Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #50 – January 07, 2019, 01:45:20 pm Quote from: snerf - January 07, 2019, 01:28:22 pm When I had finished replacing certain struts and had put on new paneling, I filled the internal areas with a ton of expanding insulation. As long as it doesn't expand so far as to distort/warp the paneling, you essentially end up with a semi-solid block of insulation throughout the entire repair area that forms additional support.When using expanding foam, make sure it forms closed cells, Some foams form open cells and absorbs water like a sponge, not the hot ticket for a long-term repair.I test expandable foam by shooting a blob of it into a bucket. Once cured, fill the bucket with water and see if the foam absorbs any over a several hour test period.Larry
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #51 – January 07, 2019, 01:47:36 pm I believe my final method of ensuring no further cracking allows water damage will be to coat the 5200 FC on the backside of any cracked portion of the cap. Hopefully by doing this if cracks occur I will have a waterproof membrane on the backside of the cap that keeps moisture out. Basically I’m going to “back butter” the end cap in specific areas directly before screwing/pressing it in place. I’ll prob spread a thin layer of 5200 within a 1 inch radius of any repairs cracking. Of course I will have it thoroughly taped off and I’ll wipe off all excess sealant to get nice clean lines.
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #52 – January 07, 2019, 01:49:33 pm I considered closed cell expanding foam along my exposed lower wood work. I just know it’s a pain down the road if I ever have to repair anything. Of course to put it back together and sleep good knowing it’s watertight I’ll be using enough sealant to never want to take it apart again regardless! 1 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #53 – January 07, 2019, 08:45:03 pm Progress....Today after work we started putting panels back on, got the aluminum panel completely mounted and the Fiberglass panels mounted. Per Vince and the mothership we are applying PLs40 to every possible joint. Everything went back together pretty good, it’s nearly impossible for everything to fit absolutely perfect because so much framing was rebuilt but overal nearly all holes line up and everything mounts decent. End caps may not mount as good as I want but there’s little I can do about that. We applied a very liberal coating of sealant on the exposed wood at the corners, we also went ahead and sealed the seams in the aluminum (per Vince’s recommendation). Obviously all the white sealant sticks out like a sore thumb on the brown paint but no doubt it will get dirty and blend over time! One thing to consider when doing a job like this is applying caulk, it can be very difficult to manually apply caulk in the volumes needed to seal everything properly. For this reason I spent 44 bucks on a ryobi battery caulk gun, I have an old ryobi drill set I rarely use but the batteries will run the caulk gun.With an electric caulk gun you can effortlessly apply loads of sealant in short order just like the factory. It’s quite wonderful in my opinion. 8 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #54 – January 07, 2019, 10:06:30 pm "Today after work we started putting panels back on..."I am in total awe! Not only for the quality of the work but more about the rapidity at which it was accomplished. Let me guess, have you been an understudy with Larry?? 2 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #55 – January 08, 2019, 08:35:15 am I'm with lazy bones here, you can get some work done. Nice job....Jon...
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #56 – January 08, 2019, 08:45:16 am It’s gonna snow here on Saturday and the cold weather slows the curing of all polyurethane sealant, so we have little choice but to work and get it done. That being said we are not sacrificing quality, just sleep lol.Despite my epoxy repairs my end caps will likely still have some cracks once applied and screwed down, I’ve been fairly worried about them but I plan to let them crack during installation and just confirm proper amounts of 5200 has been applied to the backside of the cap to keep water from intruding regardless. The caps don’t fit the Body perfectly especially after all these repairs. By best choice is to let them flex how they need and the 5200 will hold it together. Also the cap behind the rear tire has lots of cracks forming around the screws, because this piece flex’s a lot during install we left the cracks and just bedded in large amounts of sealant, I may remove the screws we mounted it with and add screws with pan heads to even out the pressure.I’ve ordered captain trolleys creeping sealant, it will be here Thursday and I plan to put a bead on any possible cracks especially anything I find on the front caps. Friday evening the shed comes down and Saturday the RV is back to facing the elements.
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #57 – January 08, 2019, 09:05:08 am "...captain trolleys creeping sealant"----Just a FYI: In my experience, Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Sealant works for hairline cracks and may work for slightly larger cracks if a tiny "stop hole" is drilled at the crack end. For anything larger than tiny cracks, the 5200 FC is a better solution, even though the aesthetics may not be entirely desirable. YMMV, as always. 1 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #58 – January 08, 2019, 01:06:23 pm Quote from: Cor2man - January 08, 2019, 08:45:16 amDespite my epoxy repairs my end caps will likely still have some cracks once applied and screwed down, The caps don’t fit the Body perfectly especially after all these repairs. Also the cap behind the rear tire has lots of cracks forming around the screws, because this piece flex’s a lot during install we left the cracks and just bedded in large amounts of sealant, I may remove the screws we mounted it with and add screws with pan heads to even out the pressure.The slight inconsistencies you have seen when installing the old caps exists in every LD, each one has its own unique dimensions This is why you see the end caps screwed down in so many different places, when going from rig to rig. New end caps are very flexible and can be coerced into position. This forcing does induce stresses that can eventually result in cracking of the installed caps. Old, used caps have lost a lot of their flexibility, due to age.To deal with the cracks, either pack the cracks full of polyurethane or open them up slightly, with a Dremmel, and repair with plastic epoxy.When screwing down the end caps, pre-drill the screw holes in the caps oversize, one or two drill sizes larger to prevent cracking. Do not over tighten, just pull the cap into place. I agree with Joan, Captain Tolley's is not useful in this situation.Larry
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #59 – January 08, 2019, 01:14:01 pm 10-4 will do, should have the window installed and the first cap in place after work today.
