1977 Terry Renovation

[mtCoder]

Hey guys,

The wife and I just bought a 1977 20' Terry travel trailer that we are planning to renovate. The outside is in good condition, but there are several places with water damage and whatnot so we plan to pretty much overhaul the interior. So far, we have pulled out the cabinets and kitchenette, ripped down most of the walls and ceiling, pulled the stove and fridge. Unfortunately, the trailer is just too tall to fit into the shop, so this is all being done outdoors and we will be at the mercy of the weather. Because of this, the plan is to keep the skin on as much as possible while working from within. Has anyone here done this before? We will need to be replacing several pieces of framing because of the water damage (although much of the roof is good just not around seams), and are unsure of how to attach to the exterior without removing the skin. Could we use liquid nails to attach the new frame where the old was attached with staples from the outside?

Also, anyone have an idea how to replace the bottom board supporting the wall? The area around the wheel well is shot and will need to be replaced.

Thanks!

EDIT for wheel well photo:

Moderator edit to re-size picture to forum suggested limit of 640px maximum width.

[Bruce_Brown]

mtCoder wrote:
Hey Guys, its great to hear that so many of you have done pretty much the same thing. It definitely gets a little discouraging when you start pulling out the walls and realize how much work there will be to do. I've been away from home for a few days, but when I get back I'll post some pics of the interior all gutted and try to show our plan for moving forward a bit.

Thanks for all the encouragement!

I knew what I was getting into with mine. I didn't know it was quite as deep as it was, but I wasn't too surprised.

I bought it knowing it needed the Extreme Makeover, Camper Edition.

And yes, please post your pictures.

[mtCoder]

Hey Guys, its great to hear that so many of you have done pretty much the same thing. It definitely gets a little discouraging when you start pulling out the walls and realize how much work there will be to do. I've been away from home for a few days, but when I get back I'll post some pics of the interior all gutted and try to show our plan for moving forward a bit.

Thanks for all the encouragement!

[SteveB]

This looks like a great project. I had to repair my old camper with similar damage. I also used a jack in order to replace the wood against the frame. I also rebuilt both wheel wells in which the cheap steel covering had completely rotted through. I stripped out and fixed the wood and then relined the exterior with 5052 aluminum. I have a pic of that project somewhere in my old photos.

[Bruce_Brown]

Here is a TT I did 2 summers back. It was a blast to do - honestly! About 400 hours into it, 395 of them were fun.

Camper Rehab

[westend]

Sorry, haven't visited your thread for awhile.
Sure, supporting the wall or roof with bottle jacks is a good thing. I made a "T" as a jacking support with 2x4's. I put a piece of plywood or cast off engineered wood under the jack to spread the load. The jack came in real handy to repair rotted ceiling joists.

Your picture brings back memories. 🙂

One tip I can share is to write out a building plan. It doesn't have to be a CAD affair or even correct scale. The purpose is to have some idea about what goes where and when it needs to come in the schedule of building. I surprised myself by only leaving out a couple of things, the dedicated receptacle for a 120V fridge and the audio feed to/from the television location to the entertainment equipment. I was able to get those in before I had wall paneling up so recovery wasn't difficult. After I had the paneling up and was installing light switches, I thought I had forgotten the switch box for the over-sink light but I had just forgotten to cut the paneling. A pass with the router and the box was exposed.

Keep us posted on further developments.

[mtCoder]

westend wrote:
You can look through the restoration thread in my signature line, "The Cowboy/Hilton". I have pictures and procedures for most of what you're doing in that thread. I did the same type of process that you are doing (skin on, repair from inside).

Answers: Where it was necessary to reattach framing back onto the aluminum skin, I used a narrow crown stapler for the most part, stapling the aluminum siding back onto the frame. I knew I waas going to paint the exterior so used conventional staples. A few siding pieces and patch repairs (where large aluminum sheets were added) were glued and screwed from the exterior.

