 09:36 PM

Does anyone know how the ladder is usually attached to the coach? Is it just screws through the "standoffs" into a plywood backing? My concern is that I remove one of the support screws and I hear a nut fall into the bottom of the rear cap...

It's the rv in my sig that I'm working on if that helps any. Thanks

Pigman1 · 09-16-2014, 09:49 PM

Don't know about your Gulfstream but on the Tiffin there are small flanges that hold the ladder standoffs to the cap. The long screws through the ladder and standoff hold these parts to the flange. These flanges have sheet metal screws that screw into steel plates molded into the inside surface of the cap. If you use a power driver you can strip the screw hole so the sheet metal screw spins without tightening. A screw one size larger will work, but if you do it a second time, things may not work well. I always use a drill with the torque setting set as low as I can and still drive the screw all the way in.

gruelens · 09-17-2014, 02:11 AM

I too have sheet metal screws, no nuts to drop into the abyss. Recently replaced and went one size bigger on the screws that support the ladder. A few of the factory screws had last their bite.

alilly · 09-17-2014, 09:43 AM

Thanks Pigman1 and gruelens, the coach is in storage but I'm going to check it out today.

I'll post what I find.

Pigman1 · 09-17-2014, 03:40 PM

When I had to replace a ladder on a former Tiffin they had installed a thin gasket like material between the flanges and the cap. I'd expect it wasn't totally necessary, and was just there to keep an installer from scratching paint when the ladder was installed. However, when I tried to get the flanges off, they were tightly stuck to the cap. I had to work some to get them off, but it's something you might find, so just be aware.

alilly · 09-17-2014, 06:23 PM

I just returned from removing some hardware from the ladder to see how it's attached to the rv.

The ladder "standoff" or support post is screwed to a metal disk that has 4 holes spaced around the perimeter. This disk distributes the stress over a larger area of the rear cap. As Pigman indicated with his, mine also has some low density foam stuck to the coach side of this disk.

The bad news about the attachment is it seems to be 4 self tapping screws through the holes in the disk and into the fiberglass. I'll take a "super magnet" up tomorrow and see will stick in the area of the holes.