Preventing cabinets from falling

[turk123]

A recent post that a cabinet in the kitchen of a Globetrotter had fallen causing damage to the glass stove and countertop had me curious to see how my cabinets are faring after one year.

My cabinets did not seem to show any large gaps, but with further inspection, my galley upper cabinet seemed to be away from the wall a bit. I pulled the items I had in the cabinet out and was able to locate the screws is the lower back of the cabinet.

Getting my screwdriver out I checked to see if they were tight. No! I was able to get two or three turns on them before they got snug. I assume these are metal screws so I was careful not to go too far. They will not get completely tight so be careful when you do yours. They are going into a metal bracket and that bracket can bend.

So I guess this is a warning to all that preventive maintenance on the cabinets is required. Don't wait until a cabinet falls. We have probably twelve or thirteen thousand miles on our Airstream and much more than the Globetrotter. I am assuming the Globetrotter was installed improperly for that to happen.

Just don't wait for yours to fall. Maybe others have a better idea of how these are mounted and what can be done to ensure they are tight.

[CRH]

It would be a bit of work, but pulling the cabinets and putting VHB tape behind them and reinstalling the screws would probably hold them.

My bathroom cabinet started pulling off the wall. I add several metal angle brackets to reinforce it. We now travel with it emptied
We put the contents in the tub.

[nvestysly]

We recently had a cabinet in our Interstate fall off the wall/ceiling. I chronicled the repair and you can find the thread HERE.

We found the bedroom and galley cabinets in our van were not attached to ribs in the van. I wouldn't be surprised if Airstream used similar shoddy workmanship in trailers. The screw tightening (or lack of tightening) mentioned by turk123 may be similar to the problem we found in our van. Airstream had quite a large air gap between the cabinet and the wall. Yes, the screw could be turned (if you can call that tightening) but there was such a large air gap - sometimes as much as 3/8 of an inch or more, that the screw didn't really tighten against anything. We used shims behind the screws to fill the air gaps so the screws had a fighting chance of actually creating a compressive force between the cabinet and the wall.

In addition, the screws to the wall and ceiling may not be into a rib, they may simply be screwing into the interior skin. While that's okay, the cabinet will certainly be more secure if the screw is into the rib.

[turk123]

I'm going to follow up with JC on this. My cabinet over the galley has a gap behind it. Your right, the screws should be tightened to a point that they "get tight". If they are not "tight" they will eventually fail.

It seems inconceivable that the process of attaching the cabinets is flawed. I'm going to back out one of the screws to see how long it is and if it is actually reaching a rib. When four out of four screws are loose, something is about to go wrong. I would advise all Classic 30 owners 2018-2020 to check this to see if yours are loose also. This also may apply to other models.

Emptying this cabinet for travel is not a good solution. We purposely do not put heavy items in the upper cabinet. Why tempt fate? But for my cabinet to fail with our lighter loads is not exactly what I would expect. We will not be back home until April. I am going to make an appointment at Airstream for the week we get back. I live 3 hours from the factory. I want them to check this.

[GMFL]

We Rivnut everything. That or Plus-nuts are the best way to secure anything to your Airstreams wall.

[Doggoneit]

We recently traveled across the country from east coast to west in our new 27’ globetrotter. Somewhere around western Wyoming I noticed port side bedroom cabinet supporting TV was pulling away from ceiling. Closer examination reveled top front piece attached to ceiling had split in two where two pocket screws meet front panel. There does not appear to be much else supporting the wall panel that TV is mounted on, and there’s a lot of stress on those two pocket screws and the pieces they are connecting. I’m wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience? Currently working with dealer to get problem corrected under warranty.