Basement door hold catch

I have a 2009 Big Country 3490RB and the catch that holds the basement door up has been loose since I brought the unit home new in January 2010. So my question is, how can this be repaired? There seems to be nothing behind for the screw to go into to hold this door catch? Is there a way to access this area from behind the unit. The catch I am talking about is on the entrance door side. Perhaps there needs to be two catches for such a large door?
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Will a longer screw grab into something?? If it was mine, I might consider using a Moly Fastener of some kind.
 

bill148

Member
I have used gorilla glue as it will expand. Take screws out and put glue in holes and also on
screws. Usually works!
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Looking at the photos of rigs and trying to guess, I think there is a hollow aluminum wall stud that runs vertically along that door frame. May even be a crossmember above the door, between them. It would not make for good engineering to just screw the latch to the thin outer wall panel and expect it to hold anything. That said, when they installed the latch (assuming there's a stud there), they may have overtorqued into the thin aluminum and stripped the hole. Remove the screws and see if the holes look chewed up, and probe in them to see what they may have mounted to. If my guess is correct, you could remount the latch a little higher or lower, being careful not to try to tighten the daylights out of it. Could even try using the original mount position with the next size larger self-tapping screw diameter, if the latch will take them.

If I'm all wet, which is not uncommon, then thin-wall mollies may be the way to go.
 
Well...I was going to take the RV in to have the rear toilet repaired and have them look at the door catch, but for now, I filled the holes with Gorilla Glue and put it back together. It's holding pretty well for now. If I have further issues with it, I will explore a more permanent repair. Probably form inside the walls by adding some new wood. Thanks for the tips.
 
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