Screw Holes Stripped for Mounting Fender

Otis_60

A large friend of mine accidentally leaned on to one of the fenders of my T@G and a couple of the screws pulled out. I replaced them with larger screws and I thought I was good. Nope. They were on the leading edge of the fender and they pulled out a little bit on the way back from camping at 70mph.

To go to a larger screw, i will need to enlarge the hole in the fender. Or, do I try to fill the hole and try a screw again. If filling the hole is the way to go, fill it with what? If this was a piece of wood, I would drill it out and glue in a dowel. But on this I have no idea what is in the wall.

All suggestions welcome! Even funny ones.

DaveB

You may want others to weigh in or contact NuCamp. For me I would try filling the hole with JB Weld or some other type of epoxy based filler, then drill and reinstall original screws. Alternatively fill the hole and install screw right away (into uncured filler) the filler would then bite and hold the screw once cured, just make sure not to put any load on the screw (keep fender supported) until fully cured.
I would try doing this before going to a larger screw.

HikinMike

DaveB is correct. An epoxy works great.

I used to be a boat guy and had similar problems with through hull mountings. The bolts would move around and enlarge the hole. I removed the bolt, filled the hole with a permanent adhesive, let it cure, re-drill the hole and re-install the hardware. I would use a two part epoxy resin for larger holes and super strong bonding.

Michigan_Mike

Easiest way and how they do it at the nuCamp repair shop is just to use a larger screw or next size up.

Otis_60

Thanks for the input. I was already leaning towards the two part epoxy and you have pretty much confirmed my plan of attack.

HikinMike

I've noticed the small, factory installed, warnings that say "Not A Step" aren't visible if you are standing on a ladder (I was loading chairs in the rack basket). After almost stepping on the fenders twice I realized how easy someone might inadvertently use them for a step. So I bought these on Amazon.

Easy install. I used a needle to bleed the air pockets.

WilliamA

Fenders won't stay on with screws alone. You need a backer of adhesive between the fender and the body. I use 3M trim adhesive. Works great, goes on easy and is easy to peel off if necessary. Screws alone won't do it...

WilliamA

Duce95

I had the same issue. I ended up drilling new holes and filled the old holes with epoxy. It’s holding like a champ.