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BeSerious · 07-25-2019, 10:00 PM

I would appreciate your ideas for re-installing the base of our 2019 NEST 16U’s pedestal table. The issue is that the pedestal base was mounted with six 1/4” through bolts with a washer and nut. On removal they simply fall to the pan. And the extensive reinforcing of the floor creates a maze of very small openings that look like wide, cartoon-mice entrances. Basically this is equivalent to a “hollow wall” fastener problem with limited visual access via an inspection camera.

I’m currently planning to drill out the existing 1/4” holes to 5/8” to accommodate 1/4 in toggle bolts. But I’d appreciate any alternatives you might suggest.

Background:
Since this is a first travel trailer, we are taking our time and trying it out on our property. Yesterday I tried to remove the pedestal table to convert it into a bed, and found the pedestal “pipe” was firmly stuck. To keep from breaking the plastic lock, and to gain access to lubricate the threads with soap, I removed the whole pedestal. THIS WAS A SERIOUS MISTAKE! After removing the cushions/storage-lids I discovered that the access to the area under the floor below the pedestal table is limited to flexible inspection cameras and/or flexible magnetic pickup tools

The attached photo was taken with an iPhone from the right hand storage container looking left. The lateral wooden support has three “mouse holes” which are too small to get a hand through. Two metal I-beams divide the area behind the lateral support wall into 3 compartments. The pedestal is mounted above the center compartment i.e. to the left of the (orange and blue) inspection camera.

Thanks in advance

BeSerious · 07-28-2019, 01:22 PM

For those who may be interested in the journey and/or the outcome…

I spent quite a bit of time learning the layout of the rat maze of partitions in the space below the dinette floor -- using a WiFi inspection camera and flexible magnetic pick tools. In the process, I retrieved 4 nuts and 5 washers (out of 6 each. BTW the nuts are high quality stainless steel and so weakly magnetic that I had to drag them very slowly.

It was very tedious work. But I got tantalizingly close to being able to position a nut just below a bolt using a flexible magnetic pick up tool. In the end, the steel beams proved to be the show stopper. The end oft e flexible magnetic would invariably get close enough to the beam to latch on to it and drop the nut

So I decided to cut my losses and go in from the top.

After studying the various “hollow wall” options, I went with 1/4-20 Snap/Strap Toggles that leave a “captured nut” in the form of a solid U channel crossbar. Installing the Snap Toggles required the original 1/4” holes to be drilled out to 1/2”. That’s when I discovered the steel backing below the floor!. Snap Toggles don’t quite fit though a 1/2” hole in steel. The threaded part sticks out just a bit too far. So I used a rasp to elongate the hole. And, of course, I needed longer bolts (2” vs 1.5”). The rest went smoothly. Today it looks just like it did when we bought it

So if you own a NEST…
1 - Lubricate the top of the pedestal shaft with something like petroleum jelly, so that it doesn’t keep getting tighter as you rotate the table top clockwise for seating access.
2 - If your pedestal shaft gets very tight, use a rubber strap style “pipe wrench” to get more leverage.
3 - DO NOT EVEN THINK about removing the pedestal base!