Tip Lower fender bolts

[lostinfla]

Driving on a trip, I heard a flapping sound outside the coach. I saw in the mirror that the rear of the front fender had come loose from it's attachment point at the bottom. Upon inspection, I found the screw missing. After losing that one and re tightening others several times, I decided to do a permanent fix. The lower fender bolts that secure the bottom of the fender to the frame rail are tek screws that are self drilling and self tapping. Nasty little buggers if they come loose and can put a nice hole in your tire when they leave. I removed each one and drilled them out to 1/4" and installed 1/4 20 stainless bolts with nyloc nuts. One more thing off the list...

 

[Neal]

I'm sure a lot of people don't even realize those rear fenders are hinged and only held on by the self-tapping screws you pointed out. I saw Newmar raise one when they were fixing my wheel well leaking into the pegboard bay and later used that myself to run LED wires through there. Nice to know you can access that space. Definitely should peek at the bottom to ensure those screws are secure. For those not sure what we're talking about the side of your coach around the rear axle(s) is hinged at the top. You can remove the screws at the bottom and raise it.

 

[NWIP]

This is something I routinely check as I make sure the basement compartments are locked for travel, a quick tug will let you know if missing or loose. I had one work loose and come out which led to this procedure.

I also check the side radiator since these are known to work loose. On previous coach I did the radiator latch mod Dutchstar Don posted on the other forum. Side Radiator Door Latches - iRV2 Forums