Bolts coming up through floor

[jeanf]

I apologize if this has been covered. I did do a search and didn't find anything. Last time out we noticed a bolt pushing up the flooring in the kitchen area of our 3 year old Passport. I immediately wrote to Keystone and they said to take it to a dealer because it's no longer under warranty. Thanks a lot for the help, Keystone.

I don't know why it didn't occur to us immediately to look underneath on the outside, but after the reply from Keystone we did and found the problem. One of the bolts is loose. I hand twisted the bolt back down and that's exactly what it was.

Annoyed that Keystone didn't mention to us to just look underneath because it probably would have cost us $100 for a dealership to tell us that.

So, finally, my question is... did the nuts come off because none of the bolts sticking out of the undercarriage have a nut. Does anyone know the size of the nuts. We're lucky we caught this before it pierced the flooring.

Thanks in advance,
Jean

[Brown Lantern]

Originally Posted by jeanf

I apologize if this has been covered. I did do a search and didn't find anything. Last time out we noticed a bolt pushing up the flooring in the kitchen area of our 3 year old Passport. I immediately wrote to Keystone and they said to take it to a dealer because it's no longer under warranty. Thanks a lot for the help, Keystone.

I don't know why it didn't occur to us immediately to look underneath on the outside, but after the reply from Keystone we did and found the problem. One of the bolts is loose. I hand twisted the bolt back down and that's exactly what it was.

Annoyed that Keystone didn't mention to us to just look underneath because it probably would have cost us $100 for a dealership to tell us that.

So, finally, my question is... did the nuts come off because none of the bolts sticking out of the undercarriage have a nut. Does anyone know the size of the nuts. We're lucky we caught this before it pierced the flooring.

Thanks in advance,
Jean

Had friends with a similar issue. He replaced the nuts with stainless locknuts and all is well. At the time I had a unit the same year and same manufacturer as his and had no loose or missing nuts at all and mine had lots more road miles on it.

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[ctbruce]

Jean, sorry for your troubles. Just a note for information. Keystone always goes through dealers for any work, warranty or out of warranty. Always. They do not deal directly with customers.

Most of us on the forum have learned to fix our own problems when they arrive. If your unit was out of warranty, then your only options are to live with it, fix it yourself or have a dealer fix it. It sounds like you fixed it yourself and avoided leaving it at the dealer for an extended period of time.

Also, you always have the option of asking on here for help. This site is full of very good and helpful people who cost nothing. Let us know how we can help.

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[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by jeanf

...So, finally, my question is... did the nuts come off because none of the bolts sticking out of the undercarriage have a nut. Does anyone know the size of the nuts. We're lucky we caught this before it pierced the flooring.

Thanks in advance,
Jean

To answer your question (others have addressed the problem with good advice).... No, the nuts did not come off. Most of the bolts that are used on framing are "thread cutting bolts" not "machine bolts" and they are driven through a small hole in the metal, cut their own threads and typically do not back out. Nuts are not required on this type of bolt and normally you can't even find a nut that will thread onto the "thread cutter grooves" on the bolt.

Your best bet, since you can't access the head of the bolt under the floor covering (carpet/vinyl) is to use vise grips and lock onto the threaded part of the bolt and twist it as tightly as you can. That will tighten it, distort the threads (so it's less likely to loosen again) and hopefully resolve your problem.

Expect that you'll find this kind of issue on any trailer, the more you tow, the more likely it is to happen. A good inspection before storing the trailer or, at the beginning of the camping season will usually identify this kind of issue, hopefully before any damage or lost components occur.

[sourdough]

As has been stated, this wasn't a Keystone issue. What you experienced is simple wear/tear and the required maintenance to resolve the issue. When something arises on a trailer out of warranty most of us have learned that we need to just dig into the problem and fix it or take it to the dealer and pay them whatever they come up with. Most fix it ourselves and use the information from owners on this site to assist us. Sounds like yours was a very simple problem. John gave you a suggestion on how to pull the screw back down as tight as possible. If it loosens again I would suggest you might re-tighten using the same procedure then take a small drop of epoxy or something similar and put in on the edge of the screw/frame to keep it form coming out again.

[CrazyCain]

LAst trip in the Hideout, when we got to the storage yard, the DW noticed one of the screws on the trim around the microwave had worked it's way almost halfway out. The other ones were snug and did not require attention..one out of 4 ain't bad! I always walk around and check things out after a tow...