Help me brainstorm a solution

[cjelliott81]

I noticed the other day the weight of the power cord has pulled the screws out that attach the outlet to the side of my camper. Upon tightening them they just don't snug down any longer as they weren't particularly beefy screws anyways - 1/8 X ~3/4 self tappers.

My question - the solution I was considering was just drilling all the way through and replacing the mounting hardware with stainless machine screws and washers/nuts on the interior of the camper (it is behind a drawer in the pantry, not seen from the interior.) obviously there are reservations in drilling holes through the camper but it seems like the best solution to prevent self tappers from pulling out again. I would use butyl under the outlet and around the screws.

Any other thoughts?

The outlet mounted on the side of the camper:

[bsmith0404]

There really isn't much behind the walls and the screws can pull away very easily as you've found out. I would do it one of two ways, one is the way you are already thinking of. Another options, since you will have access to the back side of the panel, Cut a hole for the plug into a block of wood and put on the backside of the wall to give a solid material to screw into. That route is a bit more work since you would have to disconnect the wiring to route it through the wood or cut a notch it the wood. The part I like about it is the fact that the weight of the cord is spread out over a larger area instead of just a couple screw points. Either way would work.

[hankaye]

cjelliott81, Howdy;

I'll second the idea of installing a reinforcing piece of wood behind the plug.
Spreads the load out ...

hankaye

[bobbecky]

Once you have securely attached the outside plug, you might get a right angle adapter to take the strain off of both the cord and that outside plug. I have attached a photo of a 30 amp adapter, but there are also 50 amp adapters which is what we use.

[Outback 325BH]

Originally Posted by bobbecky

Once you have securely attached the outside plug, you might get a right angle adapter to take the strain off of both the cord and that outside plug. I have attached a photo of a 30 amp adapter, but there are also 50 amp adapters which is what we use.

Exactly right. I use that (50 amp version) for this very reason (strain relief).

The cord ends up lying across the rear bumper mount. The bumper mount takes all the cord's weight.


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