Lwiddis writes "You want a project for a couple of years or do you want to go camping? If the latter, dump that TT, charge it off to a learning experience and buy another one that you inspect completely before buying."
Huntingdog writes "Lighter fluid and a match.
Seriously, it sounds like a total rebuild is needed. It will take thousands of hours and more money than a new one would cost."
Cavie writes "Clean and repair the roof with Eternabond. clean and seal the windows nicely with Dicore. SELL IT!!! "
Dodge guy writes "In the end you will most liked be replacing 70-80% of the wood on the trailer. Dump it now and look for a suitable replacement. You can find TT with no issues for the same price you purchased for. "
Dutchmensport writes "Personally, as suggested above, I'd dump this camper and chock it up to bad experience and get something that is ready to go. You are going to invest a LOT more time and money into this camper than you can imagine. And then, if you decide to sell it, you will not get your investment back out ... not at all. Upgrades, fixes, cleanliness, improvements, do not add value to RV. The value is based on age, not your emotional or financial investment. "
WOW, just WOW, some of the meanest, harshest, rudest, bullying comments I have seen which has become rather common place on this forum. You guys are pretty darn cranky..
Not everyone like you guys have all the money in the world to bag a brand new RV off the lot. Some folks are just trying to make a start of RVing without taking out a 30 yr loan or putting their first born on the auction block.
Everyone must start somewhere and older used RVs CAN be made usable and serviceable again and if done carefully for not all that much money. You all think it is foolish and stupid to take on this kind of work. For some though like myself it means not spending $40K, $50K or more on a asset that loses pretty much 100% of it's value the second you put your "john Hancock" on the paperwork.
YES, I HAVE rebuilt not one but TWO TTs, it IS a lot of work and you will put SOME money into it, you WILL put a lot of personal time into it, but in the end you have a RV done the way YOU want it, done better than factory, will outlast a new RV and you know every inch of that RV better than the factory or the dealer AND you WILL be rewarded with the knowledge that YOU did something that many on this forum are SCARED OF (HARD WORK).
Hence does need to start with the roof, the leaks tend to be any place there is a seam, sidewalls where the roof folds over the sides, front and back seams where the siding meets the roofing or an opening in the roof.
Hence states that the roof IS aluminum AND is sectioned with seams, will need to remove any old caulking/putty at those seams and replace with new caulking. Will need to remove all four corner moldings, top sidewall moldings and everything on top of the roof and remove the old caulking and replace with new caulking.
One thing for sure, don't use SILICONE caulking of any kind, it will ruin all of your hard work down the road when it randomly lets go in places that it had poor adhesion (which happens a lot with Silicone). Not to mention if it lets go and starts leaking you cannot ever get new silicone to adhere to old cured silicone EVER.
For finding damaged or rotted wood, that gets a bit harder, either will have to remove the roofing and siding and replace from outside or gut the inside and repair from the inside.
Can be done either way but do be aware, removing the roofing and siding will most likely result in the need to replace some or all and that can be difficult and expensive to replace. Siding must be remved starting from the bottom and work your way up and will be held on with millions of nasty staples at the bottom of each piece of siding.
IF you have visible damage to the inside paneling or ceiling you might be able to spot remove the affected areas in sections and iff lucking not have to disturb cabinets and interior walls.
Not going to lie, it does take time, our second TT and current TT took me 9 months of working a couple hrs per night and most all day on weekends with only a few breaks away from it.
Paid $700 for it, spent $4K or so CASH and best of all, no payments, no interest paid to a rich banker.
OP can look at a pix of our TT in my profile.
I wish Hence all the best with this project, it is a challenge that few people are willing to attempt. Just be sure you are ready and prepared for the worst case which is a gut job but you may end up surprised in the end if you find less damage and less tear out.