The bottom sill plate of almost all TT's sits on top of the subfloor. If you need to replace sill plate, you will have to remove siding staples, sill plate fasteners, and the fasteners into the studs. A reciprocating saw and a small grinder will be your new best buddies. Reattachment is done with construction adhesive and toe-nailing studs back into the new sill plate. If you are replacing flooring underneath the sill plate, it's possible to wedge up the wall in certain areas, remove fasteners in the way, and slide new flooring underneath the wall.

I also replaced or rebuilt both wheel wells. The pictures are in that Cowboy/Hilton thread. The wheel well closest to kitchen plumbing and electrical distribution was clad with metal plate (the same stuff they use in garbage compactor trucks and Humvees, 303 steel).

Thinks noted: your picture shows that you still have batt insulation in the walls. I'd strongly suggest that you replace it with extruded foam board. The difference in comfort, when done, is well worth the effort. It was one of the most labor intensive and costly processes of rebuilding my trailer but the silent aspect of the foam, along with the added R-value is worth it. It also adds structural strength. I also added a vapor barrier and an additional 1/4" foam board for a thermal break across the studs. That was easy and also adds to durability and comfort.

Good luck on your project, it is a rewarding experience and will let you configure your trailer to be better than anything you can buy new.

Thanks for the help westend! This is exactly the kind of response I was hoping to get. Since the photo, we have removed all the fiberglass insulation to help things dry out and have already started buying the extruded foam board.

Here's an image of the trailer with more taken out:


You can see some of the boards that will need to be replaced in here due to rot. Toward the back, there are a couple roof supports that will need to be replaced as well.

To replace that sill plate, I had planned on using a bottle jack on the inside of the trailer to support the that side of the roof/wall while replacing it. Is this a viable option?

[DaHose]

When I rebuilt my cabover, I stripped everything down and completely rebuilt. Do it right, once.

Jose

[cbshoestring]

K Charles wrote:
If you don't have time to do it right, you'll never find time to do it over.

I thought it was:

Why is there never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over?

[westend]

You can look through the restoration thread in my signature line, "The Cowboy/Hilton". I have pictures and procedures for most of what you're doing in that thread. I did the same type of process that you are doing (skin on, repair from inside).

Answers: Where it was necessary to reattach framing back onto the aluminum skin, I used a narrow crown stapler for the most part, stapling the aluminum siding back onto the frame. I knew I waas going to paint the exterior so used conventional staples. A few siding pieces and patch repairs (where large aluminum sheets were added) were glued and screwed from the exterior.

The bottom sill plate of almost all TT's sits on top of the subfloor. If you need to replace sill plate, you will have to remove siding staples, sill plate fasteners, and the fasteners into the studs. A reciprocating saw and a small grinder will be your new best buddies. Reattachment is done with construction adhesive and toe-nailing studs back into the new sill plate. If you are replacing flooring underneath the sill plate, it's possible to wedge up the wall in certain areas, remove fasteners in the way, and slide new flooring underneath the wall.

I also replaced or rebuilt both wheel wells. The pictures are in that Cowboy/Hilton thread. The wheel well closest to kitchen plumbing and electrical distribution was clad with metal plate (the same stuff they use in garbage compactor trucks and Humvees, 303 steel).

Thinks noted: your picture shows that you still have batt insulation in the walls. I'd strongly suggest that you replace it with extruded foam board. The difference in comfort, when done, is well worth the effort. It was one of the most labor intensive and costly processes of rebuilding my trailer but the silent aspect of the foam, along with the added R-value is worth it. It also adds structural strength. I also added a vapor barrier and an additional 1/4" foam board for a thermal break across the studs. That was easy and also adds to durability and comfort.

Good luck on your project, it is a rewarding experience and will let you configure your trailer to be better than anything you can buy new.

[K_Charles]

If you don't have time to do it right, you'll never find time to do it over.

[the_bear_II]

Do a search on Youtube for RV sidewall repair or fiberglass repair you will find a couple of how to videos.

Good luck with your project.

[robsouth]

Looks like a "skin off" job to me. Get a large blue tarp to cover when not working and when weather does not cooperate. Do it right, or figure when you can do it again. JMHO!