Milenco Security Arm.

[Verteuil Man]

Hello all.

A bit of advice required. I have fitted a Milenco Security Arm to our Hymer motorhome primarily for me to use as an aid when getting in and out of the van. I used the screws that came supplied with the Arm and drilled the holes in the aluminium door frame. I also applied some silicone to the area that is against the side wall of the van. After a period of time the Arm has some play and the screws will not tighten as the shanks are in the aluminium door frame. The void behind the aluminium side is empty. The screws will not unscrew.

In short I will have to drill the heads off the screws but what should I use to re-fasten the arm?

Any suggestions?

 

[Stealaway]

I always use screws without a plane shank ito aluminium.
I don't really think that the aluminium body material will ever be strong enough to screw to.
You need some thing thicker to fix to. Wood or steel or even aluminium behind the thin door frame sheeting

 

[62272]

Just my opinion, I'm not sure that the screws are doing anything other than locating the edge of the mountings in place and are not there to provide a really tight and secure base. the bolts that go through the wall provide the security. Provided the screws are not flapping out then they just need to be secure enough to hold the edge against the frame. I personally would use a quality sealant behind each mounting and this will provide good stability. And just put the screws in so they are tight - but not over tight (a bit of sealant in the holes before screwing it you are concerned?

This is just my thoughts though - other may have a different view.

PS the same arm is no my moho (fitted before I bought it) and it has a load of sealant between the mountings and the bodywork.

 

[Verteuil Man]

I always use screws without a plane shank ito aluminium.
I don't really think that the aluminium body material will ever be strong enough to screw to.
You need some thing thicker to fix to. Wood or steel or even aluminium behind the thin door frame sheeting

The only problem is I cannot get into the void of the wall board to add some wood.

 

[Verteuil Man]

Just my opinion, I'm not sure that the screws are doing anything other than locating the edge of the mountings in place and are not there to provide a really tight and secure base. the bolts that go through the wall provide the security. Provided the screws are not flapping out then they just need to be secure enough to hold the edge against the frame. I personally would use a quality sealant behind each mounting and this will provide good stability. And just put the screws in so they are tight - but not over tight (a bit of sealant in the holes before screwing it you are concerned?

This is just my thoughts though - other may have a different view.

PS the same arm is no my moho (fitted before I bought it) and it has a load of sealant between the mountings and the bodywork.

You are thinking along the same lines as me. Industrial adhesive and new screws.

Thanks to both.

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[Stealaway]

The only problem is I cannot get into the void of the wall board to add some wood.

You would need to need to cut a slot through the inside wall board beside the door frame to insert some thicker material and hopefully disguise the damage.
Or move the fixings slightly up or down and use larger fully threaded self tapping screws and glue

 

[Verteuil Man]

You would need to need to cut a slot through the inside wall board beside the door frame to insert some thicker material and hopefully disguise the damage.
Or move the fixings slightly up or down and use larger fully threaded self tapping screws and glue

I will give that a coat of looking at.

 

[Speve]

If you can get a small screwdriver behind the head whilst unscrewing the screw it should grab the thread and unscrew

 

[autorouter]

Just my opinion, I'm not sure that the screws are doing anything other than locating the edge of the mountings in place and are not there to provide a really tight and secure base. the bolts that go through the wall provide the security. Provided the screws are not flapping out then they just need to be secure enough to hold the edge against the frame. I

I agree with that. But are there actually two other bolts going through the wall?

I have a slightly different version of this Milenco arm, that mounts on the wall, not on the doorframe. There are four bolts on each of the hinge blocks, and they go through a metal plate on the inside wall. There is a white plastic clip-on square cover to make it look nice. It seems quite solid on the aluminium/foam/ply composite wall

 

[Carpmart]

Rivnuts would be my solution…

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[Reallyretired]

I have one of these, already on when I bought it. It has four fairly substantial bolts which go through the walls with steel plates to spread the load. Any screws can't have much to do with holding it on. I would attempt to remove them and replace with slightly thicker self tappers threaded all the way up no shank.