Threaded screw inserts

[prepilot_3ck]

Fellow Toy Hauler Folks,

I'm interested in installing some threaded screw inserts into the floor of my toy hauler. These will be used for fork mounts for 2 road bicycles. So, nothing heavy or anything.

The idea would be to install 3 or 4 of these into the floor, then screw a board down to those. The board will have my fork mounts on them. That way I can move the fork mounts around without drilling more holes in my floor. Then I can also remove the board when I don't want to have it, just leaving a few threaded holes that I can easily cap when not in use.

Does anyone have an experience doing this with their toy hauler? Any advice?

Brian

[Puddle_Pirates]

prepilot_3ck wrote:

shastagary wrote:
i have used these with good results Externally Threaded Inserts

NICE! In a similar use case to the one I'm suggesting? Those are precisely the ones I was looking at.

Brian

That’s what I used in my unit. I have 6 of them in the floor. My wheel chock is bolted to a 3x4 sheet of 3/4 plywood. I bolt the plywood to the inserts. This way I can just unbolt and remove the plywood and then I have a smooth clean floor.

I use them in conjunction with straps to the D rings. This way they only really are used to hold the bike in the chock until I get the straps on and tightened down. After the straps are on there is no real strain on the inserts.

Been using this method for 4 years, they’re still as tight and solid in the wood as the day I inserted them.

I won’t be back to the unit for another week, but if you want photos of my setup just message me an email, I can send them next time I’m at the unit.

[nayther]

prepilot_3ck wrote:

nayther wrote:
I did something similar in my last TH but it was for a Gold Wing so much heavier.

I drilled through the floor and the outer upper flange of the frame. Then uses speed nuts clipped over the frame so the threaded part was below the flange. I then "mounted" some aluminum angle on top of the floor with eyebolts through the angle and into the speed nuts. This gave me a solid through frame mount for the angle (in your case board) as well as a tie down point. Simple to install/remove using the eyebolts. If you're concerned about the open hole through the floor use some plastic plugs to fill the holes, you can buy white, brown, black Lowes.

Sounds cool. I have the big D-rings already installed, but they aren't where I need them, and I'm not sure how to do a fork mount with those. I think filling the empty threaded insert them with a plastic plug, or putting the screw back in with a rubber washer of some sort would be good too.

Are the D rings bolted through the frame? If so can you remove them and reuse that hole/thread? I needed four, two were this condition and I added two.

[D_E_Bishop]

First let me say that I know absolutely nothing about THs but I am familiar with both bicycles and wood working. The threaded inserts with external threads are pretty fierce and will be able to take a lot of stress, both lateral and up and down.

I do not have any idea about the composition of the floor of a TH, so I can't make definitive statements but the threaded insets are going to be questionable in OSB and MDF. Neither one of those are very resistant to putt through, very slight over tightening of the bolts placed in them will damage the threaded area of the wood.

I do think your idea is a great one and I welded up my own for my pickup bed back in the 80's.

[vankaye]

something like this would work. It attaches to the d-rings. No drilling.

[Mover480]

This is what I used to mount the front wheel chock to the floor.

Toggler Bolts

[Bob_E_]

I would mount the fork stands on a board. Then I would add eye hooks (or small D-rings) to the board, then just strap the board to the floor using ratchet straps to the existing D-rings. If you put the straps in an X pattern, the fork stand board shouldn't move. And if you play with the angles of the straps, you should be able to get it to stay just about anywhere on the floor.

[prepilot_3ck]

shastagary wrote:
i have used these with good results Externally Threaded Inserts

NICE! In a similar use case to the one I'm suggesting? Those are precisely the ones I was looking at.

Brian

[prepilot_3ck]

bpadamson wrote:
You would need to know how much 'power' the inserts have. You may need more of them than you think. Also check under floor to be certain you don't drill into something important. You may have thought of this and other things, just the first few that come to my mind. (my gas tank is under the floor)

Thanks, yeah and those inserts/screw will have lateral movement as well and straight up/down. I've seen some that claim 40,000 lbs of tinsel strength. I suspect they are talking about the insert itself, not including the mounting. Also, I suspect that any rating will be based on a straight pull or push not side-to-side rocking, and vary depending on the wood its installed into. I looked at some of the install instructions for those things and they suggest filling the hole with epoxy before screwing or dropping in the insert. That seems like a solid idea as well.

[prepilot_3ck]

fj12ryder wrote:
I think using several and a large surface area board, and just for a couple road bikes you'd be fine. Nothing larger than bicycles though.

I'm thinking at least 1 insert/screw for each foot of board. My road bikes are all carbon fiber and weigh ~17ish lbs. Each bike needs about 18 inches of space. So I'm thinking 3-4 inserts for that board.

Brian

[prepilot_3ck]

nayther wrote:
I did something similar in my last TH but it was for a Gold Wing so much heavier.

I drilled through the floor and the outer upper flange of the frame. Then uses speed nuts clipped over the frame so the threaded part was below the flange. I then "mounted" some aluminum angle on top of the floor with eyebolts through the angle and into the speed nuts. This gave me a solid through frame mount for the angle (in your case board) as well as a tie down point. Simple to install/remove using the eyebolts. If you're concerned about the open hole through the floor use some plastic plugs to fill the holes, you can buy white, brown, black Lowes.

Sounds cool. I have the big D-rings already installed, but they aren't where I need them, and I'm not sure how to do a fork mount with those. I think filling the empty threaded insert them with a plastic plug, or putting the screw back in with a rubber washer of some sort would be good too.

[prepilot_3ck]

firemedic1992 wrote:
Have no experience with your application but sounds like you’re looking for Thread-serts

Yup. That's what I'm looking at.

[prepilot_3ck]

Dick_B wrote:
no experience but thinking off the top about the forces exerted on those inserts while underway. Will they hold up? Can the board be larger so the load is spread over more inserts? Just food for thought.

Totally. I have the same concerns. The board will be much longer than the span of the inserts and I'll do at least 1 insert per foot of board. I'm hoping that will be enough to distribute the weight. I'm also concerned about the floor remaining water proof. If I'm drilling holes through the rubber floor, should I seal around the inserts? Is that even possible? How?

[fj12ryder]

I think using several and a large surface area board, and just for a couple road bikes you'd be fine. Nothing larger than bicycles though.

[nayther]

I did something similar in my last TH but it was for a Gold Wing so much heavier.

I drilled through the floor and the outer upper flange of the frame. Then uses speed nuts clipped over the frame so the threaded part was below the flange. I then "mounted" some aluminum angle on top of the floor with eyebolts through the angle and into the speed nuts. This gave me a solid through frame mount for the angle (in your case board) as well as a tie down point. Simple to install/remove using the eyebolts. If you're concerned about the open hole through the floor use some plastic plugs to fill the holes, you can buy white, brown, black Lowes.