It’s a Stick-Up

by Bob Livingston | Aug 23, 2024 | Cool Gadgets, RVEXPERT

side view of a man straightening a plaque hanging on an RV wall

Photos by the author

Mounting pictures and/or similar items on the walls inside an RV adds a personal touch — but keeping them from moving and falling when on the road can be frustrating. Alien Tape is a clean, non-permanent alternative to screws and picture hangers.

Just about all RVers personalize the interiors of their rigs by hanging items — like pictures — on the walls. Most owners prefer to limit the number of holes in the walls for obvious reasons. I’ve also subscribed to that line of thinking — and living in earthquake-prone areas until hitting the road full time led me to use Quake Hold Museum Putty to help mount pictures for many years.

This putty, which has the consistency of Silly Putty (a kid’s toy that’s been around for decades) is formulated to secure items on shelves in the event of an earthquake — simulated inside RVs by simply traveling on highways. I’ve even seen videos on YouTube from RVers who use this stuff to mount items on shelves while on the road.

Museum Putty has been my go-to product for hanging pictures inside my fifth wheel until many years of service and exposure changed my mind. Now I use Alien Tape, which can be found online or at any store that sells “As Seen on TV” products. Plus, beyond its expected great holding power, this tape is not affected by gravity when used on a vertical surface.

When I used Museum Putty, I found that placing one small screw in the wall serves as an anchor at the top of the picture frame and using a small amount of the putty in the lower corners between the wall and frame kept the picture from moving. Unfortunately, over time the putty become soft — almost like melting — and made a mess on the wall; I frequently had to trim the “melted” goo with a putty knife. Eventually, though, the stickiness dissipated and the picture(s) moved around freely.

hands hold an open package of Quake Hold Museum Putty

For years, Quake Hold Museum Putty was my go-to product to hang pictures on the walls and keep other items secure on shelves. It’s tough stuff that has a proven track record for holding display items on shelves in homes built in earthquake zones.

close view of a plaque with old heat melted quake putty spreading below

a plastic putty knife is used to scrape residual Quake Hold putty from an RV wall

While the Quake Hold product kept pictures and plaques from moving wildly during travel, time and heat almost melted the putty, allowing the soft material to ooze on vertical surfaces and release the frames. Fortunately, Museum Putty will not stick permanently or damage any item or surface, which is why it’s so popular. A plastic putty knife made short work of removing the “melted” material without damaging the wall.

hands hold a package containing a roll of Alien Tape

I tried Alien Tape after watching an infomercial on TV. It’s a clear double-sided “tape” that offers strong holding properties for just about anything you want to keep from moving. Although it’s tough, the tape can be easily removed without damaging the surface.

My solution was to use the same technique for hanging pictures — but instead of using a dab of putty on each lower corner of the frame, a single piece of Alien Tape did the trick.

I’ve used Alien Tape (and reported on its use in this newsletter in the past) to secure numerous items inside the fifth wheel and even on the tow vehicle dash. It’s super sticky and unaffected by harsh sun exposure and heat — and will stick to most surfaces inside an RV.

a hand applies a quarter sized square of Alien Tape to the back of a plaque

Rather than apply Museum Putty to each lower corner of the frame, I used one small piece of Alien Tape in the middle. The result was impressive as the plaque shown here held tight to the wall.

a hand inserts a single screw into an RV wall using a screwdriver

My normal practice is to use a single screw in the wall as an anchor point for the frame. The combination of one screw and Alien Tape provided a strong hold, even on rough roads. Lighter pictures can probably be hung with only Alien Tape, if there is enough surface available on the frame for applying the tape.

a hand holds a small vaccum beside its charging base which is mounted to a cabinet top using Alien Tape

Alien Tape comes in handy for numerous jobs around the RV. Here, the charging base for a handheld vacuum was mounted to a cabinet top with a couple strips of Alien Tape. So far, it’s held tightly while we’ve traveled more than 8,000 miles of roadways.

a clock and a framed illustration of a group of women friends hang from an RV wall

Friends who traveled with us this summer used the same technique — anchor screw and Alien Tape — to mount a clock and pictures on the walls inside their new fifth wheel.

For example, the display for the tire pressure monitoring system’s suction cup released often, sending the monitor toward the floor. After a while, the suction cup’s holding power was diminished and a new one had to be purchased. Rather than continue that futile procedure, I mounted a dashboard mounting disk (available on Amazon for $7-$13) that’s made for this purpose to the dash and the suction cup bracket to it. This disk comes with 3M mounting tape, which is super strong but nearly impossible to remove, so I elected to mount the disk with Alien Tape. Now it holds perfectly — and can be removed at will without leaving a sticky residue. The same holds true for pictures that are rotated to change the feel inside the RV.

I still keep a package of Museum Putty in my fifth wheel at all times and it comes in handy when mounting items on a shelf, but Alien Tape adds another dimension to my efforts to keep items secure when on the road. Both are non-permanent — which is a big deal in any RV.

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