Thing is and long story short, when the tread came off of each tire, it ripped the fenders off of the camper on each side.  Not all of the screws were ripped out of the camper, but some were.  The wires for the clearance lights that were on each fender were just ripped out of their splices.  I have received new fenders from FR and also found the stock factory clearance markers online and have those as well.  On my trip to Menards and or Lowes to pick up the necessary screws and grommets that I know that I need for this project, does anyone have any recommendations for the following:

a) brand and/or size of double stick tape to attach the fender to the camper. It looks like the factory may have used something that was light colored or white and maybe 1/2" wide around the flat side of the fender.

b) suggestions for something to fill the holes on the size of the camper where the screws were ripped out before I apply the fender with the tape to the side of the camper. 

c) does anyone know if the entire arc behind the fender is a solid piece of wood?  If so I could add a couple of extra self-drilling screws beside where the ones were ripped out.

The screws used to attach the original fender were self-drilling.  I think I was able to remove gracefully 3 or 4 per side. The fenders have pre-drilled holes in them so I need to make sure there is something behind it to hold it and any holes are closed up that don't get screws. =)

Thanks in advance!

I share your pain.

There was no double sided tape on our trailer so I cant speak to that.

I filled the holes with butyl rubber chaulk which seemed to work just fine and mounted the new fender with stainless steel self drilling screws.

And yes, there is a a wood panel behind the fiberglass so adding additional screws shouldn't be any problem when mounting the new fender.

Since you aren't trying to save every second repairing this and can hold the fender where you want to while installing the new fasteners, I'd suggest a good quality polyurethane adhesive like 3M 5200. Apply that also to the old screw holes as sealant. Use SS screws and new hole locations. The trailer walls are an inch thick so don't use screws longer than that. 

BTW any chance you can share brand that blew out. It would be good if we can keep track of brands that are known to fail. 

Ridgeway Sport ST Power Touring ST205-75R14 Load range C

I had some damage to the grab bar foam, but not the bar itself.  Zooming in your photo, it almost looks like the same brand of tire?  See my other post below.

I agree with GlueGuy, the best option for the holes is repairing them with epoxy filler with cotton.  You can buy this sort of thing at any good marine supply, but with the small amount you need, just some regular epoxy glue and cotton dust or fiber would be fine.

Thanks for that.  The holes in question are just larger than the threads from the original screw.  There is some flaking at the outer edge where it pulled out but I'm thinking I can fill all of that in, let it set up, and then as GlueGuy said, drill some pilot holes the size of the screw shank and let the threads catch.  Should make for a good tight fit. 

in continued thinking about this I'm wondering if I were to actually use the glue to bond the fender to the camper though, if I suffered a similar "china bomb" as I am seeing this is called if it wouldn't actually result in more damage if it ripped the fender off than just sticking it up there like the factory did to hold it in place with the double stick tape?  Opinions?

Personally, I would not use a very strong glue to fasten the fenders in addition to the screws.  If you have another tire failure, the tread is going to come off and hit the fender, probably taking it off too.  If you have a strong glue bond, your fiberglass repairs may involve much more than just filling some stripped out screw holes.  It is very hard to see internal damage to a tire, and even harder to detect defects in manufacturing.  The best thing buy tires from reputable manufactures who have good quality control.

I've considered lifting this one at some point and upgrading to 15" tires... but small steps. =)  Thanks!  The Summits I have on it now are better tires than what was still on it. 

+1 to load range D tires to minimize the risk of a blow out.  Heat is the enemy of tires.  A load range D tire, due to its 8 ply construction, is not only more resistant to deflection causing heat, it is also more impact resistant, thus reducing the risk of a tire bruise.

Your raise a good point about backing for the screws. I would just move them over an inch or so, but if that put them somewhere with no backing then I'd certainly agree with you on using the same holes. 

I've gone one larger wheel size and one load rating higher than FR put on their trailers. I would also give the fender every chance I could to stay attached, rather than plan for it to fail and hit the guy following me. Belt and suspenders.  

That's me. Other solutions are fine too. Its really OK to disagree on this, there is no right or wrong answer. 

What was the date code on your old tires, do you know?  Mine are about the same age built 28th week of '15 and look perfect.  How heavy do you run, what pressure? 

Almost answering my own question, I think I should replace my tires, now. 

Is there any profit in going to a Load Range D tire?  There isn't much extra load capacity in those tires (1760 lbs each).

Anyone know the size of the tires on it so I can order either ST or Goodyear Endurance Load range 'D'?

