RTP rubber ripped around screw holes?

[Slalom.Steve]

I just moved my RTP strap back one hole, and on one side, it seems two of the holes that go through the rubber underneath the overlay have ripped open. When I unscrewed, several pieces of rubber fell off. And now one side is definitely different than the other. I have no idea if it rescrewed it "correctly," and I didn't think to look before hand if it was "unbalanced" at all before moving it (the fact that the top of the strap is slanted is cause it's adjusted to my foot, but I mean the amount of rubber being held down on the sides). All the screws are super tight.

 

Is this okay to just let it be? Can you get just a replacement rubber piece?

Here's some pictures:

much more rubber held under

much less rubber held under, and the piece my thumb is touching, I can move it back and forth a bit (since it's not connected along the outside of the screw).

 

[dchristman]

https://www.d3skis.com/product-p/17730a.htm

[dchristman]

I always thought the overlay was just an extra bit for marketing, but after similarly ripping out a few toe pieces I now consider it somewhat of a failsafe.

[Slalom.Steve]

Can I get some more life out of this or is it now a safety risk to not replace the rubber? If I'm replacing the rubber, I'd also consider just buying a new different RTP. Not that I'm unhappy with this one, just that it's the only one I've ever had, and I know there's some good love out there for HO, Wiley, and Radar as well.

[MattP]

Just buy some new rubber and keep a spare. It will rip from time to time. Replace the screws with shorter ones. This will put the rubber in a better compression and will be less likely to rip.

[DaveD]

Do you really want to risk an injury to save a few bucks?

[6balls]

I'd buy a new one and keep the old as a spare to use only in case of failure long enough to buy another new one.

[Slalom.Steve]

New rubber purchased!

[lpskier]

Use longer bolts to put it together, and once it is together, swap out the new bolts for the old, going one at a time.

[jhughes]

Mind blown by the cap nut replacement idea AND the longer screw swap-out idea. Absolute gold.

[Slalom.Steve]

@lpskier I'm not sure I understand. You're saying put it together with longer screws, then swap out one-by-one for the regular screws? What advantage that does give?

[Broussard]

@SlalomSteve Sometimes it is difficult to put enough pressure to get the screws into the capnuts. Using long screws makes it a lot easier to get the rubber and "horseshoe" (plastic rail in the case of a RTP) into place.

[BobF]

Yep, I've even used nails as a temporary holder, replacing them one at a time w/the short screws.

[lpskier]

What @Broussard said.

[mike_mapple]

@lpskier just got to get your grip strength up! Just kidding, I still use the long screw method 99% of the time when changing rubber on Rear toes, Ive pretty much retired from doing boots tho, to many finger cramps and almost putting a screw into my thumb. My rear toe on my ski has the front two screws about 2 inches longer than the rear on each side.

[Slalom.Steve]

@Gloersen, I grabbed some nylon insert lock nuts.. but they don't fit in the plastic "rail" slots, the diameter is just slightly bigger than the cap nuts that came with it.

Have you had any trouble with that? I might be able to hammer the lock nuts down in there, but don't know if they'd ever come back out lol.

 

 

[skialex]

Hammer them down with a mallet or a hammer, nothing is wrong with that...

[Slalom.Steve]

alright, got them installed! Final question: should the screws/rubber be tightened down as hard as they go?... cause I realized one of them is so tight I can't unscrew it without stripping the screw head... I suck at this DIY stuff.

 

Thanks for all your help everyone!