Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-25-2017, 11:53 AM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 48
Drilling into the thin walls?

Has anyone drilled into the walls to put hooks, towl holders, paper towl holders, etc on the walls? I was thinking about adding one to the bathroom and maybe 2 hooks near the kitchen, but i wanted to see if it was a bad idea to drill into such thin walls/hardware (under cabinets, side cabinets, etc) Thanks in advance as i want to get to work on some things, BUT do not want to ruin my new trailer.
minattz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2017, 11:57 AM   #2
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 85
Home depot sells an anchor called pop toggles or something like that. You drill the hole, insert the anchor and use a little yellow plunger to seat the anchor. They sell these for thin walls (1/8-1/4). I have used these and they work well.

Steve
4x4FF is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2017, 01:21 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Jim34RL's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Oswego il
Posts: 2,428
I have used wall anchors for drywall in my camper, 1/8 wall thickness for the anchors. Drilling the required size hole for the wall anchor. Now on the drill place a piece of tape 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch up from the starting point. This is how far you will drill into the wall, push the wall anchor in and then screw the anchor so the metal tube close on the wall. I only used this method for something that is going to see a light load, such as a toilet paper holder. For everything else in the camper, we use Command Hooks from 3M these have worked will my wife and I.
__________________
Jim W.
2016 34RL CC; 2008 Ram Mega Cab 2500HD, 6.7L, 68RFE 6 speed, 4X4, Smarty S67, TDR 145K+miles
Jim34RL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2017, 01:45 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 643
For interior walls where I can get access to the back I will glue a 1/2" plywood backer in the area I want to attach to. Otherwise we use Command Hooks. On exterior walls I epoxy in plastic wall anchors if there is no metal backer already there.
keith_h is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 02:50 AM   #5
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 43
Pop Rivets

I believe a previous poster was referring to pop-rivets. You can get a relatively inexpensive ($20-50) gun at Amazon or any HW store. These are great in the right circumstances. They only require a minimal depth and are secured from the outside of the wall. Often, you don't have access to the other side of the wall. They are perfect for towel hangers and such where there is not a great deal of torque. I have mounted TVs on thin walls this way (not cantilevered and flat against the wall and removable during transportation)
'Very handy tool to have around
Bentspoons
Bentspoon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 07:48 AM   #6
World Wide Wanderer
 
wahoonc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Sprung Leak, NC
Posts: 1,732
Quote:
Originally Posted by minattz View Post
Has anyone drilled into the walls to put hooks, towl holders, paper towl holders, etc on the walls? I was thinking about adding one to the bathroom and maybe 2 hooks near the kitchen, but i wanted to see if it was a bad idea to drill into such thin walls/hardware (under cabinets, side cabinets, etc) Thanks in advance as i want to get to work on some things, BUT do not want to ruin my new trailer.
Command Strips Hooks No holes needed!

I turned my bride loose with a pack of these...

We have hooks, clocks, brooms, dustpans, dishtowels...

Aaron
__________________
Aaron & Rhonda
wahoonc & Airangel60

2016 Coachmen Concord 300DS
2015 Fusion Hybrid following along
wahoonc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 08:03 AM   #7
Site Team
 
KyDan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 10,505
For lighter stuff such as small/med towel bars we just use short phillips head trim screws. These are sort of flat head but the head is much thinner
than typical v shaped flat head. Do not pre drill for these pointed screws.

For heavier things I use the shortest molly bolts you can get. Be sure the
screw is shorter than the wall thickness!! I mean the inside to outside wall
dimension must be more than the length of the un-expanded molly bolt.
Recently re-attached a fallen window valance that had pulled the screws
out of the ceiling in my slide.

Command strips are good too but we've found on occasion they can
release when it's really cold. Example we have a 18 x 24 photo montage
poster that's printed on heavy foam board. It wants to curl slightly in
the winter and it took extra strips to get it to stay stuck!

Good luck!
__________________
Peace!
Dan & Rita D
2017 Nissan Titan 5.6L King cab 4wd
2016 Evergreen Everlite 242RBS
29' empty nest model. Blue Ox WD hitch
(1 queen bed, large main cabin and huge bathroom)
Camping days 2010-53, 2011-47, 2012-41, 2013-41, 2014-31, 2015-40, 2016-44, 2017-63, 2018-75, 2019-32, 2020-41, 2021-49, 2022-43, 2023-66
KyDan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 08:15 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: North Ga.
Posts: 420
X2 on using Command Strips. No holes in new camper and you can move them.
__________________
USAF Ret. ______________________________________
2015 24 FQSL NITRO TH
2015 2500 Silverado Crew Cab LTZ Duramax 4X4
2012 HD Street Glide
2008 Honda FSC600 Silver wing
hdmtnrider is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 09:09 AM   #9
Pickin', Campin', Mason
 
5picker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: South Western PA
Posts: 19,051
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bentspoon View Post
I believe a previous poster was referring to pop-rivets. You can get a relatively inexpensive ($20-50) gun at Amazon or any HW store. These are great in the right circumstances. They only require a minimal depth and are secured from the outside of the wall. Often, you don't have access to the other side of the wall. They are perfect for towel hangers and such where there is not a great deal of torque. I have mounted TVs on thin walls this way (not cantilevered and flat against the wall and removable during transportation)
'Very handy tool to have around
Bentspoons
The poster referred to them as pop toggles sold by Home Depot (and others) made by Powers.
Pop Toggles Hollow Wall Anchors
They are not the same as pop rivets.
__________________
2022 Cedar Creek 345IK 5th Wheel•Solar & Inverter•2017 Ford F-Series SCREW 4x4•Factory Puck•B&W Companion•TST Tire Monitor w/Repeater•Sinemate 3500w Gen.
F&AM Lodge 358 Somerset, PA - JAFFA Shrine - Altoona, PA

Days Camped '19=118 '20=116 '21=123 '22=134 '23=118 '24=64
5picker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 01:43 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 316
I have screwed in towel bars, shelves, wall sconces, etc. Used 3/4" wood screws (no longer) and little plastic anchors. Work well and haven't had anything fall yet.
__________________
Marcel & Jenne
Kemptville, ON
2014 Rockwood 8282WS
2015 Ford F150 Eco-Boost
BusyRetirees is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 01:57 PM   #11
Member
 
mule's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Moore, OK
Posts: 84
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4x4FF View Post
Home depot sells an anchor called pop toggles or something like that. You drill the hole, insert the anchor and use a little yellow plunger to seat the anchor. They sell these for thin walls (1/8-1/4). I have used these and they work well.

