RV hanging closet repair

[srobbins]

Apparently a 100 mile round trip on a dirt road was too much for the hanging rod holders in my closet, as the plastic rod holder broke, dropping the rod and hanging clothes to the bottom of the cabinet.

The rod was supported by plastic rod holders at each end, which screwed into the inside of the closet. Like most RVs, the inside of the closet is made from a very thin (I'd guess around 1/8 inch thick) veneer-like material. I have a hard time imagining that this material is strong enough to support much. Is there supposed to be some kind of reinforcing behind the screws? When the rod fell out it pulled the two rod holder screws out, so I can't tell if there was some kind of reinforcing backing held in place by those screws or not.

I'd like to repair this, but don't know if I should just attach a new set of rod holders to the paneling, or if I need to figure out how to pull the paneling out so that I can reinforce it first. Right now the paneling is OK--it's the plastic rod holder which broke.

I'd take this to a shop, but I need to fix it quickly (and the local shops have a quite a backlog right now), and on a budget. Thanks for your help.

 

[Poppa]

RV hanging closet repair

Hmmmmmmm. Sounds like an uh o.

I would suggest screwing a piece of 1x4 to the wall then screwing the hanger to it. Measure from the from to the back of the closet to get the correct length then use 4 screws to screw it down. As an added strength prior to screwing the 1x4 in use a liberal coating of liquid nail on the back side. From that point on the wall might collapse but I don't think the rod will pull out/

 

[Kirk]

RV hanging closet repair

I would do exactly as Poppa said. I might use Elmers Glue All, as I don't keep a tube of Liquid Nail but I have Elmer's. If you feel that the wall material is too weak to hold the weight of the clothing, rather than mounting the 1X4 horizontally, mount it vertically and cut it to the length to reach to the floor of the space so that the weight will then be supported by the floor of the closet.

 

[srobbins]

RV hanging closet repair

Kirk and Poppa, thanks for your responses. I agree in principle with what you are saying, however, I doubt that I can remove the paneling inside the closet without pretty much trashing it in the process. I spoke with several RV repair places and found out that some units have reinforcing behind the paneling, but many (including mine) do not.

As far as the rod holder parts, I found out that the 1 inch rod holding brackets are not standard clothes rod brackets (which are sized for larger wooden rods), but are exactly the same size at shower curtain rod supports, which you can find at just about any hardware store. Also, the shower rod holders are metal instead of the plastic my unit originally had.

 

[C Nash]

RV hanging closet repair

Don't think Poppa or Kirk meant to remove the paneling. Mount the 1x4 onto the paneling and you can stain it to blend in with the paneling.

 

[hertig]

RV hanging closet repair

There are probably studs in them there walls. Small ones to be sure (mine are only 1" wide), but studs none the less. The 1 x 4 is a good idea, but I'd screw them into the studs rather than gluing them.