Fixing wooden batten to rear garage wall

[andyelbac]

Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing wood battens to a garage wall in a motorhome? Here's the issue. We have a Burstener Lyseo 680g. I want to attach tie downs to the upper rear wall so I can fix bungee cords between top and bottom to hold chairs, tables in place. There's a box step that runs the length of the rear wall at the bottom ( i think it hides the cabling and rear housing for the rear light clusters) that is ideal for sitting the above mentioned items on. There is a lashing rail with eye bolts underneath, so I have somewhere to attach bungee cords at the bottom but Burstner unhelpfully do not provide a rail at the top of the rear wall. I thought about screwing tie downs direct to the rear wall but Burstner advise against it. I think it might be relatively thin (10mm or less) ply. I'm wondering if the best solution would be to glue a
wooden batten in place at the top and screw tie downs onto that? Has anyone done something similar. My biggest concern at the moment is whether the batten I have is going to offer enough material for the glue to stick to (its about 2" square).

 

[berni109]

Is there any way of fixing it to whatever forms the roof of the garage against the rear wall?
Screw into the top and glue top and back.

 

[andyelbac]

Unfortunately there is an aluminium L shaped extrusion that Burstner have screwed in to support the bottom of the rear wardrobe that runs along the entire width of the garage in the way.

 

[berni109]

Fix it to that then.
Even better cut a rebate into the wood so it fits over the ali.
Assuming u have the tools

 

[Reallyretired]

Probably not a good idea to use bungee cords to secure things to the back wall as they will give up if you brake suddenly. I use ratchet straps for this purpose.

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[L' Hobo]

There are some, nicely planed, light-weight pine pallet around, that could be glued/secured to your wall/floor.

If secured to the wall, you could remove some of the slats and make handy shelves within the pallet (very similar to what gardeners do for their vertical herb gardens) and hooks screwed in where needed.

OR if you have a square garage, why not build a light-weight scaffold pole box within then anything can be ratchet strapped to it without relying on the alliminium body should you need to stop sharply?

 

[Lenny HB]

Unfortunately there is an aluminium L shaped extrusion that Burstner have screwed in to support the bottom of the rear wardrobe that runs along the entire width of the garage in the way.

Why not remove the aluminium angle and replace it with a lashing rail.

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

As Lenny suggested, but perhaps a length of Uni-strut, or another lashing rail like at the bottom.That then builds in the permanent flexibility of repositioning the loading points.
Mike.

 

[The Old Man]

When I was considering this a carpenter, who new nothing about payload considerations, suggested;

Completely cover the rear wall with 10mm ply, chipboard or MDF, treat it first to help waterproof and then using a good glue, stick it to the rear wall. He said that he thought that one large piece would be best as it would spread loads.

Then yout can glue and screw and number of batten, shelves or fixing hooks to the battens, in any pattern you need.

 

[andyelbac]

Thanks all. Enough ideas there to think about.

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[Orion]

Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing wood battens to a garage wall in a motorhome? Here's the issue. We have a Burstener Lyseo 680g. I want to attach tie downs to the upper rear wall so I can fix bungee cords between top and bottom to hold chairs, tables in place. There's a box step that runs the length of the rear wall at the bottom ( i think it hides the cabling and rear housing for the rear light clusters) that is ideal for sitting the above mentioned items on. There is a lashing rail with eye bolts underneath, so I have somewhere to attach bungee cords at the bottom but Burstner unhelpfully do not provide a rail at the top of the rear wall. I thought about screwing tie downs direct to the rear wall but Burstner advise against it. I think it might be relatively thin (10mm or less) ply. I'm wondering if the best solution would be to glue a
wooden batten in place at the top and screw tie downs onto that? Has anyone done something similar. My biggest concern at the moment is whether the batten I have is going to offer enough material for the glue to stick to (its about 2" square).

I’ve just done almost exactly what you are proposing in the garage of our Adria and I can’t imagine that the construction of that area differs much from your Burstner. As we have the island bed version there isn’t the height available to put cycles in there, (we have a Thule tow ball bike rack anyway), so I’m looking to maximise the space available.

