Awning attachment question

[RMccord]

The new Mountaineer we just took delivery of has a second awning attached as I have mentioned. It is a short 8' one over the bedroom door and window. I noticed this morning that the right lower bracket attached to the trailers brown lower siding had both bolts very loose. I don't know if they were never secured fully at the time of installation or that they were installed in a weak area. Further I have no idea what is behind them on the other side of the exterior skin.
Do any of you know how these are secured. Is there a backing plate to spread the pressure over more surface or are they just screwed thru the aluminum skin? i had my sockets with me and was able to secure it. It felt strong but I don't know. Further I noticed no sealant. So I will be having this area sealed and also the other bracket checked as well. I am taking the coach into Camping World on 6/4/05 to have a fantastic fan installed and will have them at my expense go over this install and insure it has been done correctly and sealed in all areas.

I have refrained from mentioning the dealership as I am not wanting to bash anyone but I feel now that I probably should.
Stiers RV Bakersfield was where I purchased the Mountaineer from. I like the facility and they have been pleasant. But I have noticed some disappointing things. I will post these in another post. Although I would not necessarily refrain from using them I would check thier work extremely closely.

I am thinking of trying to get a peice of 2x2 hardwood on the other side of this facia panel and secure these bolts into them after they pass thru the exterior skin. It should insure that they are solidly mounted and that the stress they generate is evenly spread over the whole surface that the bracket contacts the coach with.

Your thoughts.

I still feel that the 2nd awning is a great addition. I just want to insure that the mounting does no damage to the trailer, it's skin and functions properly.

Thanks

[sreigle]

Bob & Carol, you might want to call Keystone Customer Service ((574) 535-2100) and ask them what kind of backing there is behind these bolts. I cannot fathom anyone attaching purely through the skin. That wouldn't hold long at all. I suspect they were just not tightened but it does raise the question. As for sealing, I would loosen them back out enough to get a good bead of silicon caulk (marine grade) around the hole, under the bolt head.

[old turbo]

I have a 2004 Moutanieer 297RKS with the same problem . I noticed that the lower mounting bracket was loose and when I put the wrench on to tighten the lag bolts all they did was to keep on turning. I did some inspection and found that they only fasten into what I call chipboard ,they are not nuts and bolts with a backer plate like it should be. I pulled both of the lag bolts out ,found some dowel pieces that were the same length and diameter to fit snug in the holes. I put the dowel in the hole to measure for length tapping it in lightly , marked the length phlled the dowel back out cut it, put on some general purpose glue that works outdoors also. I put the dowels back in the holes tapped them in to fit snug. I let this sit over nite. I then used a drill bit half the size of the dowel to drill the holes out. This is done to give you some real meat to grab onto with the same lag bolts.Put the bolts back in with a ratchet and socket, make sure you put some glue on the bolt threads. Tighten until just snug. I forgot to mention put some adhesive sealant on the back of the mounting bracket. This is my fix.