Replacement aluminum end-cap? October 13, 2011, 12:04:46 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125972Good morning all..So, I was taking a few pics of our '85 LD and noticed that one of our end-caps in the right rear corner has been damaged and a tear is in the aluminum.. See photo of the damage at the link below - sorry that it shows up, upside down..http://tinyurl.com/3zers5oHas anyone had to replace or refabricate one of these end-caps or can they be re-welded back together in this case since it's just torn? I've not yet called the MotherShip to see if they've got any left overs -- my hunch is not..I've popped a note to the termite company that did the work since they moved the rig to fumigate it when I was not present and the damage was not there when I dropped it off.. I'm not going to pester the insurance company since my deductible is high and it's likely a new one can be fabricated for I'd guess less than a few hundred $$..Comment/suggestions?
Re: Replacement aluminum end-cap? Reply #1 – October 13, 2011, 12:20:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125973Rick, This is a bummer. Go after the termite company but that fact that you left with it that way and did not see it is going to hurt you. Unless you have a real honest place that will fess up to it. They are most likely going to say you did this.Take the piece off, then:1. Pound it into shape, put fibergalss on both sides and sand smooth on the oustide, primer and paint. Maybe put some 5200 in the inside for extra measure. This assumes you had some body work experience.. or you want to learn 2. Take the piece to a few body shops and see what they can do. Might be too thin to weld but who knows.3. A new piece is possible but will be tough to match exactly. Meaning tough to get the seems to line up and all the holes in the right spot. I would try my hardest to get the original repaired. Not sure if the factory uses this same exact piece any more but you could call them. Let us know the outcome. Mybe get the termite place to pay 1/2 if they deny all fault?Ramon
Re: Replacement aluminum end-cap? Reply #2 – October 13, 2011, 12:38:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125974I'm kinda leaning towards fixing the existing piece as well -- perhaps I can find a local machine shop that can try to re-bend the metal back to the original shape and I can check on whether the seam can be repaired or not via welding or otherwise..Ok.. I got to thinking about using JB Weld which is a "cold" weld product -- I gather an epoxy of sorts. In doing a search I found a post on a boating forum that suggested an alternative product for use on aluminum specifically : http://www.westsystem.com/ss/g-flex-epoxy/It claims to have a bit more flex than regular epoxy does.. I'm thinking that if I can hammer out the bends in the metal, flatten up the torn section so the two sides meet, I can try something like this and perhaps put a piece of eternabond tape on the inside edge to help hold it together -- and more importantly help keep the water out should the torn seam start leaking down the road..However, I think I'll see if I can find a local shop to see if it's possible to weld the aluminum directly.. I found the following comment on yet another boating forum regarding welding aluminum :"i am a welder an mostly weld aluminum boats , i would NEVER recomend any kind of jb weld or cauking. yes it might be a cheap fix but it will have to be done over an over again un till you are tired of fixing an the worst part is when you decide to fix it RIGHT (welding) it will cost you more because of the impurities you have been putting in the alum. an for a 5 to 7 inch split myself i would charge only about 40 bucks. witch isn't very much. so if i was you i would go to a local welding shop that welds aluminum an have it welded. they will probably have a flat minimum charge for welding walk-in work but it shouldn't be more than 50bucks if it is find someone else. Clean it well before you take it to have it looked at for this will help with cost if you have already prepped it to weld you will need a stainless steel wire brush of any kind as in a manual or air powered i prefer air but use what you have. you can go to any local hardware store an pick up a stainless steel brush for around 5 bucks. it mush be stainless steel to brush aluminum. and drill a very small hole at the ends of the cracks this will help stop splitting. Ff you do these 2 things first before you have it looked at it still will probably cost about 40 or what ever their flat fee is but it should only take them about 5 mins to fix."
Re: Replacement aluminum end-cap? Reply #3 – October 13, 2011, 04:46:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125978I believe the real problem is not this piece of aluminum end cap, which should be easily duplicated by any sheet metal shop that forms aluminum. Duplicating the screw hole locations should be easy, just by taping a piece of paper over the damaged piece, marking the hole locations and transferring those markings to the newly fabricated piece. Have the replacement piece made of the same thickness aluminum and tell the shop you want approximately the same hardness of aluminum for the new piece. If you do not want the sheet metal shop to cut the replacement piece to length, have the replacement piece made an inch or so longer and mark the trim to length yourself, using that paper transfer method. You can cut to the length mark with a pair of sheet metal shears. That real problem I mentioned is what you are going to find when you remove that damaged section of aluminum end cap.
