Puttin the Screws To It

Nomad

Noticed a couple of screws under a side window were about to fall out - the ones that hold the trim on but are hidden when the window is closed. Tightened those and decided to check all the others (there's a lot of screws on these little buggers). Found 65% needed a little tightening - ranged from an eighth of a turn to several full turns. The fender screws were all loose. The corner handle screws were the tightest.

DurangoTaB

Thanks for sharing...something many of us take for granted!

Rad

When I got mine home after purchase I went through and tightened all the square head screws I could find inside and out. I was very careful not to over tighten. Even with that consideration I was amazed how many were loose.  

It it could be a bit OCD on my part but I also took my small file set and knocked off all the nasty sharp corners and edges on the door hinges.  It drives me nuts to have such poorly finished aluminum fittings.  It may be just a result of growing up in a small prototype machine shop where my first job in my dad's shop was to de burr the parts the guys made out of high grade aluminum, titanium and magnesium.  I still love the feel of of a well polished high grade metal fitting. It is one reason I went for the T@B, most of its components are of a higher quality than other rigs in its size range. 

Nomad

Good warning Rad - Make sure you don't over tighten can't be emphasized enough.
General fit and finish is what sold me on the T@B - Lotta shabby RVs out there.
I haven't gotten out a file yet - trying to constrain myself.

tabasco

I know tabasco is now 10 years old and some things shake loose over time, but it never ceases to amaze me. In a lot of cases the various screws and fasteners were missing or loose and in some places had never ever been fitted! I have said many times to people admiring tabasco that Dutchman took a variety of good quality parts and components and slapped them together in the most inept manner with zero quality control!  Enough grumbling already, I love fact that its basically a sound concept and just needs a little TLC. My main reason for commenting is that for most of the external trim I have taken all the plated screws out and replaced them with stainless  steel sheet metal screws with a dab of caulking on each. Check the chassis to floor bolts too, I had a few nuts and spring washers missing. So many of the plated screws were rusty inside where it was unseen.
Jen and Bern Victoria B.C.                               

sabel

Checked all of them on our Outback.  One screw on the door hold open was falling out. Glued it back in the hole. No threads left but hold open looks like it's  glued to the door anyway. I wonder what else is glued. 
Does anyone  know where to get those square head screws for spares?

jkjenn

I noticed that the ones that were loose in mine appeared to have lost their caulk. I will recaulk before my big trio in the fall.

Verna

sabel said:

Does anyone  know where to get those square head screws for spares?

Lowe's, Menard's and Home Depot have an assortment of square head screws, in bulk and in packages of 8 to 10.  Take the old one in and compare the threads to make sure you're getting the same type. 

Ace Hardware, True Value Hardware, and Mom & Pop's Hardware should all have an assortment also.   

Rad

sabel said:

 
Does anyone  know where to get those square head screws for spares?

Pull one out and take to a good hardware store to match up size.  If they don't have square drive ones you will at least know the proper size and can order online from any one of the many distributors for fasteners.

I like the idea of installing SS ones on the outside trim.  I assume the existing ones are not, but I'm not really sure.

hatbox

85 percent plus of our screws needed to be tightened....question:  the little circle lights on back of t@b...are they stick ons?  Mine seem wobbly like sticking stuff is not quite stuck...  any guidance, or recommended fixes would be much appreciated.  Also, what's everyone using in their septic tanks and when are they putting it in?  Is there anything more organic than the Aqua Chem?  The label frightens me.  I sanitized today, in case dealer didn't and can't seem to find exact directions and doses, etc.

Nomad

Doing spring cleaning/maintenance - 75% of my screws were slightly loose. The loosest were the ones you can't see when the window's closed. So tighten up peoples :-)
Oh, and don't forget the screws in the keder rail, a few of those were loose.
And a reminder - just finger tight, don't over tighten and strip one out.

Photomom

Oh, I was wondering if I should do something about that door hinge. I guess I'll be filing and checking screws this weekend.

Nomad

Photomom - I do it a couple times a year - Have never had any fall out in spite of the miles I put on so it's not like your trim will fall off if you don't get on it in a timely fashion.
All are square slot heads, two different sizes.

Photomom

I have a fantastic little Husky brand interchangeable screwdriver set I picked up at Home Depot - ratcheting handle, 4 Phillips tips, 5 straight tips, 3 square tips, several hex tips, even some star tips. Thus far it has done every T@B task needed.

