Introduction and New Project

Nice job! I'm glad you went with plywood for the floor. When I saw that chipboard upthread I was a bit worried... :B

The water heater leak thread. Appreciate any help. It has to be a simple fix.

Water Heater Leak Thread

The choice was kinda simple..."camper...or no camper". So, I had to man up and break out the tools. Would love to have a new 32' with slides, but I have 3 teenagers and braces to pay for.

OMG what a project! You're a better man than I, Gunga Din.

DB rebuilt the front end of his trailer after he found severe rot due to a water leak. My nephew said the shipping on the front cap cost more than the cap.

An update to the original post as life has caused this project to be put on the backburner in lieu of kids sports, etc. Got the camper weather tight for the winter and picked up a cover for insurance of seepage. Left everything open on the floor, etc so I could confirm no leaks and all checked out after a wet spring and the camper uncovered. Have made considerable progress over the past couple weeks with the floor sheeting installed, vinyl laid and the rear interior almost back to where it was originally. Wife is pleased to see the camper coming back to life. I am experiencing ne problem I can't get figured out and will post a separate thread Water Heater Leak on that issue (water leaking internally from front of water heater only when the anode is removed to drain and the PR valve is is opened to speed the process. See other thread). So here are a few pics of the progress...much appreciate the assistance with this. I overlapped the joint of the old and new floor joist sections to limit any hinge effect and put liquid nails down on all floor joists (if this happens again this camper will be target practice :-). Insulation is foam board as it won't absorb water if there should be a leak and I've over built and fastened every connection / joint in the rebuilt area. The whole camper might come apart...but that rear 3rd will still be intact! The exterior bottom edges continued to leak where they transition from aluminum siding panel to the bottom fabric as a result of all of the staple holes, wear, etc. My solution was to put an Eternabond reinforcement around and under the entire rear perimeter of the camper and plastic barrier prior to attaching and fastening the bottom (drip edge) siding panel. Resulted in no water immediately. I'll carry a roll of that with me at all times. Cosmetic pride is not the priority as here in Montana it's just a matter of time before a hail storm is going to make your camper (or car) look like a golf ball. We want a dry, comfortable toy for occasional use...that's paid for.

Trailering Texans wrote:
Looks like you are doing great. We had an older trailer we loved - with a great interior - that we had to get rid of and buy a new one because DH health would not allow this extensive a repair. But we loved our old trailer and wish we could have saved it. Good luck to you.
One more thought - get someone who knows about these kinds of roofs to look at it. If the roof is older than 12 years you probably need to think about replacing it or recoating it. It would be ashame to do this amount of work and then have another roof failure within a couple of years. As a salesman told me once - it isn't a case of will the roof leak it is WHEN will the roof leak.

Was just having the "roof conversation" with my wife this evening. I expect I'll end up recovering it as the roof is in good shape currently. I've ordered an ADCO All Weather / Wind cover for it during the winter. I am just looking at it as an extra level of protection. The camper sits next to our garage and out of the wind so hope to get a good life span out of it. Have made considerable progress since the last post and will post a few more pics tomorrow possibly. Floor is framed, bottom membrane is reinforced and patched, corner studs are in and siding is all back in place with windows and hatches installed and sealed. Needed to get it done this weekend as I'm gon all week and rain is in the forecast. The interior is next and I think I can get most of that done next weekend. Will do a thorough "rain / leak" check prior to installing the flooring and will do it at various states of level for the camper. Here's the floor framing. Lucked out and the "deck" I built slipped right in. Found a sheeting stapler (1" crown / 1" coated staples) to be pretty much identical to what the factory used for assembly and what a difference that made.

Looks like you are doing great. We had an older trailer we loved - with a great interior - that we had to get rid of and buy a new one because DH health would not allow this extensive a repair. But we loved our old trailer and wish we could have saved it. Good luck to you.
One more thought - get someone who knows about these kinds of roofs to look at it. If the roof is older than 12 years you probably need to think about replacing it or recoating it. It would be ashame to do this amount of work and then have another roof failure within a couple of years. As a salesman told me once - it isn't a case of will the roof leak it is WHEN will the roof leak.

A bit more progress. Under body "wrap" patched and reinforced along all edges, rear sill is in with a 2x4 brace for additional support and the rear studs are spliced and in. Now for the corner studs, insulation, reconnect wiring and close the rear wall back up. To thif point the work is turning out to be sturdier than when I bought the camper. Hoping it stays that way. I'd encourage anyone to chime in and if you see that I'm headed down the wrong path with part of this project please let me know. I'm learning as I go.

A bit of progress today...what a slow process. To the above note about man hours...couldn't agree more. The decision once we found the damage was no camper or fix this camper. Easy decision for me as long as the rain will stay away as this camper has (and will continue to) provided some of my families fondest memories. From tubing at the lake to keeping us warm while duck hunting on the river...lots of memories within this little home on wheels. Got the corners back in shape today and have the side sill's replaced and they turned out to very sturdy. Have the initial layout of the floor in place and will build a "deck" to place within the floor frame and plan to move on to the back wall after that. The black wrap under the camper has a few worn through areas and plan to Eternabond them internally before placing the floor joists and will get to the exterior once everything else is in place. The key for me is to get the camper "weather proof" this week and I can work on the interior from there. The metal all came of pretty easily and should go back up nicely. I will be applying Rot Doctor to wood showing staining purely as a backup and reassurance for the future. I've cut out rot and replaced with new wood and the darker wood has been sprayed with Spray Nine (was told by RV dealer that it's what they use to kill mold). On to the floor tomorrow.

path1 wrote:
(I already posted above and thought of another question.)

Not being noisy, but what is your experience level fixing outside skins and getting roof tucked under on RV's?

I ask because it is important to use right materials. And people might be able to post better replies if they know your level of "RV fixing ability" is.

It's all very simple but very time consuming and fixing it right the first time will save you in long run.

Please...I invite "nosey"...this is my first trip down this road and learning along the way. Fortunate to have a friend a couple thousand miles away who has worked in the RV industry for a dozen years and he's been providing advice. Will post a few pics of the progress from today and am praying that what looks like gray skies that could have moisture in them either is a figment of my imagination or that it misses us. The camper is partially tarped in preparation, but no dount it's gonna get wet if we get a shower. Back to the rain prep...thanks!