j-d
Sunny Florida USA
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The big box home stores HD and Lowes have the screws and nuts. So does Ace, who are occasionally less expensive. But the fastener price is the least of this project!
I read this thread to mean the bottom of the cabover is loose to the top of the cab, where the van roof was cut above driver and passenger seats.
Just for me, I don't like chassis and house squeaks and rattles, but dish, pots pans etc just remind me We Have an RV and We Get to go Camping!!!
God Bless, jd
2003 Jayco Escapade 31A on 2002 Ford E450 V10 4R100
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EMD360
Tempe, AZ
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Thanks for the pics. We may all have to do this repair at some point. Glad to see you found the problem! Amazing that the motion of the cab can cause the screws to shear right off, isn't it?
I just bought some #10 2 inch stainless screws at Home Depot for a buck apiece! Craziness. I used Bolt Depot for a bulk order when I replaced the trim screws. I didn't think screws took nuts, must mean bolts? Post a pic of the screws/bolts when you get them to solve this mystery.
We're hooked!
2003 Itasca Spirit 22e
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kcgaz
Scottsdale, Arizona
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Alalucha wrote:They replaced the rotting vertical and horizontal moldings on both sides and the old cab seal and put it all back together with longer screws, just as recommended here.
Alalucha - Thanks for that information. When you mention vertical moldings, are you referring to the side moldings that go from the floor to the ceiling beside the driver and passenger seats? I noticed those screws are loose as well and was wondering how they repaired this area, since you can't see what is on the other side of the pillar. Thanks in advance for your response.
God Bless,
Kevin & Tracy
1993 Fleetwood Tioga Arrow, 30', Ford 460...Still on the road!
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kcgaz
Scottsdale, Arizona
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Some additional pictures of the area that I am working in. Once I get this done and it is hopefully successful, I will post the entire series to document the process and hopefully help others who are in the same situation.
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LT E5
Central, CT
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I corrected this problem 2 years ago. I removed the screws one by one, applied alittle chaulk to the threads and resunk the screws. No noise since. The chaulk give just enough hold so they don't back out.
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hohenwald48
Hohenwald, TN
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I think the rattle is due to the metal bowl full of screws sitting on the overhead bunk area. 
2008 Fleetwood Jamboree 25G
1999 Jeep Wrangler
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kcgaz
Scottsdale, Arizona
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Day two of trying to get the headliner removed to see how many of the screws that hold the overhead sleeper in place are missing or loose. I can't believe how many staples they used to hold the headliner in place...after 50, I lost count.
I did finally get the entire headliner down and found that of the 15 holes that were available, 2 had actual screws remaining, but they were loose and the other 13 screws had been sheared off. In addition, the screws on the vertical pillars were all backed out...I think I found our noise problem. Went to Home Depot on the way home from work and purchased 2" stainless steel bolts and nylon lock washers, but I will need to return them tomorrow for 1 1/2" bolts, as the 2" are too long.
I am looking forward to getting this done by the weekend and giving the rig a good and hopefully quiet test drive. Thanks for all of the posts with great advise. It appears to me that unless other manufactures do things differently, all of us who own Class C Motorhomes at some point will face this challenge.
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ksg5000
Oregon
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Thanks for the pics - keep them coming. Having a hard time determining what I am looking at in the last/bottom picture?
Kevin
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kcgaz
Scottsdale, Arizona
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ksg5000 wrote:Thanks for the pics - keep them coming. Having a hard time determining what I am looking at in the last/bottom picture?
The last picture is actually the vertical pillar beside the driver's seat behind the seatbelt were the fiberglass MH body connects to the cab.
I remember looking at one MH where they had drilled through the outside fiberglass and used large bolts and washers to connect the coach portion to the van body. I thought it looked terrible, but now I understand why they did it.
It is my hope my using larger bolts and washers to replace the ones that have backed out and are loose to accomplish the same thing without the unsightly appearance. Wish me luck!
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kcgaz
Scottsdale, Arizona
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The following pictures document the process that I used to replace the sheared off screws that were used to attach the overhead to the cab of my Class C. I am amazed that they would use such small screws; it is no wonder that there were only 2 of the 15 still in place and they were loose.
As the pictures indicate, I decided to use 1/4 inch countersunk bolts with nylon nuts, which required me to drill out the remainder of the broken screws and secure the bolts from above. I can't imagine that there will be any future issues with these bolts being sheared off and I hope that the creaking noise will be gone when I take it for a test drive this weekend.
Today, I will finish up replacing the screws on the pillars that have all come loose. I am not as confident with this repair because the bolts are not catching as I would like them too, so I may have to come up with another solution, because it appears to me that it will only be a matter of time before these bolts work loose.
Apologize for the lengthy post, but knowing how many Class C's are roaming around out there with most likely the same or similar problems, I wanted to document what I did to address the issue. In my searching of the Web, I didn't see this level of information out there and I wish I had before I began this project.
* This post was
edited 02/09/12 09:41am by kcgaz *
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