I have loose screws... and missing screws
I had the trailer today to do some work on it and noticed two things that I think may be of general interest:
1) Loose screws: Somewhere - maybe in this forum, maybe in another - I read a report about a water leak into a wall caused by loose lag screws that attach awning hardware to the side of the trailer. I have an electric Carefree awning; each set of arms is attached to the trailer with four 1/4" lag screws. Two of the screws are easily accessible at the top of the hardware; the two at the bottom are hidden by a decorative cover that is held on by four small Phillips head screws. I checked the tightness of each lag screw, and each was somewhat loose. Two of the screws were very loose. I tightened the screws and I think improved the water-tightness of the screws by compressing the putty a bit. I suspect that most of the screws were tightened proper initially, but that the putty used as a sealant between the hardware and the side of the trailer has compressed making the screws loose. On the good side, Jayco did not over-tighten these screws and strip out the holes.
2) Missing screws - I noticed a mat of wet brown grass leaves stuck inside a basement door on its piano hinge. I think that solitary wasps are responsible for this mess and the mess of wet brown grass leaves I dug out of the channel in my awning tube. I cleaned up the mess on the door hinge, and looked at the hinge closely to verify that all the mess was gone. I noticed that the hinge was held to the frame of the trailer door only by very small rivets, but also had recesses in the hinge and frame to accommodate several flat head screws, but the screws were missing. Some of the basement doors in my trailer had these screws in place that go through the hinge and the door frame into the wall of the trailer, but many screws were missing. The small rivets did not look to me to be substantial enough to hold the hinges, and I put the proper screws into place. I did have to drill pilot holes.
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There's lots of advice and information in forums... sometimes it is correct. For example, all of my posts are made by a political appointee who got the job as a reward for contributions to my diesel bill.
2011 Jayco 28.5RLS; 2021 Chevy Duramax; Pullrite Superglide Hitch
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