SS screws for double pane windows.

[Wrenchtraveller]

My 06 double pane windows came with very cheap plated round head screws in the bottom slide track. Several of these were starting to rust and the unit is only two months old .
At a hardware store I got stainless steel ones for 15 cents a piece.

They are #12 x 1/2 long and there are 12 of these screws in my 2955RL.

These screws hold down the little plastic blocks that stop the sliders from opening too far and as these bottom tracks can get moist from either window condensation or blowing rain allowing a little water to get past the seals on the slider windows and then channel down this track to the window drains, these screws should be SS from the factory.

I have not seen the single pane windows on a Montana, it is possible they have the same poor quality screws. The original were a Philips head but such poor quality that the cross slots on the Philips were badly off centre. The new SS ones are socket heads.

China is making some good stuff but also a lot of junk and even the hydraulic fittings on my slide out motor have " China" on them so I will be watching them closely. Take care, Don.

[Native Tex]

Thanks for the information. We are on our second Keystone unit, the first a Mountaineer and now a Montana. On both units I have had to replace a few screws as they weather during use. It is just part of home maintenance much like a stick house. Again, thanks !

[fulltimedreamer]

When we first purchased our Mountaineer I noticed that the screws on the windows were not stainless steel. I replaced them all with stainless and painted them black to match the window frames. Stainless Steel from the factory would be a great idea and buying in bulk wouldn't add much to the bottomline and would be a great selling point.

[Wrenchtraveller]

After re reading my original post I want to say that every manufacturer out there is using parts from the cheapest supplier. It is the only way to survive in today's business world.

Chinese parts have been around for quite a few years and even back in 1991 I bought a new Kit Companion, when I serviced the wheel bearings, they looked like Timkin bearings but they were made in China. I did some long trips with that unit and never had any problems with those Chinese bearings.

Now I understand Kit is no longer around and I had two Kit 5th wheels and never had one thing go wrong with them. They were a cheap entry level unit , but sure a lot better put together than most of the Fleetwood products were back then. Fleetwood's quality seems to have really improved

[Northstar]

Thanks for the hint to examine the screws and to replace them with ss ones.