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bobinyelm's avatar
bobinyelm
Explorer
Oct 05, 2014

Suggestions for repair of rear trailer wall please-

I have a 2007 Wildcat RV with an aluminum frame with laminated Fiberglass (Filon) siding outside and luan w/ vinyl wallpaper on the inside.

My LR corner caulk got a hairline crack and let moisture in and got away from me until I saw delamination.

I opened up the corner, dried it out, and shot "Great Stuff" foam in the sidewall and installed new structural wood in the corner and secured it to the aluminum frame as it was at the factory. The side wall feels and looks good now.

Unfortunately the rear wall is Filon over a wood "framed" structure with fiberglass bat insulation in the middle, and an interior "wall" of luan with wallpaper on the interior side.

The luan on the interior of the back wall next to the wall panel has deteriorated, leaving intact the wallpaper with no "hard-board" luan behind it, making a 1ft X 2ft section of the rear wall at the corner soft (w/out panel board support behind it).

I am not going to completely remove/disassemble the rear wall and build a new wall because the structural integrity of the overall back wall seems sufficient to me to be perfectly safe.

My plan is to fabricate a new interior wall panel that will cover the entire rear wall surface (that is not occupied by cabinets and windows) with a new single piece of thin luan (cut to fit around those cabinets and window) covered by a matching or complementing piece of vinyl wallpaper. I plan to secure the panel to the rear wall framing with sheet metal screws or the like. This should make the "soft" section acceptably rigid, and be functionally almost as good as new, and will appear "normal." I know this is a cosmetic-only "fix," but I am confident the rear wall retains sufficient strength to be safe.

Where does one source such wallpaper, and overall, does the plan sound doable? If not, I am open to any suggestions as an alternate plan.

Thanks,
Bob

15 Replies

  • I'd glue your luan panel to the wall with Gorilla Glue. Then cover it and install a chair rail molding around the top edge.

    Well this didn't work to well. Look as some "images for chair rail" in the link below.

    chair rail
  • sounds like a great place to mount a mirror. As for the roof, eternabond that rear seam and forget about it forever
  • NJRVer wrote:
    Why not redo the entire wall? You are talking about two 4x8 sheets of paneling.
    This would also let you completely inspect the inside of the entire rear wall cavity for any other issues.


    I might consider removing my over-couch wall cabinets on the left side (rear) and pulling the luan, but the right side is a floor-to-ceiling wardrobe/clothes closet that takes up 3ft on the "WAY to the good side" of the wall.

    I would still need the wallpaper or a substitute panel. Home Depot has bead board and fiberglass-reinforced-panels. Maybe bead board painted a complimentary color would work.
  • Why not redo the entire wall? You are talking about two 4x8 sheets of paneling.
    This would also let you completely inspect the inside of the entire rear wall cavity for any other issues.
  • Same thing happened to my Wildcat. Very poor design. Ill be interested in the solution.