cracked plastic around screw holes on a/c cover

Pat2

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Posts
1,234
Location
Payson AZ
I removed the a/c cover on the roof today to clean coils, remove a couple wasp nests and some spider webs,  and dust.  I notice the plastic around the each front screw hole had a crack radiating from the hole. I don't think the crack went all the way through.  Forgot to check the inside.  Is there some way to repair this with plastic or fiberglass?

--pat
 
If the cover is fiberglass (mine are), it can be fixed with either epoxy or JB Weld. Both will be a mis-match with existing color, but a small area of clear epoxy won't be noticeable from the ground. Since what you describe sounds like a stress crack from tightening the screws, a better fix might be to epoxy a washer to the cover at each of the screw holes.
 
We have had the same problem with the old Coleman units.  We found that the cracks contined to grow due to the uplifting air movement around the units when driving.  Our solution was to add fender washers under the screws.  These are larger diameter washers with the same sized center hole, found at most hardware stores.

Robert Flight
Rochester, NY
 
I'd use washers to spread the screw load across the surface around the hole, as suggested by Tom & Robert.  Fender washers (large solid washer) glued or epoxied to the cover would be the best.
 
Washers it is.  Recommend slightly longer screws to accommodate the additional thickness of the washers? 

--pat
 
Depends on the screws you now have.  Once a screw is long enough, extra length doesn't help and could even penetrate something you don't want.  The fender washer will add no more than 1/16 inch and screws generally come in 1/4 inch increments, so the next larger size may be overkill.
 

New posts

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom