Repair stripped tent-frame bolt hole? (V1)

GENERAL DISCUSSION
1

I decided today was the day to replace the rusty bolts holding my V1 tent to the steel frame. Found an old GFC video about replacing the original hinges which mentions thread sealant and torquing to 20 ft-lbs. This torque did a great job of stripping the aluminium threads in the tent. Checking the other bolts, about 12 ft-lbs seemed to be what they were torqued to.

The stripped bolt is hand tight and I’ve painted it to see if it moves, but does anyone have suggestions on how to repair? Preferably without entirely removing the tent from the frame.

2

Drill and tap the bolt out. You could tap weld a nut to it.

3

You could drill and tap a larger thread and use a helicoil to maintain the stock thread

a regular rivnut would also probably work well in the steel framE

4

The bolt is ok, the threads in the tent extrusion hole are stripped. I’ve ordered a helical insert kit. I think the tricky part is going to be drilling and tapping the aluminium blind (I have to pass thru the steel tent frame first). I’m also hoping the tools I ordered are long enough…. We will find out later this week.

5

Went with the Helicoil thread repair kit. The tap is long enough (over 2.5”) to thread the aluminium after passing thru the space frame.

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I was quite happy it was one of the rear bolts. The side corner bolt would have been a total pain since there is no room for the tap handle to spin.

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Worked well. Don’t want to do it again, lol.

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2 Likes
6

Glad the break happened in the 2nd-most convenient spot.
A corner would have been so frustrating to fix

Looks Great!

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