Steve
I bought those to hopefully re-secure the shoddy mounting job that the factory did installing the house filter and it worked perfect, very secure now.
mule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 02:33 PM   #12
Member
 
RudysWorld's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Collierville, TN
Posts: 586
I removed one of the screws the factory uses and bought similar and use those to secure whatever I need.
__________________

Rudy - 10 year old long haired dachshund, RIP
2011 Georgetown 350TS
2013 Chevrolet Equinox toad
RudysWorld is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 07:32 PM   #13
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 65
Rather than drill holes for hooks for light loads I used the kind of hooks that have a gripper silicone pad that you can pull down on to release the hook to remove it. Also velcro works well instead of drilling.
Fiddler Dan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 07:57 PM   #14
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 33
I add an attractive wood base to items such as TP roll mount etc. This strengthens the wall by spreading the stress over a larger area.
newcowg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 09:16 PM   #15
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 33
Drilliing in thin walls

In our V Lite shower I added a grab bar. Used a stud finder first but wasn't satisfied that it was accurate so I removed the microwave o n the on the other side of the wall. Then I saw the V E R Y narrow wall stud that I could mount into.
I then measured from a reference (such as the shower hose guide) already screwed to the wall to that stud.
Went into the shower and used those measurements to locate the spot to drill guide holes through the shower wall into the stud to firmly install the grab bar.
After that I replaced the microwave.

Photo is attached. Ooops....didn't show.
lengercce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2017, 09:17 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
djemgoss's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Brookfield, WI
Posts: 218
drilling into thin walls

I have used small Molly anchors and they work very well on thin walls!
Attached Images
 
__________________
Dave & Elaine
Brookfield, WI
2021 Rockwood, 2509s, pulled by a 2020 Ford F150 XLT, Super Cab, 3.5L Eco Boost, with 3.55 axle. Electric 10-speed auto trans w/tow mod. Heavy Duty Tow package & integrated trailer brake, 11,700 lb. tow capacity, payload is 1916 lbs. and 145” wheel base. Equalizer 4 point W/D hitch.
djemgoss is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2017, 08:07 AM   #17
Senior Member
 
WolfWhistle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,275
x10 for command hooks... there are things that require anchors / holes be made... I now make sure they are for things that will be eternal... cause, holes cannot be fixed very well or at all. Don't screw or drill into a wall if there is another way and the wide assortment of command hooks is, many times, the way. Their Velcro strips are the bomb!
WW
__________________
Hyper Lite was sold

2017 F-250 4x4 6.2L Gas
I can't fix everything, but I can make it so nobody else can
WolfWhistle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2017, 08:59 AM   #18
Phat Phrog Stunt Team
 
AquaMan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Tipp City, OH
Posts: 7,154
One thing to remember, on outside walls the space between studs is a foam core and some anchors may not expand once pushed through the wall board.
__________________
2016 Georgetown 364TS
2017 Jeep Rubicon Recon toad
Nights Camped 2019 - 17
AquaMan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2017, 01:05 AM   #19
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Gainesville, FL
Posts: 4,549
E-Z Ancor Hollow Core Door anchors are easy to use, strong, and short enough to not pierce the opposite wall in many travel trailers. Theyre available at many hardware and big box stores. However, do NOT use the screws that come with them without first measuring the length of the screw as well as the length of the anchor in comparison to the wall depth.

I very carefully measured the anchor length against the outside wall thickness of my Shamrock. I failed to recognize that the screws are longer. As a result, I dimpled the exterior fiberglass. Man, was I made at myself.

The anchors are still safe to use. Just swap out the screws for some that are slightly shorter than the ones that come in the box. Use the original screws until you feel a pop, indicating that the screw pierced the leading tip of the anchor. After that happens, back out the original screw and replace it with the shorter one. It works well that way.
__________________
TV: 2021 Ford F-150 4WD XLT Crew w/ 3.5L EB & HDPP, payload: 2,416#.
RV: 2020 Rockwood Mini-Lite 2507S, Propride 3P hitch w/ 1400# spring bars

Camping nights: 2021, 52; 2022, 99; 2023, 88; 2024, TBD (Est: 80+)

chriscowles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2017, 05:00 AM   #20
SYE
Phat Phrog Stunt Team
 
SYE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Burton, MI.
Posts: 4,520
Quote:
Originally Posted by wahoonc View Post
Command Strips Hooks No holes needed!

I turned my bride loose with a pack of these...

We have hooks, clocks, brooms, dustpans, dishtowels...

Aaron
My command strips did not hold up to the heat here in Michigan, I had a clock fall and break and my vacuum cleaner came off the wall as well.
__________________
Scott & Vicki
2018 Silverado 3500HD Dually 6.6L Duramax/Allison
2018 Columbus 366RL 1492 Edition
Camped 2012 19, 2013 110, 2014 129, 2015 97
2016 93, 2017 79, 2018 84, 2019 59, 2020 0,
2021 4 reserved
SYE is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:07 PM.