Nomad

I have a similar one - Works great.

RZRBUG

I can still attest to the fact that there are 112 screws on the outside of my 2012 Q, not counting those in the keder rail or ones hidden by trim.  I've never gotten ambitious enough to count the ones inside.  Not sure I could count that high.  Point is there are a LOT of screws, and as PXL says, it is a good idea to check them once in a while.

irvingj

"Does anyone  know where to get those square head screws for spares?"

Personally, I don't much care for square drive screws, but tabasco's comment about replacing screws with stainless versions is an excellent one. On all my equipment/machines, I always do this.

A good source for stainless screws of a variety of sizes in bulk, if you want to go that route, is Aircraft Spruce & Supply: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/tha.php  Aviation-grade, truss-head (a bit larger head than typical) screws are not that expensive. I always keep a supply on hand.

Ratkity

I have what Photomom and PXL has: a multi- screwdriver with rachet mechanism that keeps a myriad of bits inside the handle. It includes several square bits. There are two types of square ones on the T@B. Also, check your chain bolts and nuts (should be grade 8) and since it's dealer install, many people have found the bolts and locking nuts holding the front bin have not been tightened properly.

TaBFan

Rad said:

sabel said:

 
Does anyone  know where to get those square head screws for spares?

Pull one out and take to a good hardware store to match up size.  If they don't have square drive ones you will at least know the proper size and can order online from any one of the many distributors for fasteners.

I like the idea of installing SS ones on the outside trim.  I assume the existing ones are not, but I'm not really sure.

Rad, An easy way to tell if a screw (or anything metal) is stainless steel or not, is to stick it on a magnet. If it does NOT stick, then it's stainless.

Photomom

I just checked the screws on my T@B - only one needed adjustment. You would definitely want to avoid over tightening as that would crack the plastic. This needs to be one of those periodic maintenance items.

Nomad

Since yours is new, not surprised just one. Takes awhile.

ericnliz

PXL,
Mine was brand new [just brought it home], and I noticed a couple loose, kept checking, and I'll bet I tightened at least 20 inside & out. Of course I have to take into account mine was shipped to Wa. state, so that probably accounted for so many being loose. Just shows, doesn't hurt to check.

Nomad

Nope - doesn't take long to check and tighten. I've only ever had one that had worked it's way out to where it took several turns to reseat.

Lehfeldt

I have a few missing from the keder rails. Where can one order more replacement square drive flat head screws?

I looked for them at ACE and Lowe's but they do not carry them in stock. The ones I found on Amazon.com appear to have heads that are larger than those of the screws in the keder rail, so it appears to be a specially made thinner head type of Robertson screw.

fwillison

My brand new T@B S Outback had the majority of screws "not tight".  Especially for the plastic cladding/trim pieces and fenders.  Almost all were a couple of full turns from snug.    

Makes me wonder if this was on purpose?  Maybe snug isn't correct.  The trim pieces are very light, maybe they are just supposed to be loosely "hung" from the fragile composite walls.  Perhaps this prevents the self-tapping screws from "breaking out" of the holes since their only purchase is to the wall panels.

Hopefully all my snugging up didn't make a problem where one didn't exist...

Ratkity

@fwillison, careful how snug. The plastic molding flexes while driving and expanded and contracts in varying temps. After a repair on the rear panel, both rear handle moldings cracked at the screws. Unfortunately, the replacement molding didn't quite match the T@B I have as it's a limited edition. I think the silver is a slightly different color.

RZRBUG

After returning from my last trip, I was covering the Aero Flow vent cover with plastic to keep the wasshoppers out when I noticed one corner could be lifted about half an inch.  The screw holding the metal bracket to the base to which the cover is attached had worked loose.  If you have an occasion to be up there, you might check these as well.

Nomad

Thought I'd bump this as I just checked mine and all on the drivers side needed a twist and half on the passengers side.

wizard1880

One thought...If I found a screw that had to be retightened more than once, it may be worth using a dab of LocTite on it to hold it in place.  Anyone try this?

KBaggins1

Loctite is not compatible with plastic. Best to just put a dab of caulking on the screw.

Nomad

One place I'm betting most won't check is up under the windows, the screws that hold the channel that allows the window to swing open. I had one real loose. You can't get a screw driver handle up in there. I used a pliers to grip the bit.