Screws fell apart and slide is now damaged

[MaybzNDave]

Hello friends. We are still in Newfie 10 weeks later and are planning on going back to mainland this week so of course the rig decides to act up. 2015 FR3 30DS.

On bringing in the living room slide we heard an awful cracking noise, promptly put it back out. The floor behind the driver side is now gauged a bit, but more concerning is the fact the screws fell apart when we went to inspect things from the outside.

Has this happened to anyone? Is it a common issue (only saw the poor soul with the ultra-lemon mention something like this before)? How did you resolve it? At Kent (similar to Home Depot in the states) trying to find matching screws. Huge part of the problem is some screws broke in their holes.

[welder]

II have a similar problem I don’t know if I should use plastic anchors

[MaybzNDave]

Originally Posted by welder

II have a similar problem I don’t know if I should use plastic anchors

We’re not even sure how to get the broken ones out. Five of the six are broken in the hole on one side, and the two on the other side also broke in their holes.

[bubbles]

Forest River engineering at the top of their game. Shine on Forest River engineering; shine on.

[youroo]

Lets start with "Who is the Slide MFG" and what Model#/Type is it? Youroo!!

[bshort]

Might be able to work 2 of those out with pliers and patience. That last one looks like it would need to use an ez-out or just drill it out. They probably loosened up over time and finally snapped off.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by MaybzNDave

We’re not even sure how to get the broken ones out. Five of the six are broken in the hole on one side, and the two on the other side also broke in their holes.

In regards to the "Brackets/Screws" there are other locations in the slots and additional/New holes can be drilled! If that wall attachment point has Aluminum behind the outer skin then "Aluminum Rivet Nuts" can be used with flat head bolts instead of the Wood fastener look alike that F/R uses! Youroo!!

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by MaybzNDave

We’re not even sure how to get the broken ones out. Five of the six are broken in the hole on one side, and the two on the other side also broke in their holes.

There is more than 1 way. 1st Lowes or HD will have a bit that goes in the drill and will bite what is left to remove what is left. Some call it an Easy Out. Last resort is to drill them out. That may require tapping for a larger screw. Once removed go Fastenal and get enough stronger screws made in the US to replace all of them. Imported fasteners rarely have the same strength even with the same rating.

[Bnrc73]

One diy would be to use a Dremel and put a groove in the broken screws so they can be removed with a flat head screwdriver.

[WolfWhistle]

I don't know how important it is to mount bracket to the exact placement. Here's a link to the typical screw extractor, however there is more than one way to 'skin a cat'.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NGTLM40...a-318198613386

I would probably carefully grind broken screws to flush and drill new pilot holes... probably just above the existing ones.

I noticed and would like to point out the screws look like flat head (countersunk) wood screws and the holes / slots in the bracket are not countersunk. In my way of thinking this could cause this failure, especially if they were over-tightened.

I have to believe that a truss head screw such as made by Fastenal would work better.. search here... pick the length and size like your's... I'd replace the other side as well.

https://www.fastenal.com/products/wo...0Screws%22%7C~

WW

[MaybzNDave]

Originally Posted by WolfWhistle

I don't know how important it is to mount bracket to the exact placement. Here's a link to the typical screw extractor, however there is more than one way to 'skin a cat'.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NGTLM40...a-318198613386

I would probably carefully grind broken screws to flush and drill new pilot holes... probably just above the existing ones.

I noticed and would like to point out the screws look like flat head (countersunk) wood screws and the holes / slots in the bracket are not countersunk. In my way of thinking this could cause this failure, especially if they were over-tightened.

I have to believe that a truss head screw such as made by Fastenal would work better.. search here... pick the length and size like your's... I'd replace the other side as well.

https://www.fastenal.com/products/wo...0Screws%22%7C~

WW

Thanks. Yeah, the plan was to replace all of them considering two snapped on the other side just as we were inspecting it. Thank goodness we just took care of our tanks two days ago and are good on propane!