As there is no great weight being secured I used two lengths of aluminium Unwin ‘L’ Cargo Track from Nationwide Trailer Parts, which I drilled and countersunk at approximately 150mm centres and screwed directly to the back wall. The Unwin ring and other fittings came from eBay seller geocamperuk and I use Stratchit Shorties (which are a cross between a bungee and a ratchet strap) for securing chairs, screens, table, etc.

There was enough cargo track left over from the 2x3m lengths to secure my recovery tracks out of the way on the ceiling - already put to good use due to the crappy CP tyres!

 

[L' Hobo]

I’ve just done almost exactly what you are proposing in the garage of our Adria and I can’t imagine that the construction of that area differs much from your Burstner. As we have the island bed version there isn’t the height available to put cycles in there, ( we have a Thule tow all bike rack anyway), so I’m looking to maximise the space available.

As there is no great weight being secured I used two lengths of aluminium Unwin ‘L’ Cargo Track from Nationwide Trailer Parts, which I drilled and countersunk at approximately 150mm centres and screwed directly to the back wall. The Unwin ring and other fittings came from eBay seller geocamperuk and I use Stratchit Shorties (Which are a cross between a bungee and a ratchet strap) for securing chairs, screens, table, etc.

View attachment 716134

There was enough cargo track left over from the 2x3m lengths to secure my recovery tracks out of the way on the ceiling - already put to good use due to the crappy CP tyres!

View attachment 716135

There used be (probably still is) similar heavy duty tracks used in the handicapped buses/ambulances for securing wheelchairs.

 

[nicholsong]

Probably not a good idea to use bungee cords to secure things to the back wall as they will give up if you brake suddenly. I use ratchet straps for this purpose.

I also use ratchet straps, not bungees, to secure anything but the lightest objects.

 

[Orion]

There used be (probably still is) similar heavy duty tracks used in the handicapped buses/ambulances for securing wheelchairs.

Yes, I’m not sure what it’s rated at, or whether it’s aluminium or steel, but the secondhand track and fittings removed from those vehicles seems to be selling at a very inflated price. Maybe simply because the fittings are specifically designed for that application?

 

[DT]

Using the aluminium ankle on the rear wall that supports the bed I fitted s/s ring hooks similar to below.

Yesmin 4pcs 304 Stainless Steel Eye, Oblong Pad Eye Plate 5MM Metal Staple Ring Hook With 2 Holes​

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[L' Hobo]

Yes, I’m not sure what it’s rated at, or whether it’s aluminium or steel, but the secondhand track and fittings removed from those vehicles seems to be selling at a very inflated price. Maybe simply because the fittings are specifically designed for that application?

the link takes one to extruded Ally, although the write up does say 'heavy duty, but the ones we had (over 10yrs ago) were steel.
(not sure I would trust a occupied wheelchair with an ally track and I'm not sure the authorities would sanction it?) probably the reason for the 'inflated' price?

 

[Lenny HB]

I’ve just done almost exactly what you are proposing in the garage of our Adria and I can’t imagine that the construction of that area differs much from your Burstner. As we have the island bed version there isn’t the height available to put cycles in there, (we have a Thule tow ball bike rack anyway), so I’m looking to maximise the space available.

As there is no great weight being secured I used two lengths of aluminium Unwin ‘L’ Cargo Track from Nationwide Trailer Parts, which I drilled and countersunk at approximately 150mm centres and screwed directly to the back wall. The Unwin ring and other fittings came from eBay seller geocamperuk and I use Stratchit Shorties (which are a cross between a bungee and a ratchet strap) for securing chairs, screens, table, etc.

View attachment 716134

There was enough cargo track left over from the 2x3m lengths to secure my recovery tracks out of the way on the ceiling - already put to good use due to the crappy CP tyres!

View attachment 716135

I like those straps.

 

[Orion]

I like those straps.

Best I’ve found so far for securing lighter loads, but reassuringly expensive. Still, as the saying goes for quality kit, buy once, cry once.

 

[autorouter]

Unfortunately there is an aluminium L shaped extrusion that Burstner have screwed in to support the bottom of the rear wardrobe that runs along the entire width of the garage in the way.

Probably that ali extrusion is screwed into some solid wood built into the foam sandwich structure. You may find that it extends below the ali extrusion enough for you to screw your batten to it. Not sure how you'd check, maybe by tapping to hear where the sound changes.

