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MattCrouch's avatar
MattCrouch
Explorer
Mar 03, 2015

Class C Cabover Rebuild

Hello all! I am new here but have been looking around for quite a while. My wife and I purchased a used class c, 1992 Jamboree Searcher by Fleetwood. I thought I had looked the rig over good and my wife and 2 young daughters loved it.... Well, long story short, we got it home and got to messing around in it and I pulled the mattress down off the cabover bed and noticed ROT!!

I have searched the internet for countless hours and feel pretty confident in being able to rebuild it. I just have one question: the cab floor is approximately 5.5' by 7.5'. I cannot remember exact measurements. Either way, it is made out of 1 piece of 3/4" plywood. I cannot find a 6'x8' piece anywhere and nowhere around here seems to be able to order it either. So, what I am thinking is to use tongue and groove plywood to join the two pieces together to make an 8'x8' piece. Glue the joint with liquid nails and then glue a 1/4" piece on top and bottom of the 3/4" that is now glued together. Do you think that will provide enough support for my wife and I? Approx 350 pounds together. There are 2 twin beds in the back that our daughters will sleep on. I will post some pictures of the rebuild and process as I go along. I see where most people that do it are taking a month.... I sure hope to have it done before a month as we are ready to use it!

I went and got it inspected, insured, licensed, and titled this afternoon.

Another question: Do these rigs have a brake proportion valve somewhere? The right rear brake was sticking when we got it home from purchasing it (could smell it and then felt hub and it was HOT!). I adjusted the brake shoes in the other day and after getting it inspected etc today, I got it home and the hub was warm, not hot. I only had to drive it 10 miles though. I am leaning towards a bad wheel cylinder, but also thought it might have a proportion valve.

Thanks in advance to anyone who reads and/or answers this!
Class C
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Mar 03, 2015
    I think your idea for the wood bunk base would work fine.

    The rear brake hanging up is most likely caused by a sticking corroded wheel cylinder unless it has rear disc brakes and then it's either a sticking caliper or corroded guide pins. Either can get that way after sitting a long time. You can rebuild or replace it pretty cheaply.
    An issue with a proportioning valve would effect both rear wheels.
  • Trackrig's avatar
    Trackrig
    Explorer II
    Mar 03, 2015
    There are better glues to use than Liquid Nails for gluing the joint. I'd use either Tightbond III (waterproof) or Gorilla Glue. Then glue the 1/4" top and bottom as you planned. This will add a little weight over the original, but it will be strong. The Tightbond III will work better than the Gorilla Glue for this part. You can apply the glue for the lamination with a small 3" paint roller also from HD. Apply weight distributed on 2Xs to the layers of plywood for a good glue job.

    My reason for recommending something besides Liquid Nails is that it doesn't flow out well for most glue jobs. It works well on floor joists when attaching subflooring with nails or screws. LN is applied from a tube with a caulking gun - it goes down in a bead, it doesn't flow out to smoothly cover the surface to be glued. Tightbond III when applied with a small roller makes sure there's glue completely covering the surfaces insuring a truly laminated solid piece of wood in the end.

    Bill

    Bill
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Mar 03, 2015
    The ideal way to make a longer/wider piece of plywood is to make a scarf joint—basically opposing thin wedges on the two sheets, and glue the long ends of the wedge together. This is fairly common in e.g. boatbuilding where long plywood planks are sometimes needed. Typical slopes for the angles are 9:1 to 12:1 or greater, around 7 to 9" long for 3/4" thick plywood. Cutting such an angle is a bit tricky; a jig of some sort is usually essential. (Here is an example of a jig design that looks pretty straightforward and effective, using a router for the cutting tool.) Clamping and aligning the joint for gluing can also be somewhat challenging

    Done neatly, with good glue, this is every bit as strong as a single sheet of plywood and no heavier. Tightbond III glue would be an acceptable choice and is fairly easy to work with, provided the joint fits tightly everywhere; indeed practically all modern wood glues are stronger than wood when properly applied. Good epoxy (West System is arguably the best, but isn't cheap), with a thickener such as fine sawdust, is probably ideal as it has better gap filling properties and doesn't need to be clamped as tightly.

    I would suggest looking for genuine marine plywood, or at the very least exterior plywood. The difference is primarily in the glues used; normal interior plywood doesn't hold up all that well in the presence of moisture.

