DIY Repair Of Body Damage January 14, 2018, 03:01:32 pm Hi all,I'm new here to the forum.We are owners of a 2005 26.5ft mid bath since this summer and so far we love it! We are a family of four and live in New Jersey exploring the East Coast.We bought the RV with some body damage which had been kind of fixed by a previous owner. The damage is right behind the passenger door exactly at the floor line (see picture).Now it turns out that the RV is NOT water tight at that damage. The floor board under the dinette soaks up water. Since I don't trust any repair facility I plan to fix this myself. I cannot find any report from other owners exchanging exterior Al-panel, end cap and fiber glass skirt in a DIY project. Does anyone of you ever did that?How are the Al-panels are actually attached to the body and to each other? Thanks! Tobias
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #1 – January 14, 2018, 04:26:13 pm You'll find a lot of good information here:The Odd Essay: The Lazy Daze..... 99.9% DoneBe sure to read the posts just before that one (chronologically). Lots of detail and pictures.Good luck with the project!Rich'03 MB in NC 1 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #2 – January 14, 2018, 05:18:26 pm OK, thanks Rich.Looks like I have to glue the new Al panel to plywood and the lower panels "lock" into that notch on the lower side of the next panel up.
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #3 – January 20, 2018, 10:44:08 am Tobias,My experience may or may not be of use to you because it refers to a body repair I did to our Lance Camper with aluminum skin and not to the Lazy Daze. I removed the skin on one side of the camper due to some body damage and water intrusion. At this point it looked horrible and hopeless. I then removed all of the water damaged wood and replaced it with solid wood 2x2, 2x1, new insulating styrofoam and marine grade plywood. I coated each piece before it went in and then re-coated after assembly with West System Epoxy. New aluminum sheeting was purchased, cut, and painted to match the camper.After finishing, it was hard to distinguish the repair from the rest of the camper and it was rock solid and water tight.Good luck!Harold
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #4 – January 25, 2018, 05:57:27 pm Thanks for your reply Harold. I will also contact LD to get input regarding recommended materials for sealing.
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #5 – May 12, 2018, 09:45:45 pm So I did it.I ordered a new entry door, fiber glass skirt, aluminum panel and end cap from Lazy Daze. It all arrived a week after they got my check. It took me 4 full days. Taking it apart was already a full day, since you wan to e careful to not make even bigger damage by just ripping it apart. Than all wood which has seen water was exchanged (flooring under dinette and in entrance step). Putting it all back together in a water tight manner was also kind of an interesting job. All went OK except the end cap. The tape approach was much trickier than I thought. Also Vince from Lazy Daze mentioned the tape does not really work and they switched to an industrial glue. SO in the end I screwed the end cap on with lots of polyethylene underneath. Lets see how long it will last... I will have a close eye on it.At the end I would say if you are handy you can do repairs like this yourself. BUT: you need tons of patients, don't rush, take your time to do it right. If you think you have lot of patients, yeah..., you may need even more... I tried to attach pics but somehow did not get it working... Now I'm looking forward to enjoy our Lazy Dazes. Going to Maine and Nova Scotia this summer. Regards, Tobias 5 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #6 – May 12, 2018, 11:10:33 pm Quote from: sirtobib - May 12, 2018, 09:45:45 pmSo I did it.I ordered a new entry door, fiber glass skirt, aluminum panel and end cap from Lazy Daze. It all arrived a week after they got my check. It took me 4 full days. Taking it apart was already a full day, since you wan to e careful to not make even bigger damage by just ripping it apart. Than all wood which has seen water was exchanged (flooring under dinette and in entrance step). Putting it all back together in a water tight manner was also kind of an interesting job. All went OK except the end cap. The tape approach was much trickier than I thought. Also Vince from Lazy Daze mentioned the tape does not really work and they switched to an industrial glue. SO in the end I screwed the end cap on with lots of polyethylene underneath. Lets see how long it will last... I will have a close eye on it.At the end I would say if you are handy you can do repairs like this yourself. BUT: you need tons of patients, don't rush, take your time to do it right. If you think you have lot of patients, yeah..., you may need even more... I tried to attach pics but somehow did not get it working... Now I'm looking forward to enjoy our Lazy Dazes. Going to Maine and Nova Scotia this summer. Regards, TobiasWe'd really like to see photos of your handywork. What info to you need to help you attach photos?Chris
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #7 – May 13, 2018, 01:13:21 am Tobias, I had trouble getting pics to load as well. I shot them on my smartphone and emailed them to myself.Myself on my laptop saved them as *.jpg. I launched a comment on a thread here and used the 'insert an image' icon in the editor. It took me a few tries, but electrons are cheap. Looking forward to the pics. I do hope there are before, interim and after shots.Congrats on finishing a tough job.joel 2 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #8 – May 13, 2018, 10:17:15 am When I want to attach pics I’m asked for the pictures URL. I’m just a PC user and never created any webpages etc.
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #9 – May 13, 2018, 10:26:23 am Recommend we pin a post in the Site Instructional Guides section on how to post photos as this issue comes up frequently. Then folks can just be directed to the pinned post.Edit: Oh wait, here's a thread:How do I posts pictures 3 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #10 – May 13, 2018, 08:20:32 pm OK, here are some pics.I tried to upload in chronological order. 6 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #11 – May 13, 2018, 08:21:37 pm And the end.My neighbour will paint the new parts for me. 9 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #13 – May 13, 2018, 10:02:52 pm [merged 3 separate topics into the original - Michelle] 1 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #14 – May 13, 2018, 11:01:54 pm Quote from: Michelle C - May 13, 2018, 10:02:52 pm[merged 3 separate topics into the original - Michelle] I've gotta say thank you Michelle for your daily housekeeping chores. You sure do a good job of keeping this place tidy! 5 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #15 – May 14, 2018, 02:07:17 am "thank you Michelle for your daily housekeeping chores. You sure do a good job of keeping this place tidy!"Amen! :-)Andy 1 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #16 – May 14, 2018, 02:22:05 am That came out well. I noticed you abandoned the upper compartment door, guess you can access the storage area from the inside.Glad to see the water damage was limited, particle board can suck up water like a sponge.Larry 1 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #17 – May 14, 2018, 08:55:57 am Yes, I left that door out. I did not want to mess around with the nice new Al-panel and risk new water leaks... Michelle: sorry for the mess with my postings, somehow I could not insert images to the existing message string...
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #18 – May 14, 2018, 09:50:36 am Quote from: sirtobib - May 14, 2018, 08:55:57 amMichelle: sorry for the mess with my postings, somehow I could not insert images to the existing message string... No worries. I suspect you didn't see the full editor when you tried to post (so you didn't get the menu that allows you to select the files). If that's the case, usually you can "Preview" a post in process and that will give you the full menu (as should "Modify" on an already-posted post)
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #19 – May 14, 2018, 11:35:07 pm OK, I'm impressed. Nice job!Ken F in OR 1 Likes
Re: DIY Repair Of Body Damage Reply #20 – May 15, 2018, 08:45:41 am That repair seems better than new! Congratulations on having the skills to get it done!
Topic: DIY Repair Of Body Damage (Read 770 times)
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Topic: DIY Repair Of Body Damage (Read 770 times)
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