Also is everyone comfortable with 'Harsh Ride' associated with load range D and that it will NOT cause any issues with camper?

Thanks!

Andy

I'm not sure what wheels are coming on the new trailers at this point, and they used to use different sizes in the West and East so unless someone here knows for sure I'd suggest you look at what's actually on your trailer before you buy new tires.

https://www.easternmarine.com/mag-aluminum-trailer-wheels - https://www.easternmarine.com/mag-aluminum-trailer-wheels

Only 'cause you couldn't buy something lighter?  :-)

I would use something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-Eventronic-Waterproof-Automotive-Electrical/dp/B071L6VDLK - https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-Eventronic-Waterproof-Automotive-Electrical/dp/B071L6VDLK

 Since the axles are rated at 3500, wheel and tire ratings higher than 1750 are going to be viewed as a waste of money from FR's perspective. Never mind that the axles seem to fail pretty gracefully (by becoming decambered) but a blown tire is a very serious problem if it happens at the wrong moment....

Touche Colt!  In fact I sold a 13' Scamp and bought this R-Pod.  I"m not sorry I did that and knew there would be other challenges.  I moved further forward just today as I drove to a CAT scale and weighed everything in.  I am in fact within my limits for everything tho maybe just a little light on the tongue actually for better stability.  I did have about a 2/3 full fresh water tank when I weighed which is not out of the question for our weekend trips.  I'll be doing a little bit of moving from the back to the front for our standard transport load from here on.  If I stick with the tires I have, I'll likely be just changing out the tires on a fairly regular basis now just as preventative maintenance.  When I decide to replace them next will be when I decide if I am going all in for the lift kit and the larger rims/tires, or just doing a load range D 14" for the next run.

Thanks to everyone for all of the feedback and guidance. I couldn't seem to find any 3M 5200 anywhere locally so as usual I fell back to Amazon and just got the email that it shipped.  With any luck, I should have all of the repairs done by the time we pull out for an overnight on Saturday.

No not exactly.  I have some like these in my normal stock actually.  The factory ones looked like this and the wires all enter the same side and you would use basically a normal set of pliers to make the connection, strip the wires and seal the whole deal.

Update: well I can't find the photo I took.  It looks a lot like the scotch lock connectors the phone company used to use back in the day but larger and for larger wire.  I'll look for a photo and post it as soon as I can locate it.  Update X2: Found the picture I was looking for, which ain't great.  Maybe post another better one tomorrow. 

Properly installed heat shrink adhesive filled butt splices are a better solution. Just be sure they are crimped  correctly before you heat them. 

Load rating seems a little low

Thank you I am so glad you posted this.  I just went out and tried to size up the new fenders to the old mounting area and they do not match.  If I put the front and rear edges of the replacement fenders even with the bottom edge of the camper floor, the apex sticks up a good 1.5 inches above where you can clearly see the old one was mounted.  I"m guessing that it is no going to make that much difference since it looks like there is plenty of wood behind the entire area and the apex is still about 3 inches under the bottom of the slider.  On the door size, I will just put the fender between the two rails for the r-dome skirt and that's where it will mount.  It is centered on the tire at that point.  Bottom line is this.  I just need to fill the old holes as for the most part I will be making new ones for the new fenders. =)

It looks like I'll be making new holes as the fenders they sent me are a little taller than the ones that came off of my 2016 RP178.  Not so much so that I will be off-wood but new holes will be better.  I'm guessing I can fill the old holes with the 3M 5200 and be fine with just that?  I planned on putting some on the threads when I ran in the new screws but I'm not sure I need that since the holes will be fresh also.  

Well Hmmmm.  I have a 3rd photo to post.  It shows up in my file manager after having uploaded it like 5 times and not seeing it in the left side of the add image dialog, but it doesn't show up in the add image dialog... so I don't know what to do to get it here.

I get that from your post earlier about the binding strength of the compound however, as I stated, the old holes don't match up with the new fender as also seen in the photos I sent (and one that I couldn't seem to get posted).  My question was more pointed toward if I could just use that as a hole filler without the fender mating to it.  I've decided that my fender will be held with screws and the double stick tape to hold it in place while I put the screws in, just like at the factory.  Will I be more diligent about making sure my tires are good?  Of course, but if the worst should happen again, I really don't want to replace a large hunk of my camper wall.  This particular blow out trip only has ended up costing me about $300 in tires and replacement hardware and fenders and such.  I would have had to dip into my comprehensive deductible had there been more damage to the sides of the camper than there were.

That is correct.