Forum Discussion

BlackSilver's avatar
BlackSilver
Explorer
Nov 30, 2016

Fiberglass repair

I recently had a tire blow, and lost (among other things) a chunk of the fiberglass on the exterior wall of a slideout.

The construction of the slide wall is a vacuum pressed sandwich of a fiberglass outer skin, about 2" of styrofoam insulation, and an interior wood panel skin. There's also an aluminum tubing framework.
This sandwich is glued together, then pressed under vacuum to form the wall of the slide.

An RV repair shop which I trust says that this type of construction is naturally very strong, but almost impossible to repair to "original" appearance, and that the repair is often not "durable" for very long.

So he went to my manufacturer (Gulf Stream) to buy a new wall. Gulf Stream will not build a new wall, and the shop (who I believe to be honest) insists that there are no accepted repair procedures which he would be able to restore the fiberglass skin. (A section about 2' x 4' is torn away).

This isn't a matter of cost..... I have insurance.

Does anyone have experience with having such a repair done, and what method was used? Did it match the original finish and appearance, such that the repair was invisible? Was the repair lasting, with no cracking or delamination?

I would rather take the hit of the rig being "totaled out" by the insurance company, than risk a "make do" repair job which didn't restore the rig to normal appearance.

For some reason, I can't post an image, but there is a photo at http://s1338.photobucket.com/user/OldSlowHans/media/Damage%20small_zpsrzflf4dz.jpg.html

(Moderator edit)Here is your photo. :)
Barney
  • ACZL's avatar
    ACZL
    Explorer
    Nov 30, 2016
    Shot in the dark here, but what about taking the coach back to MFR and have them redo it there? That is if they would. Shouldn't be that hard for them to do seeing they should have the build specs on it, make slides for their coaches then install them. If not, not to sound rude, but shame on them.
  • mbrower's avatar
    mbrower
    Explorer
    Nov 30, 2016
    A picture of your damage would help. Small damage should be no problem for a competent body shop. If its fairly large and the structure of the side wall was intact, I would laminate the whole wall with a new fiberglass skin. I would remove any windows and trim/molding, smooth out the existing skin with 280 grit D/A paper, fill in the missing fiberglass with a mixture of resin and chopped glass if small. Larger areas I would repair with fiberglass cloth. Once cured, I would sand smooth. I would then attach the new skin with a quality type of waterproof contact adhesive. Replace all the items that was removed and any graphics and it should look brand new and durable as well.

    This is only a suggestion as I have never done this type of repair. Having said that, I have done body work for 30 years and all types of fiberglass repairs and this is how I would do it if my own was ever damaged.

    You can buy the skin and contact adhesive here
  • BlackSilver's avatar
    BlackSilver
    Explorer
    Nov 30, 2016
    ACZL wrote:
    Shot in the dark here, but what about taking the coach back to MFR and have them redo it there? That is if they would. Shouldn't be that hard for them to do seeing they should have the build specs on it, make slides for their coaches then install them. If not, not to sound rude, but shame on them.


    Like you say, "shame on them". They want nothing to do with me.
  • ksbowman's avatar
    ksbowman
    Explorer II
    Nov 30, 2016
    mbrower wrote:
    A picture of your damage would help. Small damage should be no problem for a competent body shop. If its fairly large and the structure of the side wall was intact, I would laminate the whole wall with a new fiberglass skin. I would remove any windows and trim/molding, smooth out the existing skin with 280 grit D/A paper, fill in the missing fiberglass with a mixture of resin and chopped glass if small. Larger areas I would repair with fiberglass cloth. Once cured, I would sand smooth. I would then attach the new skin with a quality type of waterproof contact adhesive. Replace all the items that was removed and any graphics and it should look brand new and durable as well.

    This is only a suggestion as I have never done this type of repair. Having said that, I have done body work for 30 years and all types of fiberglass repairs and this is how I would do it if my own was ever damaged.

    You can buy the skin and contact adhesive here
    This is very good advise. If I were in the same situation this is exactly what I would do. I have patched small holes and dents before with plastic body putty and painted to match with excellent results, but due to the size of your damage I would do exactly as mbrower suggests.
  • Veebyes's avatar
    Veebyes
    Explorer II
    Nov 30, 2016
    Your location given could be alot of places however if there is a boatyard nearby take it to them.
  • soren's avatar
    soren
    Explorer
    Nov 30, 2016
    I would talk to a few competent body shops and boat yards. I have had several areas repaired on my older motorhome, prior to having it repainted. It's been over a year and 20K miles, and there is no evidence of any issue. IMHO, I don't agree with your RV repair shop.
  • shadows4's avatar
    shadows4
    Explorer III
    Nov 30, 2016
    I think you need to look at other repair shops. I took mine to a local marine fiberglass repair shop. They specialize in boats but they always seem to have almost as many RV's as boats waiting to be repaired.

    I can tell you my guy would probably cut across under your window, all the way across. Order a new exterior fiberglass vacuum wall piece and fiberglass it in. Then paint to match. That is basically what he did to mine, except the cut was vertical on the fifth wheel part.

    Here is a pic of the 5er before it was repaired. If you look close you can see a vertical line running above and below the bed room window. It was like this when I bought it. It was not the right way to repair it.

    And this is after the repair.

    And the shop guaranteed the repair for as long as I own the trailer. Good luck, John

    Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum recommended limit of 640px maximum width.

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