[tankroady]

Sorry about your luck.In your pic's you show ice on the ground. your slide could have frozen in the out position. I was told to make sure in cold weather to make sure of ice before sliding in. Above and below. Advice too late, sorry.BUT while your there.....George Street Spiced Rum...best kind...thaws a cold day, OJ in AM Pepsi at night with a fire

[fkovach1]

Wow, looks like pretty dinky setup to begin with. The material that the screws are screwed into doesn't look to be that thick, I almost think you could just use a punch and drive them through. Or grind them flat. No way would I trust putting screws back into any of those holes. I would use steel rivets to reattach that bracket. Use the biggest diameter rivet that will fit. A rivet will at least give you some backing material on the inside of the structure. You may still be able to use the existing holes if you did that. If you chose to drill new holes, be sure that the alignment with what looks like a pulley on the main body lines up when the slide closes. Good luck.

[MaybzNDave]

Originally Posted by fkovach1

Wow, looks like pretty dinky setup to begin with. The material that the screws are screwed into doesn't look to be that thick, I almost think you could just use a punch and drive them through. Or grind them flat. No way would I trust putting screws back into any of those holes. I would use steel rivets to reattach that bracket. Use the biggest diameter rivet that will fit. A rivet will at least give you some backing material on the inside of the structure. You may still be able to use the existing holes if you did that. If you chose to drill new holes, be sure that the alignment with what looks like a pulley on the main body lines up when the slide closes. Good luck.

Thanks, we are concerned about both messing up the alignment and the security of those holes. I really like the river idea. Good thinking.

[MaybzNDave]

Originally Posted by tankroady

Sorry about your luck.In your pic's you show ice on the ground. your slide could have frozen in the out position. I was told to make sure in cold weather to make sure of ice before sliding in. Above and below. Advice too late, sorry.BUT while your there.....George Street Spiced Rum...best kind...thaws a cold day, OJ in AM Pepsi at night with a fire

Thanks! We actually already left St. John’s and are back in Corner Brook. It came in and then went back out with minimal fuss except for the damage to the floor. The broken screws and dislodged mount are the big concerns.

[Waterops1]

If you are going to try to remove the broken screws your self, you might want to get a reversible drillmotor and left-handed drill bits to use with easy outs. Sometimes just drilling in reverse is enough to dislodge a broken screw. Got my LH bits through McMaster-Carr but Fastenal might have them as well.

[mwdilday]

With the ice on the ground makes me wonder if there may have been ice on the top causing it to not slide in. Looking at the bracket it looks like the cable is connected an inch or two out from where the angle is screwed in. That would cause leverage on the angle. Can you take a photo looking parallel to the wall so I can see the flat side of the angle where the cable connects straight on?

[Kadiddle]

Following this thread as I also have a 2015 30DS that has had slide issues.

In my case, recently the living room slide gear box broke a tooth on the biggest gear and a shaft bearing in the gear box housing tore to one side. I believe I did a poor job leveling one evening and pinched the slide causing the failure.

But what I find interesting is that for whatever reason the slide was stuck or resisting, in my case the gearbox failed and in this post's failure the cable mount screws gave way.

Reading about the many failures of the slides on this coach series, seems to me the whole design is a Charlie-Foxtrot.

[drelec]

Could the ice had built up on top of the slide? That may have caused the cracking sound? Resistance may have overloaded the slide mechanism.

[ProfChuck]

Looking at the pictures you sent it looks like they just screwed to the metal edge on the slide out. We don't have cables on ours, but, it looks like there may be room for you to have a hex head high quality sheet metal screw fit in there. In that case you would only have to get a screw slightly bigger than the hole and use the same holes you have. You will need to keep the line-up with the cable and connector. If you can get one of the old remaining screws out, you can take it to a hardware store and check it against the screw sizes they have. I would be tempted to get at least a #10 or, if the hole is bigger, a 12 sheet metal screw for all holes. It doesn't look like you have anything behind it except the fiberglass/wood sidewall, so unless you can get inside and create a backing block, the only strength for the screws (or rivets) would be the edging. If you do go with sheet metal screws, get star lock washers to keep them from coming out, and make sure you have good, deep threads on your screws, since it looks like they used self tapping ones on the originals. Good Luck.