Robertsen Head Screw Drivers

[Davydd]

Since we have a lot of Canadian converters you may run into this need. The Robertsen head is a square head and evidently a standard in Canada as say opposed to the Phillips screw head. I ran into this need to take a screwed down cover off over my battery under the passenger seat of my Pleasure-Way Plateau. As it turned out I had the heads in a screw driver kit that included just about every conceivable variation.

[Cubey]

My Xplorer is covered in them. Harbor Freight sells a cheap set of screwdriver bits (item # 99860) with 3 different sizes of them in it. The blue one (the largest of the three) is the one that fits the ones my van has inside and out.

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece-3- ... 99860.html

EDIT: Just now noticed the date of the original post. Oops!

[poncho62]

Yep....old thread

Actually, there are 4 sizes of Robertson...Usually, the largest has a black handle, then red, green and the smallest is yellow.....quite a small square head on these.

Robertsons have never really caught on in the automotive field, mostly wood screws and for deck building with pressure treated wood.

[mlts22]

The reason that Phillips head screws are popular in the US is that Henry Ford found that they cam out as opposed to snap if too much torque is applied. So, they were adopted because of the way they fail, as opposed to how well they work.

[Davydd]

So far in two Bs I've had I have only found need of Robertson #1 and #2 screw drivers. They are available in the USA at all the major chain hardware stores such as Ace and True Value. They are handy to keep in the B if from a Canadian converter like Pleasure-way and Great West Van. I'm assuming Roadtrek and Leisure Travel Vans as well. This is probably just a matter of course for Canadians.

[markopolo]

Little off-topic but I thought I'd share two photos I took this year showing that the ringer assembly on an old clothes washer used Robertson screws. It is not that easy to see the Robertson head screws in the photos but they're there.

Ringer in great condition


Full washer and ringer


Those Robertson head screws have been in use for a long time in Canada.