Running board coming loose...fixes?
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 8:15 pm
My driver's side running board is getting a bit loose, and when I looked at the screws holding it in, two of them were rusted so badly that they weren't much beyond just a screwhead.
Airstream took a quick and easy path in assembly here, using self-tapping hex-head screws to affix the running boards to the van. The problem with that is the long-term use of the running boards tends to open up the hole (even without the rust problem), and since there is no backing hardware the screw just wobbles in place, and the running board is thus loose.
How to best fix this? My mechanic wants a solid piece behind the running board that can be bolted through--and there is one such place that has a bracket used for this purpose. However, the board runs the length of the rig, over the wheel wells, so more points of attachment are needed and there aren't brackets, Airstream just screwed into the van body. Finding or creating something behind the running board seems both difficult and perhaps overkill--my van is a '96 and I'm just having the problem now, 25 years later. So, I'm thinking about either putting in a slightly larger self-tapping screw in the existing hole (probably wouldn't even need the self-tapping part because the hole is already there), or putting a new self-tapping screw in just to the side of the original.
However, the mechanic was worried about what he might drill into, given that you can't see the van for the running board. There wouldn't be anything from the van side of things in the way, but he was concerned what kind of RV additions might get hit. I didn't think anything was in that general area, given how low the running boards are, but it seems like this is a valid concern.
Anybody have this problem? How did you fix it? Those who have replaced their running boards, how did you attach the new ones?
Thoughts on my ideas or other insight greatly appreciated!
Branden
Airstream took a quick and easy path in assembly here, using self-tapping hex-head screws to affix the running boards to the van. The problem with that is the long-term use of the running boards tends to open up the hole (even without the rust problem), and since there is no backing hardware the screw just wobbles in place, and the running board is thus loose.
How to best fix this? My mechanic wants a solid piece behind the running board that can be bolted through--and there is one such place that has a bracket used for this purpose. However, the board runs the length of the rig, over the wheel wells, so more points of attachment are needed and there aren't brackets, Airstream just screwed into the van body. Finding or creating something behind the running board seems both difficult and perhaps overkill--my van is a '96 and I'm just having the problem now, 25 years later. So, I'm thinking about either putting in a slightly larger self-tapping screw in the existing hole (probably wouldn't even need the self-tapping part because the hole is already there), or putting a new self-tapping screw in just to the side of the original.
However, the mechanic was worried about what he might drill into, given that you can't see the van for the running board. There wouldn't be anything from the van side of things in the way, but he was concerned what kind of RV additions might get hit. I didn't think anything was in that general area, given how low the running boards are, but it seems like this is a valid concern.
Anybody have this problem? How did you fix it? Those who have replaced their running boards, how did you attach the new ones?
Thoughts on my ideas or other insight greatly appreciated!
Branden