Re: Replacement aluminum end-cap? Reply #4 – October 13, 2011, 05:38:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125980Rick, sorry to see the damage to your rig. I hope the fumigating company will do the right thing. About repairs: I would not use JB weld, or any epoxy. (And JB Weld is just garden-variety epoxy--nothing special about it.) The welder's comment that you quoted is right on the money: you'll end up doing the job over and over again. I think your best bet is to beat the piece into shape as best you can, then have it welded if possible. If local welders tell you it's too thin to work on, there's another possibility: Alumiweld.http://www.alumiweld.com/ This is a versatile material that lets you solder or braze aluminum and other metals using just a propane or MAPP gas torch. I've even seen it used to repair a hole in a soft-drink can, and that metal is THIN! Alumiweld can be used to "puddle" metal to fill gaps and voids. In the company's demo tape, they show it being used to reconstruct the broken-off tip of an outboard motor propeller, repair an aluminum heat exchanger, and rebuild stripped threads in an aluminum engine block. I've used Alumiweld to make custom brackets from aluminum bar and angle stock, and to repair a broken pot-metal part from a surveyor's tripod, among other things. When I tried stressing a test joint, the aluminum broke before the joint did. If you have any experience with soldering, Alumiweld is very easy to work with. I think it ought to be in every do-it-yourselfer's toolkit.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Replacement aluminum end-cap? Reply #5 – October 13, 2011, 05:55:12 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125981Thanks all for the great suggestions! I realize my rig aint the latest thing on the road and don't expect perfection but I'm tempted to go the route of checking with the mothership to see if they know what sort of variety of aluminum the old stuff was made from and have a local shop fab one up -- if that isn't possible then I'll beat the old one in shape and make it usable again.I also realize I may be opening a can of worms by removing that end-cap and finding whatever might be lurking beneath (or not). I guess I'll be taking my chances but feel that I can probably repair most things I might find -- particularly after consulting with all of you experts!! Anyway, I'll keep my fingers crossed.. I did talk with the fumigation company and they're going to do the right thing and will pay for repairs up to $100 without my need to check with them first -- if it goes over $100 they want an estimate to read first and go from there.. I'm happy on that end -- it's just a matter of repairing now.I'll keep you posted..
Re: Replacement aluminum end-cap? Reply #6 – October 13, 2011, 06:34:59 pm Yahoo Message Number: 125982Ok.. So I got some time to call the Mothership and spoke w/ Vince and after informing him of what I wanted to do (fabricate a new piece and wanted to know what type of aluminum -- which he indicated was regular old "treated" aluminum -- nothing special), he said why not just buy some from them -- they sell it for $5/ft and have some amount of it available -- he made it sound like they had a fair amount! Go figure..So, now for the history lesson for those that are interested.. He was amused to find that our '85 had ANY aluminum end-caps on it.. He was sure they were fiberglass by that time. I told him ours (a late model delivered in mid August '85) has fiberglass caps for all curves but the straight pieces are all aluminum. So, he's of the opinion that from 1986 to I guess somewhere in 1989 all rigs had nothing but fiberglass and then sometime in 89 they switched over to the current ABS stuff if I recall my ABS history...P.S. I asked about replacement window glazing material and he wasn't sure if they had any and said if they did it was $4/ft and the part # is RC1 and to check with Todd.. Ramon -- are you sure you bought glazing for $0.75/ft over there? I'll check if I can get over there tomorrow morning to get the end cap and possibly that -- or go over to Nagco and get some if more than $2/ft or mailorder worst-case..-- Rick
Re: Replacement aluminum end-cap? Reply #7 – October 14, 2011, 12:17:22 am Yahoo Message Number: 125984"Ramon -- are you sure you bought glazing for $0.75/ft over there?" Rick, yes, check your email. In June of 2010, 70' of window glazing @ 75 cents a foot. I sure hope it has not gone to $4/ft. That is crazy!. Hope I bought enough Ramon
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