Lazy Daze Owners' Group

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Great post John. I agree with you. You and I are    similar. I too have a wood working shop and some old tools. Also Inca    tools. I did wooden boats for a while but now its old  trucks.
However, I am sure you will agree that restoring    a water damaged Lazy Daze is something that most people should not attempt.    Unless they are very motivated and posses the skills and tools, they could be    ultimately doomed to failure. JMHO

Tom, 2000 TK, Whidbey Island, WA. Weather:    crap
 There has been a lot of    speculation and opinions on this subject.  As the owner of the unit    involved, I can fill you all in with details as they are known after a day of    working on my Lazy Daze.

First, I'd like to say that Janie and her husband really knew what they    were doing.  They took there time and went through the unit in a way that    I should have done a year ago when I bought the motorhome.  They are very    nice folks and did a thorough job with their inspection.

The main concern is a soft spot they found at the bottom and to the left    of the entry door.  It's something I should have caught last year when I    bought the unit.  However, it probably would not have changed my mind    about buying this particular Lazy Daze TK.  It was just what I was    looking for.  I'm an amateur boat builder and restorer.  My wife and    I just finished restoring a Herreshoff H-28.  It's a 28', 1952 cruising    sailboat.  We had to gut the interior and had to deal with much rot in    places that were not given the proper ventilation.  On a boat, one always    expects theinterior will get wet, so you make sure there is ventilation so    drying will take place.

I spent most of the afternoon tearing out the offending material in my    Lazy Daze.  There is a strip of 1x3 plywood that is used between the door    jamb and the bulkhead behind the passenger seat.  That strip is    approximately 3' long running vertically along the door jamb and is flush to    the bulkhead.  About 2 feet up from the floor there is rot at the edge    against the door of this strip of plywood.  It starts small and by the    time it gets to the floor it's about 2/3's across the strip.  It took    some digging, but I've got all the rot out.  Fortunately, the rot did not    go all the way to the bulkhead.  Next, I'm going to take out the ply that    has not rotted.  That will be a bit more difficult, but to do the job    right I'll need to get the entire frame piece out and replace it.  I've    got some marine grade ply (1088 BS for those of you who know about such    things), some teak and some white oak to make a new piece.  When that is    done, I'll let it sit a few days.  During that time I'll make sure I have    hot air blowing on everything to make sure every thing is dry.  Once I    get everything out I'll decide which type of wood I'll use. (It'll probably be    the ply.)

On the outside, on the piece that covers the corner (not sure what you    would call it) there is an obvious spot where the caulking has dried and    cracked.  It's, right where the rotting started.  I'll dig out the    old caulking, clean everything up and recaulk.  Hopefully, that will take    care of the leak.  Before I close everything up, I'll give it a good    hosing to see if the leak is fixed.

As far as this 1992 unit being worthless or not, in its present condition    it's not worth what I thought, however, being a Lazy Daze, it's far from being    worthless.  My wife and I just spent 6 weeks in Louisiana and New Mexico.    The unit performed flawlessly and deserves a little more care and a    little more maintenance.  It was just what I was looking for and worth    every penny I paid for it.

I like old things and I like working on old things.  Come to think    of it, I am on old thing.  I've got a restored 1952 wooden sailboat, I've    got a woodshop that's filled with old woodworking machines that I've restored    -- the "youngest" being my restored 1959 Oliver band saw.  If everyone    walked away from classic 70's, 80's, and 90's Lazy Daze motorhomes because of    some water damage, there would be quite a few less units around.

Hope that all helps with some of the speculation.

Later,

John

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