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #60 – January 08, 2019, 01:44:08 pm This has been an amazing project to watch unfold. Thanks for that.Jim 1 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #61 – January 08, 2019, 08:51:15 pm Tonight we installed the window and the first end cap. Widow was installed with a brand new gasket and bedded in locktite Pls40. It was difficult to seat it right enough due to the brand new thick gasket but with patience we got it all seated and sealed.The end cap was bedded in 5200FC with extra stainless screws added to hold it in place, 2 extra screws were added to the top cap to secure it long term. 5200 is just as horrible to work with as everyone says but with patience a fairly decent caulk line can be achieved.We applied 5200 to the backside of the cap around our pre drilled screw holes and around any cracking. Per our pictures we didn’t hold back on the sealant, if water ever finds its way behind our end caps again it will drain out the bottom long before it finds any wood to rot out! 2 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #62 – January 08, 2019, 10:43:30 pm Which gasket did you end up using?
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #63 – January 09, 2019, 06:40:27 am From the picture I posted the larger D gasket, 2nd from the left
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #64 – January 09, 2019, 07:26:53 am Thanks to Cor2man for this project chronology. I think I may have the same issue on at least one side of my LD and I was assuming at some point I'd have a very expensive fix in my future. Don't think I ever would have just dug in cold turkey as Cor2man did but now that I've seen behind the mysterious curtain and watched the project from beginning to end I'm almost looking forward to fixing mine as a home project. Lots and lots of work but very doable. If there was a place in this forum to nominate a thread for best thread of the year perhaps best thread ever I would nominate this one. 7 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #65 – January 09, 2019, 09:04:15 am Camping trip booked for next weekend! We are in the final stretch. 3 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #66 – January 09, 2019, 09:29:26 am Quote from: Cor2man - January 09, 2019, 09:04:15 amCamping trip booked for next weekend! We are in the final stretch. That is gonna feel good and I predict a bottle of champagne in your future as you celebrate the fruits of your labor. Nostrivia! 1 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #67 – January 09, 2019, 09:48:03 am A shot of wild turkey American honey will be the celebratory gulp of choice! 3 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #68 – January 09, 2019, 12:51:54 pm Quote from: Cor2man - January 09, 2019, 09:48:03 amA shot of wild turkey American honey will be the celebratory gulp of choice! Zane,If you dont mine me asking, just an estimation, how much time and money will you say you spent on this project. Thank you. -Dave
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #69 – January 09, 2019, 12:57:16 pm Quote from: Cor2man - January 09, 2019, 09:04:15 amCamping trip booked for next weekend! We are in the final stretch.It's good to be young and have the energy to complete such an in depth repair so quickly.I know you have put in a lot of hours to get this completed. Well done!Now, go have some fun.And if you desire another career, qualified RV repairers, especially for LDs, are hard to find.You could make a good living repairing and enhancing East Coast LDs.Larry 4 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #70 – January 09, 2019, 01:21:47 pm Not sure about what it’s cost, our temp shed likely Cost 120-150 bucks. Prob 100 on wood (Luan is stupid expensive at Home Depot)Prob 120 on various sealant (we prob have leftover)Say 50 for miscellaneous hardware (we replaced all screws with stainless excluding the primary bumper mounting screws) A couple hundred bucks so overal the repair wasn’t that big of a financial investment. The biggest cost for a project like is would be the proper tools to work quickly and avoid countless hours trying to complete a task with the incorrect tools. Luckily we live in a double wide and have done enough renovations in the past year to have obtained enough tooling to start a carpentry business. (Doublewides are an absolute nightmare to renovate) 4 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #71 – January 10, 2019, 07:20:38 pm Tire cover installed and partial sealant applied on the lower exposed wood. Tomorrow we finish sealing the bottom and start cleaning the paint up and rebuilding the inside. Feels good to have it back “together” 1 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #72 – January 10, 2019, 10:41:43 pm Quote from: Cor2man - January 10, 2019, 07:20:38 pmFeels good to have it back “together” You certainly have a considerable amount of LD accomplishments to feel good about ... proud is a much better word. A heart felt well done from Fort Worth, Texas. 3 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #73 – January 11, 2019, 07:36:16 am Looks good as new, maybe better. 3 Likes
Re: Hooray for rot repair!! Reply #74 – January 11, 2019, 07:49:18 am Fit and finish of my caulk lines are pretty horrid in person....but polyurethane especially 5200 is a nightmare to work with when it’s cold dark and windy. Also painters tap does not peel off in the cold, which contributes to fit and finish mistakes.We Could have had better results in the summer but we didn’t exactly get to choose when this project began haha 3 Likes
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