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

Gulp, £££, I might stick with me bits of old bailer twine .
Mike.

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[andyelbac]

Some good ideas there. I especially like the Adria with the shortie straps but in the end a couple of Funsters (Bernie 109 and DT) provided the obvious, easiest and most cost effective solution; namely, fit the lifting eyes from the screws that fix the Ali. angle supporting the wardrobe above. It's so obvious that I'm not quite sure why I didn't see it before but woods and trees..........
Anyway, I unscrewed one fastener and it's long enough that I can afford to lose a couple of mm with the thickness of the tie down so it shouldn't compromise the fixing when I screw it back in. As there are 7 screws running along the angle I will have plenty of choice of where to run the straps through (I'm only strapping down light'ish objects). Result!

 

[Northernraider]

the link takes one to extruded Ally, although the write up does say 'heavy duty, but the ones we had (over 10yrs ago) were steel.
(not sure I would trust a occupied wheelchair with an ally track and I'm not sure the authorities would sanction it?) probably the reason for the 'inflated' price?

Most minibus seats are fitted using aluminium unwin rail . I removed 30 from my vario .

No easy task

 

[ROCHESB]

I glued 15cm wide marine ply strips vertically to the back wall of our Benimar, but before doing that I fixed 'captive' nuts to the rear of the ply. I bought some webbing & buckles and made my own straps that were bolted through the ply into the nuts.

 

[L' Hobo]

Most minibus seats are fitted using aluminium unwin rail . I removed 30 from my vario .

No easy task

are they not also secured to a rail that runs along the inside of the bodywork, mine were, but I wasn't alluding to the ordinary seats, I was talking about tracking to secure wheel-chairs.

 

[Northernraider]

are they not also secured to a rail that runs along the inside of the bodywork, mine were, but I wasn't alluding to the ordinary seats, I was talking about tracking to secure wheel-chairs.

It varies , Jackie's complete rear 3 seat bench is only fastened in on 2 aluminium unwin rails ...it slides back and forth on them

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[rosalan]

Like many of us lucky enough to have a garage, the manufacturers seem to provide fixings around the floor but little on the garage roof or back wall to link with the floor fittings. I have been wondering about using Gorilla glue to avoid making holes. Has anyone tried this, it certainly feels strong enough..... I think.

 

[Lenny HB]

Like many of us lucky enough to have a garage, the manufacturers seem to provide fixings around the floor but little on the garage roof or back wall to link with the floor fittings. I have been wondering about using Gorilla glue to avoid making holes. Has anyone tried this, it certainly feels strong enough..... I think.

Noticed that with a lot of vans, Hymer always fit a top rail on the back wall of the garage.

 

[L' Hobo]

It varies , Jackie's complete rear 3 seat bench is only fastened in on 2 aluminium unwin rails ...it slides back and forth on them

Who is the converter, has it got type approval and, are the seat belts attached to the seat or body as they should be?

Sound dodgy to me. Just imagine 3 people like me, weighing 120kilo each, (360kilo + seat) strapped in there and the vehicle has a head-on crash at 70mph?

 

[Northernraider]

Who is the converter, has it got type approval and, are the seat belts attached to the seat or body as they should be?

Sound dodgy to me. Just imagine 3 people like me, weighing 120kilo each, (360kilo + seat) strapped in there and the vehicle has a head-on crash at 70mph?

Vw themselves it's a california . Seatbelrs built in to the seat.

Minibus seats just slotted in to aluminium rail is pretty standard ...have a look at the second hand ones for sale on ebay

 

[L' Hobo]

Vw themselves it's a california . Seatbelrs built in to the seat.

Minibus seats just slotted in to aluminium rail is pretty standard ...have a look at the second hand ones for sale on ebay

I used to have a Coach company until I retired and owned a few Vario's.
All of my tracking was made of steel and bonded and bolted into the floor, not sitting proud above and just relying on screws.

I'm surprised too by the California (unless it has some special seat clamps like the Renault Grand Espace) because I also have a 1989 T25 Westfalia California and all the rear seat belts in that are bolted securely to the body, including the middle lap belt?

Edit. Just had a look at the modern California and the tracking is completely different from the the type used in my handicap mini-buses used for securing wheel-chairs and securing loads so I'll say no more.