Changing from Carefree to Zipdee- what do I do with old Bracket holes?
Shell is off; Frame is getting fixed; Meanwhile, taking care of a few shell issues while I wait. I was lucky enough to find a deal on a used Zip Dee that is too long, and needs some hardware. So need to figure out what to do with the old Carefree stuff.
The old Carefree awning brackets on rub rub rail were all pulled through, and holes all messed up. Good thing is they will be hidden behind the new rub rail. However, I still need to fill them up... thinking maybe cut a strip of aluminum as a backing plate in between the C channel and skin?? Sandwich it together when I rivet the skin back to the C channel? (with lots of vulkem of course). Not really sure how I like that idea...
The other place I need some input is the upper brackets (the ones at eye level that have the little teeth). These are not pulled through, but they are mounted right in the rivet line on the rib, with huge lag bolts- look like 3/8. When I remove these, I will have 2 huge holes in the rivet line. The only thing I can think of is to use same diameter bolt in a more aesthetically pleasing head and bolt/ screw it through the hole. Use either Stainless, or Aluminum (do they make an Aluminum lag/ bolt?) This way it would just look like it is holding something.... The location in the rivet line on the rib, does not lend itself to a patch..
Any ideas are appreciated!
Thanks,
Micky
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