RV siding repair questions

[RobbieD]

Great work!

I'm amazed at just how well that turned out. I always like seeing the results of the workmanship when somebody really puts their mind, heart and hands to the task.

And I seriously doubt that you would gotten that level of craftsmanship if paying somebody else to do it.



Having said that . . .

how much would you charge to redo a 1986 double-wide?

"Asking for a friend."

 

[Fast Eddie]

You kept the gelcoat panel that was on the side?

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yeah, pain in the rear but it saved $500 plus decals and figuring things out... I had to repair two separation areas with some marine epoxy but it worked out.

This is NOT going to be new hobby of mine

 

[Josh B]

I might have said something sooner but those are in most cases one of a kind. There may be 2 or 3 go through the line and get similar builds but those guys make it up as they go. I don't know what brand it is and I didn't look back through the other posts, but it wouldn't really change much, and patching it up is likely best made up as you go. Trailer houses and travel trailers are basically the same, they use what they have till they run out and then start tossing it together in another fashion for awhile.

A couple of cousins and I once got a job right outside of Dallas that was building modular homes that were stacked into a box shape and were all the same size outside measurement but one had a door, one had a window etc, and they sent the boxes to Saudi Arabia or some place like that to be assembled in the desert, I could stack them things up so fast they couldn't keep up with it and I was just playing games almost sometimes with a stack they could hardly handle, but then I'd been using nail guns and such most all my working life

My dad built cabinets earlier in his career and the people showing their new houses to their friends would always see the difference in his, but they were all originals, no two were ever totally alike

That;s what your camper will become, and altho I can't tell you much about how to do it, I think you'll be ok doing just what you've been doing, and I wish you every success with it


In a way they are all alike, but in as big a way they are all very different

 

[Fast Eddie]

Yeah, pain in the rear but it saved $500 plus decals and figuring things out... I had to repair two separation areas with some marine epoxy but it worked out.

This is NOT going to be new hobby of mine

Looks good man. You did a nice job. Nothing seems to be waving at me from that angle and lighting.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Thanks, it'll work better than it did... there's things that aren't perfect like the aluminum subframe dips below the siding under the water heater and battery that I didn't account for (and couldn't really without factory measurements...) but my expectations are in the right place and it will be more than good enough to keep me camping for a few years if I seal it right...

Still have to peel over 20' of butyl tape yet but will likely get the windows and escape hatch on tonight and see how much energy that leaves me with...

 

[scotts90ranger]

Finally have the first piece of trim on, underside of the overhang, fairly short piece, went fine, found a screw that was broken off that I forgot about, should be "fun" to get a new one in... I straightened out the gutter for the overhang and the trim for the front edge and have those cleaned off so they're ready, just gotta make sure I have enough screws for all that, I don't remember where I put them all... some of the screws weren't right and I will likely look for replacements here in a couple...

 

[Fast Eddie]

Don;t use old screws? If this isn't a flip, invest in some stainless steel. Worth it in the long run? Screws, especially exposed, are major channels for water penetration and sealant won;t stop them from rusting - which eventually breaks the seal and leads to water penetration. From the size of the rig, you can probably buy them in bulk. I'd hate to see you put ALL this work into her only to have the same thing happen because it won;t show until it's too late. Obviously, your call.

 

[RobbieD]

If this isn't a flip, invest in some stainless steel.

I would also be inclined to look at using SS screws.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Going to go to Camping World tonight and see if I can find anything, Amazon doesn't have squat for flat head sheet metal screws only wood screws... since they're going into aluminum I don't want to break one off... (BTDT on other things, many of that style wood screw are a touch harder than cheese) That's one of the things that's been holding me back, was contemplating new screws... if that fails will try to pull some strings through work and see about the fastener place they use...

 

[Fast Eddie]

Going to go to Camping World tonight and see if I can find anything, Amazon doesn't have squat for flat head sheet metal screws only wood screws... since they're going into aluminum I don't want to break one off... (BTDT on other things, many of that style wood screw are a touch harder than cheese) That's one of the things that's been holding me back, was contemplating new screws... if that fails will try to pull some strings through work and see about the fastener place they use...

I get all my SS screws from the local Ace HW store. I don;t use them for everything but I do for this.

 

[sgtsandman]

If you don't have an ACE, True Value Hardware has a big selection of stainless fasteners as well. Half to three quarters of the hardware in my rebuilt utility trailer is from the hardware store, with a smattering of screws from Lowe's.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I'll go to the camping place tonight, if that doesn't work I'll dig deeper, there's a home depot by work and an Ace on the way home from the camping store I could stop by tonight... will update later...

 

[scotts90ranger]

RV shop was a bust, their screws are in the service department that closes at 5, but they had Flex Paste for cheaper than Amazon so I grabbed a tube in case I ran out or if the Amazon stuff was hard like some of the reviews said...

Went to Ace and got a box of 100 stainless flat head sheet metal screws for $12, that should do most of it, I'll swap out the ones I put in yesterday with those...

 

[scotts90ranger]

Tonight I got some more done, finished up on the nose trim, got all of the brackets for the jacks mounted up, got the 3 screws that had broken pieces in the aluminum replaced (took easy button and drilled next to them...), pulled the top trim off, scraped the butyl off the bottom trim and that's about it. Tomorrow should be trying to get most of the butyl off the membrane, cleaning both those pieces of trim, installing both then dealing with the sealant on as much as I can... Then putting the jacks on. Before I get the camper on the truck I need to try to get the small rust hole dealt with on the F350...