Diamond plate on garage walls coming off ...

[MrEnto]

I have the same issue with the Diamond plate but haven’t addressed it. The jack nuts are good. I used them to attach L Track to the walls. No, I don’t tie Motorcycle’s to it but use it to anchor things against the wall like folding chairs and tables that sit on the floor. The anchor points hold the tops from falling away from the wall during transport. I bought double sided high strength tape I was going to put behind it as well but don’t think it’s necessary. I think the high strength double sided tape behind the top of the Diamond plate might do it and allow enough flex to not have it detach. Another option that comes to mind is use the jack nuts every 2-3’ or so to attach a strip of metal at the top of the Diamond plate to sandwich it against the wall but still allow it move a little underneath. That’s 3 of my 2cents on this...

[Bugz1985]

I've used wall anchors.

[Upland111]

I think there might be an issue with the foam insulation with any kind of anchor that collapses when tightened??

[twvette]

Thanks everyone!

I ended up going with some 1/8in "pop-toggle" anchors after watching a YouTube video of doing similar for hanging pictures, etc on RV walls. Home Depot stocks these and was easier then the limited info online I found. They are for 1/8 to 1/4in thickness so one of the few anchor choices. They are a bit different in that their "wings" are naturally expanded so to install them you force them closed and they will naturally open back up and inserting the screw will further promote this. Considered rivets but I have never really liked rivets in general and not sure if they would tear through the wall when expanding them.


I too was torn once realized that since most the diamond plate is on exterior walls that the insulation might cause issues. So, did a quick test in cardboard which I assumed would be worse case and I think it still expand enough (albeit not anything close to the normal inch or so "wingspan" they normally have) to likely not want to come out and I could not pull it out of the cardboard.


Did not want to pull all the diamond plate off as found the bottoms are an L-shape and secured to the floor. No issues with the floor screws coming out so did not want to risk them not going back in well. So, just drilled the larger hole through the diamond plate also for the anchors to in from the outside which leaves the plastic anchor sleeve on the outside so was not sure if would like the "looks" of this. In the end I think it looks fine and hopefully the plastic will prevent the screws from vibrating loose since not metal on metal.


When installing them I could tell the insulation in my walls is not very dense so I suspect the anchor did open a good amount but not truly sure. Could almost hear the insulation tear a little and since they naturally want to open I think over time the might "dig in" further.

I did just go from the #8 screws to #10 in a few places (corners, bottom of doors) instead of these anchors as would not fit properly so have 10-20 of those on hand too. I also tested just going up to #10 screws and almost went that route as seemed to get a good grip in the stripped out holes but not so sure they wont come loose down the road again.

Only a couple of the 50+ were actually in studs!

No issues on first trip.

Only thing I did not really like was you cant torque these anchors much as its fairly thin plastic plus only a small portion of the anchor (since for thin walls) that the screw is going into. It it enough to feel when its secure but easy to strip them. They do just pull out if need to try again.

As a side note, these 1/8 pop toggles use #8 screws and I believe you can get them cheaper if wanting to re-use the existing screws if trying to do this on the cheap. I used about 50 total.

[Mongoose9400]

Originally Posted by Camping family

I’m thinking use a rivet

Peel rivet, not a blind rivet, provides many useful repairs with the thin RV walls.

[Drew Waller]

I fault the loose screw problem for a couple of years, plus my light fixture coming loose off the celling!. I took all 4 wheels and tires off and had them spin balanced......end of the screw problem. I was getting vibrations from the wheels and tires but you can’t see or feel that from the truck cab. Try it it may save a lot of work putting those screws back in������

[MotoDad293]

This started happening almost immediately upon using my 2021 raptor. I used clear silicone RTV on each screw as it falls out and screwed it back in. They have not backed out since. Definitely only a temporary fix though.

I am open to exploring more permanent ideas.