panel below gridge on 179

Has anyone had a problem with the panel below the fridge that hides many wires ,coming loose. there are only two screws that hold it at the top. this panel moves in and out as you open and close yout 179 slideout. I tried tightening the two wcrews every time,but they they keep coming loose while pulling your Ropd. finally my two screwa have stripped out and no lomger tighten. is there a way to correct this from happening.

I added a hinge to ours to allow it to swing back, but even that has its issues if something gets behind it and you extend the slide without knowing it.

I know some have replaced it with a curtain and I'm thinking more and more about doing that with ours.

I can't believe forest river couldn't come up with a better way to attach the panel. I'm surprised more owners haven't complained about this on here. I don't thing my wife would go along with the curtin, but thanks for the idea. I was thinking about a piano hinge. What problem did the hinge cause you? 

I'm not familiar with how the panel fastens. However, might a BLIND NUT work?

Originally posted by Pmorris1 I can't believe forest river couldn't come up with a better way to attach the panel. I'm surprised more owners haven't complained about this on here. I don't thing my wife would go along with the curtin, but thanks for the idea. I was thinking about a piano hinge. What problem did the hinge cause you?

They work fine for items hitting the panel from the interior side, but if something gets in behind the panel, the hinges don't help when the slide is extended. The hinges are spring-loaded to keep the panel from "leaning back" into a non-vertical orientation, as it would do with piano hinges.

Since my prior post, I've figured out how to add a second set of hinges to allow the panel to swing out if something gets behind it when the slide is extended while still keeping the panel vertical when it's not under stress.