Factory Quality “Gift” 3 Years Later

[BAB]

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed some play on the top door hinge of my ’15 Classic that I bought new 3 years ago.

I removed the piece of trim Airstream uses to hide the flush screw heads, got my big phillips screwdriver and went to work. NATURALLY, it just kept turning and turning. ( I had a similar experience on my 2012 Intl CCD -- and I was at Alumpalooza -- so an Airstream tech volunteered to fix it -- I watched how he did it...unscrew trim around inside doorframe, drill a couple of holes right where the nut should be...)

So, I removed the trim, and LO AND BEHOLD! If you look at my picture, someone else had already “fixed” this at the factory. Unfortunately, the screw and/or nut was stripped and when it couldn’t be tightened completely, covered with miracle caulk ... “good to hide anything.” I wondered if I had broken the screw/nut by use alone, but decided this was implausible.

I went to my dealer, bought a new screw and nut (with attached lock washer), then fixed my door hinge.

The only difference between my first repair and this one is that in the first repair, Airstream had welded the lower and upper nuts on a plate. That would have worked except the nut had broken loose from the weld.

I used TWO nuts on the screw, both with lock washers. Not doing this again!