From RV Education 101
Are you confused with all the different fasteners and screw heads used in RV construction?
You need to be familiar with these screws so you can take the right screwdrivers and driver bits in your RV toolbox. It took some research, but I think I can help explain what to keep in your toolbox so you can deal with any fastener in the RV.
Here is some fun history I discovered while researching this topic: I found an article that said using square-headed fasteners saved Henry Ford’s workers two hours of assembly time per vehicle. That’s a lot of time and money saved for assembly line work. So, Ford wanted to license the screws but the owner of the square head screws, P.L. Robertson refused. That’s when the Phillips head screw, owned by Henry Phillips, gained popularity in America. Henry Ford needed screws that were fast to use and torqued tight for fastenings that would hold.
Watch the video below to learn all about different fasteners used in RVs.
To learn more about using and maintaining your RV visit RV Online Training
Related:
Carry some basic tools – even if you can’t use them
All fasteners on Newmar coaches use square head (or square head combination).
Staple guns seem to be the ‘fastner’ of choice in too many applications, which is why so much stuff falls apart. Just sayin’.
I think Aliner uses what ever furniture screw is on the floor.
The main purpose of the Phillips head was to avoid the slippage of a slotted screw, but it was never intended to “torque tight”. Quite the opposite, in that the driver backs out (cams out) when the screw becomes tight, preventing over-torquing.
Square headed screws (Robertson) are vastly superior to Phillips head. They hold onto the screwdriver by themselves, and slip less. Widely popular in Canada. Less so in the U.S, thanks to Henry Ford.
“P.L. Robertson’s third major attempt involved the Ford Motor Company. From early years of the Milton plant Ford Windsor, Ontario, Canada accounted for a substantial part of Robertson’s production. By using socket head screws Ford made a considerable savings of $2.60 per car.
This savings captured the attention of the Detroit bosses and soon after P.L was in Detroit talking about expanding socket head screw production to supply all U.S. made Ford cars. Henry Ford refused to commit to a new product line without having a say in how and where the screws would be made. P.L was not happy with this idea and headed home. This meant P.L was letting go of vast potential in the U.S. market, this also included Ford Windsor which accounted for one third of his output of screws.”