We Had a Few Loose Screws

While driving through the middle of nowhere Texas, I noticed several cars slow down while passing our trailer. We stopped at a rest stop along the way I did a walk around… and I found the trailer wheel well covers were both very loose.

View of the drivers side wheel well cover loose from the side of the trailer

Most of the screws that hold the wheel wells covers on were missing on both sides of the trailer. The screws were simple sheet metal screws into the aluminum skirting on the bottom of the trailer.

View of the old wheel screws through the aluminum skirting

The screws rattled loose from the road vibration over the course of 700 miles. A few more miles down the road and we would have been missing one or both of our wheel well covers, potentially damaging another vehicle on the road in the process.

Thankfully I had some similar screws in my tool collection. I tightened the remaining screws and installed new ones.

View of the plastic wheel well cover

When we made it to our next overnight stop, I found a local ACE Hardware for new screws. Because the skirting is exposed to the weather and is made of aluminum, there is the potential to corrode cheaper screws. I went with stainless steel bolts, nylon washers, and lock nuts to eliminate the vibration issues.

View of the new stainless bolt and nut holding the wheen well cover

When we are out of these 100°F areas, I will apply a bead of silicone sealer along the edge of the wheel well to add additional protection.

2 thoughts on “We Had a Few Loose Screws”

  1. After reading your blog and seeing the before and after pictures I give you 10 stars. I wish you were going into business near by. It’s a crying shame that ALL rv manufactures are in such a rush to get the units off the line and to a dealer that their QC is in the trash. I think it boils down to money.
    If you continue the example you have shown here you will have customers that are proud to refer others to you.

    Reply
    • Thank you! We were very lucky with this one. We knew things would rattle loose from time to time, this time we were only a few screw threads away from loosing both of these wheel well covers after only a few stops. There are definitely a lot of opportunities for quality improvements in the RV industry. Their shortcomings can be my opportunities 🙂

      Reply

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