Loose Hood Bracket Help - 2012 Adventurer

[base]

Have seen this to be a common issue. Starting to look at repairs for my loose hood brackets.
My first question is:
1. Did you remove the hood from the brackets?
2. if not, how did you access to apply adhesive material and clamp it.
3. Any pictures would help.
4. Im considering adhesive AND bolts, a little concerned about drilling and the particular materials to use.

Thanks in advance

[Lv2Roam2]

Many of us with slide out genny trays put stainless steel bolts through the latches - adhesives just didn't hold up in the heat. But - before you go that route may we have a picture or two of what latches you're looking at? Will help us be more specific with recommendations - thanks

[Jim_HiTek]

I use 6-32 and 8-32 flathead screws, a flat washer behind with a plastic insert locking nut. All SS. I drill from the backside where appropriate or with careful measurements from the front, countersink the holes, insert the screws cinch them up snug (not too tight to avoid cracking the fiberglass). Have done this with the front hood, the latching brackets, the engine hood in the rear of the RV along with the rear fender assembly. I'll do the same if the headlights ever get loose. After 8 years of zero issues, I never recommend re-epoxying those brackets as unnecessary, expensive, and time consuming.

Years ago, I couldn't find 8-32 flathead stainless hardware so used 6-32 but the smaller hardware works just as well because the weight of the fiberglass sections is so low.

Anyway, wrote up an ad free blog post about those jobs here: Body Work...

For a few dollars in SS hardware, it's good as new. The hardware is virtually invisible so I've never even dabbed the screw heads with paint...so far. This is as close to a permanent fix as you're going to find as I've read that the new epoxy also lets go after a couple years. And takes hours to prep and apply...from what I've read. What I like about it is ease of installation and then the minimal damage that might occur to the fiberglass if one of the pieces is ripped off in an accident.

[Ted Fyden]

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...ng-367958.html
I took the hood off.
C clamps work and I used wood to protect paint when clamped. I also glued over the old nubs that were left so they line up. when I drilled, I did small drill from backside to front through the metal bracket. one small drill bit and then to correct size. surprised even me that it came out ok. Good luck

[base]

Did you re epoxy and if so what did you use?
thanks

[dkoldman]

Few points on this thread.

1. Our passenger side fell out while we were driving. Bracket and the piece that is was in epoxy, both on passenger side.

2. My biggest issue was given how frequently this happens, that I had owned by a RV a few years before I knew about the potential to be a problem

3. When I lost the passenger side parts, I checked the driver side and while it was okay, you could see where the vibration over time will work against the epoxy and eventually shear it off.

4. I was proud of what WBGO did because my dealer wanted $1,200 to fix just one side WBGO sent me the two parts lost as goodwill. No damage was done and I am sure I lost the parts driving from Houston to Dallas.

5. I had my Mobile tech fabricate additional brackets to support the OEM bracket so it mechanically could not move to vibrate to shear. There may be a number of ways to fix the problem, but using the OEM Process to repair is insanity if not outright madness.

This is post of what I did, https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...ml#post3921622

I check the brackets all the time and they are solid. I crow by WBGO as far as what my RV has been to me over 4 years; and how they have treated me when I called them. They always took care of me or told me a sound action plan to get me back on my way. I would be scared to death to buy another RV from another MFG. But I do think they should redesign these brackets. I sent them what my Mobile Tech did. At a minimum; as it may not rise to be a recall they should have a Service Bulletin so every owner knows to check at least twice a year like changing oil.

[Ted Fyden]

I am not sure the exact epoxy but it was 3M and came with the tip that mixes it as it goes thru the tube. I ordered the two part epoxy gun from Amazon and extra tubes while I was there. Some folks have had good luck with JB Weld products. Because of other posts on this subject I ended up doing the stainless steel bolt thing. I check them now whenever I take hood down. Good luck, you’ll do fine.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Lv2Roam2

Many of us with slide out genny trays put stainless steel bolts through the latches - adhesives just didn't hold up in the heat. But - before you go that route may we have a picture or two of what latches you're looking at? Will help us be more specific with recommendations - thanks

When the insurance co. had my front cap repaired, the body shop didn't use epoxy to glue the generator cap back on, they used SST screws, then covered the heads with resin before repainting the cap. I defy anyone to find the outside screw head.
I've already made the same reply on his irv2.com thread.

[JimmyL]

Originally Posted by base

Have seen this to be a common issue. Starting to look at repairs for my loose hood brackets.
My first question is:
1. Did you remove the hood from the brackets?
2. if not, how did you access to apply adhesive material and clamp it.
3. Any pictures would help.
4. Im considering adhesive AND bolts, a little concerned about drilling and the particular materials to use.

Thanks in advance

I had the same issues on my 2019 Adventurer, both hood and grille brackets. Had the RV dealer re-glue them back on ( lucky they didn't fall off and get lost), only to come undone again. Do not re-glue them on. I drilled holes in the fiberglass body and put large bolts with large soft and metal washers thru the brackets. Have not had an issue since. What a stupid design to glue on the hood brackets and grille.

[RAJTAJ]

I have a recent post regarding a similar but different issue on my Vista, and user HORSE54 was kind enough to reply with an upcoming recall for a hood bracket recall that you may be interested in; see links below, these may be of interest to you and others. (My thanks to HORSE54.)


https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/202...4V826-4432.PDF

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...ml#post3960179

[Jim_HiTek]

Wow. Never thought I'd ever see a recall on these 'fall-off' parts. Winnie has been using this method of using epoxy only to hold brackets for decades.

Mine is a '02 and when the first part on my RV came loose due to the brackets epoxy giving way (in 2016) it was the lift up engine grill support bracket which came loose (rear of the RV, covers the engine access), I read all I could about it and found that they'd been using epoxy for years before my model year. Saw some extensive write ups about prep'ing and replacing the epoxy but also read where the new epoxy would let go for some owners within a couple years. Didn't seem like a good idea to use the same stuff to hold the brackets in the same locations where it had let go once already as it appeared from mine that the broken off bracket would have some of the fiberglass stuck to it, thinning the fiberglass. While looking at the issue, it just made much more sense to me to use screws as the pieces the brackets held were all light weight. I can lift the entire wrap around lower rear cover on my RV with one hand, for example.

My browsers won't open the link to the nhtsa.gov link and I'm wondering if it only applies to the Vista model, and just for the hood piece? Or is this one of those cases where the bracket tends to fall off onto the road? None of my loose pieces fell off, though it was close in a couple cases, and I started using screws on brackets that hadn't loosened up as preventative.

[RAJTAJ]

Try this link (??) Not specific to Vistas.


https://go.skimresources.com/?id=218...enu%20%5B-1%5D

[Jim_HiTek]

Thanks for that link, RAJTAJ, that works.

I see the recall just goes back to 2014 and involves less than 12,000 units? HA!

What's curious is what was different about those brackets then my '02 Journey's brackets? In the case of mine, each bracket was epoxied to the fiberglass shell AND screwed to the metal of the interior framework using self drilling screws. All of them are heads up so they can get loose but wouldn't likely fall off easily. So the epoxy would let go, but the bracket would hang onto the frame. There was one case on my RV where the screws had worked loose over time (14 years) and the bracket was hanging by a single screw with a couple screw thread turns. I went around the RV and tightened or checked them all. Found some loose brackets (but only that one with a missing screw and a loose screw) so that's another maintenance item we owners have to be aware of. Doubtful there will be a total recall of all the potential dislodged brackets in the Winnie fleet out there. I do recall reading of some owners who had brackets actually fall off onto the road so check yours, fellow Winnie RV'ers.