Roof Latches

[IDSmiths]

Hi All

We are in the roof repair process on our 1979 Starcraft Starmate and we need to repair the sides where the roof latches down before we reseal and repaint. It looks like the previous owners just moved the latches a little and redrilled the holes then siliconed the HECK out of them. Whats the best way to correct this. We are thinking about putting another piece of metal with holes drilled into them on the backside to keep them from pulling through and then using bolts and nuts instead of screws.  

Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions.


Thanks
Rydell and Lonni
1979 Starcraft Starmate

[Old Starcraft]

Always warms my heart to see anther older Starcraft owner, plus gives me another reference for mine  :-() .

On my 76' roof it has the screw coming in from the outside to a umm...errr.... I don't know the technical / hardware name for it, but here goes....... on the inside it's not a nut, but it holds in place by diging into the wood. Looking at it from top it looks like almost a star with each point having an edge that bites into the wood to keep it from turning while you screw / unscrew the bolt going into it. The side with the things that dig into the wood also has the middle that extends about a 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch that has the threads on the inside of it to accept the bolt.

I bought some new ones for mine. Sorry for the poor description, I'll try to get a picture of it and email it to you later today. If I recall they cost less than $5 for all 8 at the hardware store. I've seen them at Lowes too.

Keep in mind if the more nuts, or other protrusions, on the inside of the camper can potentially tear the canvas while opening and closing the camper.


P.S. Think about replacing screws with stainless steel ones. Thats what I'm doing on my 76'. Lowes / Home Depot do not have a good selection, but if you have a smaller mom and pop hardware store nearby I'd bet they would carrying them in stock