The sheet aluminum is about .023" in 4' widths and as long as the camper - including cab-over bunk. It uses a horizontal line pattern running north/south. The first 4' width is top center, with the vent holes and then crimped seams into the next sections, which drape down the side and include the window openings. Next is the diamond pattern, gold-colored sections, just below the windows - also crimped into connecting seams for widths of about a foot. Then back to the horizontal to finish out the bottoms of the sides to where they meet the wings.
Incidentally the back wall and the front cab-over walls are diamond pattern (as are the gold-colored side segments) and the cab-over bunk floor and front camper box wall are back to the horizontal lined pattern. Those front and back wall diamond patterned pieces have seams allowing in and out placement and are not crimped. That's why they are handled as individual pieces.
The roof and sides aluminum however are not easily separable and I had no intention of trying. At first I felt I might have to Michael Angelo it by getting out some scaffolding and working its bottom on my back.
After thinking about a few different ways to work the metal, it became painfully obvious I would need it down on the ground and hang out on my knees for a few days. With my vision correction being what it is, there was also a lot of belly work and spreading my body weight over the metal like I was trying to make a frozen river rescue for someone who dropped through the ice.
I used a tri-folded packing blanket and a yoga mat combo to cushion the raised pattern of the horizontal lined aluminum from my bony protuberances - like knee caps. It was some difficult work for several days. Let's get started.
In the previous post there was a picture of how an original cabinet screw came through the framing and pushed its point almost out through the aluminum skin. Instead of puncturing, the aluminum stretched and held. This next photo is an example of the same kind of sharp pointed hit, but this time from the outside in. It's similar to hail damage, or rocks thrown, but of a more serious nature. Here's how it looked from the underside.
I concluded the best way to deal with these areas is to first remove the stretch(es) and/or crease(s), then re-shape to the original pattern.
After a few taps meant to flatten...
And after completed flattening.
And then on to the next issue. I'll finish shaping each area once the aluminum is flipped over.
This shows where some blunt object banged on the roof. It was flattened in specific portions. (Nearby was a greater area of damage right on a seam! I failed to get photos of it from this side.)
Making this.
So that's the general method. Now I moved on to an area of greater concern. This is the under side of the gash near the front roof vent, where I have enlarged the escape hatch opening to cover the gash (the one that had a dark green patch). Look close in the foreground; see the branch caused cut right near the front lip? Then a long crease and finally the main gash further away in the photo.
Flattening the crease incrementally.
And completed initial flattening.
I marked the new hatch opening and took this close up. The gash is about 3/4".
Then I drilled a stop hole in either end, paying particular attention to placement so as to not have the tear continue past the drilled hole where the metal was initially creased.
And set to work cutting the new opening.
Here you see the gash about 1/2" from the edge, an area that will live under the sealing butyl tape of the hatch.
After completing similar work on the entire back side, we rolled the metal in a large diameter roll and re-opened it, top side up.
Continuing work on the same "gash area", I finished cleaning off the old patch and continued shaping the area.
I found it's best to keep the raised horizontal lined pattern at the openings to keep the overall metal in a straight condition.
And here's how it ended up.
Tomorrow I'll continue with more of the work done on the roof metal.
