What's "really" inside the walls?

[DutchmenSport]

I did a modification (I'll start a different thread for that), but it required cutting a hole in the side of my Montana. I thought I get some photos of exactly what is inside those wall and how they are put together. So, here it is! Notice, the walls are 1 7/8 inch thick. This is the main wall, not a wall in the slide out.

[Mikendebbie]

Unacceptable Dutchman! I was expecting to see some aluminum stud pieces in there somewhere! Just kidding Thanks for posting. Can you do the bedroom door section next?

[Lee-CI]

Now wondering if other manufacturers "short change" the specification for their wall thickness as well. My pessimistic gut says probably so....
Could really use the missing 1/8" of insulation in this current heat wave.

[Foldbak]

Ya that's a nominal measurement And depending on who you ask..... an eighth inch matters!

[Robokatz]

Wow, really have me wondering what you are doing…this must have been very scary to do. So now that we all know what’s inside, I have a question. I want to mount some security cameras on outside of RV for when in storage, not sure 3M double sided tape will hold up, so wondering how to best attach mounts with screws. What type of screw would you recommend since not much to bite into, or would something like a drywall insert be better? Thanks

[RMcNeal]

Depending upon the weight of the camera you might look at Oscar Rivets. This is what is used to mount awnings and slide toppers. They expand inside the wall and provide a threaded stud to mount to.

[DutchmenSport]

As you can see in the photo, the outside skin (the fiberglass) and the plywood behind it is only about 3/16 inch thick. Behind that is Styrofoam.

When I attached the shower box, I originally wanted to drill holes for bolts to go through the entire wall and put nuts on the inside of the wall. For me, it would have required about a 3 inch, very thin bolt and I needed 10 of them, and I did not want to make another run to the hardware store. I have a lot of odd-and-ends and a mountain of machine screws, wood screws, and dry wall screws. I figure I had something I could use.

I finally decided againt going all the way through the wall and I ended up using self cutting sheet metal screws. With the Butyl putty completely surrounding the box, the stickiness of the putty itself holds pretty good. So, I felt comfortable using the self-cutting screws... especially since there were 10 of them.

I have a rear camera on my camper I installed myself. I removed the original fake cover and it was held on with 2 small screws through that same skin material. When I put the real camera on there, I used a slightly larger screw (diameter) so it would cut a new thread in the skin and a LOT of Butyl putty under it. It's held for 4 years with no problem.

Here's the screws I used, #10 one inch self drilling.

[Robokatz]

Thanks, that sounds like a good plan, although I think I will try some high quality double sided tape first…the cameras are just Ring cameras, weight 1 pound each, and will only be attached to base when parked in storage, they will be removed during travel, just the base attached (so maybe a few ounces at most) that the tape should handle. I hope.