One would assume that something a cheap and common as coupler nuts would be easy to buy. However, when you live in a small town, and it is the long weekend, that assumption is not the best one to make.
Here’s what I was looking for. They are simply longer nuts, threaded all the way through and used for a variety of purposes. The most common one is for extending threaded Readi-Rod, which, incidentally, is what I wanted them for. The new grey water tank is a little deeper than the previous one and it is supported under the camper by four threaded rods that hold two steel support straps. Since the tank is deeper, I needed to extend the support rods a few inches so the tank will be supported under the truck. However, buying them in town turned out to be a larger issue than I thought.
I went to Home Hardware which does have quite a variety of different bits and pieces for repairs. However, when I found the section where the coupler nuts were, and looked in the bin, I got quite a surprise. The bins were labelled 1/4″, 5/16″, 7/16″, 1/2″, 9/16″, and 3/4″. Wait a second. I need 3/8″ and there was no bin for them. I asked the woman working there whether or not they had that size and she was a dumbfounded as I was.
“I guess we don’t carry them, although I don’t have the faintest idea why.”
Then, it hit me. Several years ago, I replaced the black water tank with an aluminum one and had to do the same thing. Yes, I now remember going to Home Hardware and having exactly the same results, complete with the sales clerk wondering why there were no 3/8″ ones. Last time, I ended getting them at Northern Industrial Sales, but since this was the Saturday of the long weekend, I had to wait until today to get them.
Another point came up in this purchase. Home Hardware were selling the size above and below for about $4.50 each. The cost for the four of them I needed at NIS was, with GST, $1.43. So, here I sit, with a nice saving, a coffee, and four shiny, new coupler nuts, waiting for the rain to slow up a bit so I can install them….
Doug Rutherford 