Maybe a new low?

[Super_Dave]

My wife has recently experienced a disability and today tried to get around in the 5th wheel to see if camping would be possible. She grabbed the handrail and it immediately pulled out of the wall. Screwed into nothing but the 1/8" Luan.

[gtnsmlr]

Had the same problem. I got some nice 1/2 inch thick maple and put the blocking on the surface with a little foo foo detail and stained to match. Going on two years of fulltiming and still holding strong, I weigh close to 300.

[schlep1967]

In the voice of a four year old ,,,,, "And then what happened?"

[PastorCharlie]

Sent the picture to the builder with a link to this discussion.

[Ed_Gee]

Seems to me there is a potential liability issue here considering the dangers posed by not engineering a proper safety hand rail. Your wife could have been injured in the process. Wonder how the factory will respond if you do as others here have said and contact them ..

[schlep1967]

A possible way to fix your problem. Drill a large hole centered in the middle of those four screws. At least an inch, larger if possible to hide it with the end of the handle. Work a 1" x 1"x X" piece of wood into the hole. The depth of the wall will decide how long that piece can be and still be able to slide it into the wall. Once in the wall place it where the existing screws will go into it and run a small flat head screw through the thin luan between 2 of your existing screw holes to hold it it place. Repeat with another piece of wood for the other 2 screw holes. Now you have some solid wood to screw the handle to and they are supported by a larger area of the thin wood.

[RetiredRealtorR]

bukhrn wrote:
Total negligence, anybody builds a piece of cr*p like that, should pay dearly.

100% agree. With the blatant lack of standards and regulations the manufacturers can put out whatever junk they want to, and the travesty of it is, we keep on buying them!

[chops1sc]

Dayum! I would definitely send that pic to the head of the MFR. Send a copy to the ADA as well.

[Jarlaxle]

Yep, typical Soviet Bloc build quality!

[DarkSkySeeker]

Well, the good news is you don't seem to be letting the disability stop your wife. Bad news is, as we all know, trailers are poorly constructed. When you beef it up, put it on your list of other repairs you've done. I bet you have a list already.

[wa8yxm]

I would have drilled through and put a plate on teh inside with bolts and nuts.
But that's me. Function trumps looks in my book

[Super_Dave]

I put some anchors in but don't know how much good they will do.

[bukhrn]

Total negligence, anybody builds a piece of cr*p like that, should pay dearly.

[valhalla360]

Check the one by the entrance door while you are at it.

Huge difference having something there as a balance aid vs actually using it as a handrail.

[rexlion]

Tell her to lay off the spinach and Wheaties, she doesn't know her own strength! 😉

Yeah, they call some of the trailers Ultra Lite nowadays but what they really mean is Paper Thin Construction.