    Have you figured out where the water is getting in? Depending where it is, you may well have damage to the side walls or the front wall as well as the floor. It's obviously foolish to repair the rot without fixing the leak that led to the rot.
  • DaHose's avatar
    DaHose
    Explorer
    Mar 03, 2015
    When I rebuilt my cabover I discovered that my floor was also made from two two pieces that were just butted together with some staples holding things together. I replicated the same construction with some Titebond to help hold things. It came out great.

    Jose
  • Dusty_R's avatar
    Dusty_R
    Explorer
    Mar 03, 2015
    Or use 2 layers of 3/8" plywood and stager the joints, cost more but would be much stronger.
  • MattCrouch's avatar
    MattCrouch
    Explorer
    Mar 03, 2015
    Wwn thanks for all the quick replies! I figured it'd be a few days before I got any advice but instead received multiple great replies!

    Yes, I have figured out where the leak is coming from and tore into the side wall somewhat. There is a seam in the filon exterior halfway up the front window and pretty sure that is where it is coming from. The main frame is built out of metal square tubing and has some substantial rust going on. Instead of cutting it out and replacing, I'm going to clean it up and hopefully just scab onto it with new metal angle or flat.... whichever will work best when I get tore into it. I may get tore into it and realize I'll have to just replace it, not sure. That being said, the walls are in fine shape other than bottom square tubing.

    I. Was hoping to wake up to warmer temperatures today, but even though it's above freezing, the wind is blowing 20+ mph and makes it pretty chilly. I may try to get out there and tear it apart this afternoon. I work 12 hour days and would like to allow the plywood and glue to dry for a few days and then hopefully this weekend start rebuilding it... probably too ambitious but it is a goal ha ha!

    I greatly appreciate the advice thus far! It's really nice to hear from people that have been through it already as well!
  • pconroy328's avatar
    pconroy328
    Explorer
    Mar 03, 2015
    MattCrouch wrote:
    Glue the joint with liquid nails and then glue a 1/4" piece on top and bottom of the 3/4" that is now glued together. Do you think that will provide enough support for my wife and I?


    As someone else pointed out - and as a woodworker, there are much better glues. I too like the Titebond's. Titebond III is (for all intents and purposes) waterproof.

    I'm not sure about the support structure but I wouldn't put that much weight on any sheet of plywood spanning that distance without supports.

    I'm doing a bunk bed for my 150# son and the bed is 3/4" plywood and 74x36". If I can elegantly create some cross supports for it, I'll do so. If I can't then the fallback approach will be something based on the notion of a torsion box.

    A master craftsman, David J. Marks, and host of the TV show WoodWorks aired an episode on torsion box construction. (https://vimeo.com/5082731) Very strong for the weight.
  • MattCrouch's avatar
    MattCrouch
    Explorer
    Mar 09, 2015
    Got started on the rebuild over the weekend. Got it all tore apart Saturday and started putting back together today. Got it put back together other than putting the fiberglass back over the nose and screwing up the remaining portion off the bed afterwards. Turns out the piece of bed was like DaHose and it was two pieces butted up together and then stapled together. I have a couple 12 hour work days coming up and will work on it again Wednesday. Will finish up the filon and buttoning it up then work on fixing the paneling interior etc. I have pictures but they are on my phone and I dont see a place to upload pictures so maybe its only available when vuewing this forum on desktop?
  • DaHose's avatar
    DaHose
    Explorer
    Mar 09, 2015
    The fiberglass cowl joining cabover to cab actually provides a lot of support.

    Jose
  • Calisdad's avatar
    Calisdad
    Explorer
    Mar 09, 2015
    I'm actually doing a similar repair right now. Question: have you removed the plywood floor/bed yet? Mine is glued to the exterior plastic. It's not coming out without a MAJOR overhaul and its not so bad it can't be remedied. I plan to remove the rot/soft material, treat with preservative, treat with wood hardener then skin over with 1/2" CDX.

    Liquid nails/ subfloor adhesive had bridging and flexing qualities. I've built homes for 40 years and IMHO it is the proper adhesive for this application. Titebond is a great glue- for furniture. It won't flex at all and requires clamping that is impractical for what you're trying to do. I also plan to install the new plywood at a 90 degree to the existing. This will deal with any joint issues. I think you will find, as Da Hose did, that there is a joint there somewhere. I can't imagine getting such a large piece as you mention in the door and installed.

    Regarding your brakes- proportion valves work front to back, not side to side. It's either an adjustment or possibly as you suspect a faulty cylinder. Try adjusting again. I check mine with an infrared heat sensor. Cheap, $15.

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