Community Forums

cmduran · 03-23-2018, 05:05 PM

I have a 1998 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 35WDS that I'm restoring. The ladder on the back was loose because the rivets in the standoff plates had broken. I started looking at the other standoffs and saw that all the bolts and spread nuts (is that what you call those?) were rusted in place. - Photos attached.

I haven't decided whether I'm going to replace the ladder or just completely remove it, but if I do decide to replace it, should I just drill those rivets out and replace them with...what? I think my main question is - What are the rivets driven into?

I see some aftermarket standoffs, but will any standoff plate work or do I have to go into those same holes?

Thanks in advance for any comments anyone cares to make.

Roy1 · 03-23-2018, 05:24 PM

You should be able to open that rear cover and see what the rivets secure too. In most cases they just go into the fiberglass

FleetMan · 03-23-2018, 05:33 PM

Just a thought, do you think you really need the rear ladder? Remove it completely, fill in the holes, repair any fiberglass cracks and use a collapsible ladder whenever you need to get up onto the roof.

clifford j · 03-23-2018, 05:39 PM

I agree with the incerts are just in the fibreglass and not into a structural member. When going up the ladder the incerts are in verticle shear and are strong. The spider cracks around the incerts bother me. The cracks are radial stress cracks caused by pressure exerted by the expansion of the incerts. Drilling out the old ones and reusing the holes may be risky, even if you go to a larger size the existing cracks may continue to grow. If you keep the ladder you need a new
base plate with a large foot print to cover up the old holes.
My Holiday Rambler (2018 5th Wheel ) has a lader that was moved over a couple inches and remounted. Origional owner put a blob of Dicor ? over the holes.
Hope this helps

CLIFFORD

tizzel · 03-23-2018, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmduran

I have a 1998 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 35WDS that I'm restoring. The ladder on the back was loose because the rivets in the standoff plates had broken. I started looking at the other standoffs and saw that all the bolts and spread nuts (is that what you call those?) were rusted in place. - Photos attached.

I haven't decided whether I'm going to replace the ladder or just completely remove it, but if I do decide to replace it, should I just drill those rivets out and replace them with...what? I think my main question is - What are the rivets driven into?

I see some aftermarket standoffs, but will any standoff plate work or do I have to go into those same holes?

Thanks in advance for any comments anyone cares to make.

On our 2001 HR there are aluminum backing plates in the fiberglass laminate where there are exterior connections made to the body .

Hgrace56 · 03-23-2018, 05:44 PM

Can probably drillout and replace with stainless bolts and a backing plate on the inside. I'd keep the ladder

cmduran · 03-23-2018, 06:01 PM

Keeping the old ladder is not an option. It had more wrong with it than the one plate pulled loose.

I'm leaning toward just removing it. I thought it was kinda scary anyway. I have a 15' telescoping ladder that works way better.

Brockx · 03-23-2018, 06:19 PM

Might be some help here specialize in RV hardware jlemmon@totalvaluerv.com

slowmachine · 03-23-2018, 07:15 PM

On my 2000 Endeavor, the rear cap is reinforced by a piece of plywood that is embedded in the fiberglass. I'd guess it's probably 3/8" thick. At least some of the ladder mounts go through the plywood, so it is not just fiberglass bearing the weight. Also, the top anchor points that attach to the roof are screwed into an aluminum plate that is welded to the roof beams in the ceiling.

In my particular case, some of the rear cap ladder mounts that did not connect to the plywood came loose, and their movement cracked the fiberglass. On the roof mount, the installers missed the backing plate on one side, so the mounting screw had nothing to grip but the aluminum roof surface.

This ladder could have been very sturdy, but it seems like the builders did not factor the curve of the rear cap into the ladder design. If they had made the horizontal top sections in different lengths to account for the curve, and ensured that all of the rear camp mounting points were in the plywood, it would be rock-solid, at least until the cheap steel assembly bolts rusted away to nothing.

I removed the factory ladder and threw it in the trash. I find that the easiest way to get onto the roof is to open a slide and step to the top of the slide from an 8-foot fiberglass stepladder, which just fits into the forward pass-through storage bay. I have also used an extension ladder, leaned against the MH with swimming pool noodles for cushions.

charliej · 03-23-2018, 08:30 PM

I replaced all the rusted out parts in my ladder several years ago. I believe I found the parts at RV upgrades . I posted some pictures and info back then, so my old post would have the info.

Be sure to label the stand offs, some of mine where different sizes for the curve of the coach.

Some of the screws broke off, and I had to rotate the bracket 90°. SS screws sold at HD. Looked nice till I backed into something:(

Mageksl · 03-23-2018, 08:35 PM

Here's a place with ladder parts.

Ladder repair parts

l1v3fr33ord1 · 03-24-2018, 06:00 AM

cmduran-

I repaired our coach's rear ladder last summer. It has four rivets in each plate, rather than two.

I could reach the pair of lower mount plates inside the rear cap, so I replaced the rivets with stainless steel bolts and nylon-insert lock nuts and made aluminum backing plates to go on the inside of the cap.

For the pair of plates above that, I used "Oscar rivets." These are pop-rivets with three points of support.

I did not have to remove the third pair of plates. Had I done so, I would have used Oscar rivets again.

By the pictures, I'd hesitate to use the existing holes unless I was sure that there is a backing plate behind them. On the other hand, if you can get four-rivet plates, that might work with bolts or Oscar rivets, even without backing plates.

The rusty "star nuts" in your picture are common. They occur because water gets inside the standoffs. To prevent that from recurring, I drilled drain holes in the standoffs and have it in my annual maintenance list to shoot some rust-preventative into the holes.

If you do remount the ladder, be sure and use stainless steel bolts to secure the standoffs to the plates (front star nut) and the ladder to the standoffs (rear star nut). Also, use a nylon-insert lock nut on the front star nut. This prevents the standoff from "unscrewing," a cause of ladder looseness and water intrusion into the standoff.

cmduran · 03-24-2018, 08:32 AM

Thanks a lot for all the comments and suggestions. I learned a lot. If I do decide to replace the ladder, I know what I'm facing and it seems very doable. I'm still undecided whether I want to replace the ladder or just remove what's left of it since I doubt that I'll ever use it.

I have one more question. The piece that curves over the top and connects to the roof in the "universal" ladders that I've looked at, aren't near as long as the original. (as in Stromberg-Carlson LA-401B https://amzn.to/2GkQS6g). Where can I find a ladder that has that long piece that connects to the roof? Or can I find that part by itself? Or can I adapt it?