Water damage

[Coro77]

Hello, please be kind as I am a complete newbie and I have no mechanic or handyman skills at all. I just purchased an rv and I already have major issues. I just took out my rv for the first time and made the mistake of not putting on a regulator when I hooked it up to city water. I was in my rv, about 10 mins after hooking up, when a gentleman informed me that my filter blow out and water was going everywhere outside....he said I was lucky i did not do damage inside. Everything went great afterwards, did not notice any leaks until the the end of my trip when i came home and noticed the fresh water tank (I filled it before I left...did not use it at all) was leaking all this water from under the fresh tank as well as under were I plug in the city water..I tried to close the valves but no matter what I closed it would not stop leaking....I have no idea what I did wrong?? Anyways, this all happen last week and over the weekend when I dug deeper I found major water damage....soft wet wood, dry wood rot, mold in the floor as well as the walls under the sink/stove as well as under the tub area...my questions are as follow:
Could all this damage happen from just last week or do you think I purchased someone else's problems? (I am a idiot. I did not have a professional inspection)
Due to my very limited extra income I cannot afford to pay 5000 or more to have this fixed....if I remove everything such as the wood, carpet, rotted walls/floors ect...do you think that would lower the cost a good deal?
If I attempted to do whole project myself...do I need to remove the outside fiberglass or can I do all the structure work from inside of the rv?
Any thoughts or suggestions? I could post pics later this week if that would help...

[RVcircus]

Coro77 wrote:
Nope to both. I figure I will buy what I need when I need it, learn from DIY videos/websites and gain skill from trial and error.

Good plan. Take your time, read, watch videos, and ask questions. With some hard work and patience you can get this trailer back on the road.

I'm finishing up a similar project and it's taken almost 3 months of work on nights and weekends.

[Coro77]

Westend- your trailer looks great! I wish I had your skills! Tbirds255 - thank you! It's nice to have some encouragement. You never know what you are capable of unless you try.....and if I find I am not capable.....it's time to call the pros 😉

[tbirds255]

You can do it, just take it one step at a time. Take pictures as you go along so you know what goes back where when the time comes. First thing you will need to do is locate where the water was coming from and fix that. If it was any of your holding tanks they can be repaired and/or replaced, depending on how much you want to put into it. You can rent a lot of power tools you may need at your local Home Depot, or ask a neighbor. Don't be afraid to come back here and ask questions, there is a lot of experience here on the forum. Post pictures because they are always very helpful , as each project is a bit different. And if all else fails you can call a mobile RV repair person to fix it, or at least get an estimate to repair it so you can wiegh your options.

[westend]

I recovered an old trailer from water damage (the siding was flopping in the breeze). You can see some of my exploits in the link in my signature line, "the Cowboy/Hilton".

[Coro77]

Yep, it will be totally worth it. With everything going on in my life, I def need a way to get out of this concrete city and just be calm with nature. I would just buy a tent and go with the doggy but, as a solo female, I feel safer in a rv.

[focijoe]

You bought somebody else's problem. It can be fixed but you are in for a LOT of work. It will also leave you questioning if this camping stuff is even worth the headaches. Good luck.

[Coro77]

Yes Robatthelake, I thought the same thing when the wood was all dry and crumbling.

[Coro77]

Nope to both. I figure I will buy what I need when I need it, learn from DIY videos/websites and gain skill from trial and error.

[robatthelake]

I would say that You bought someone else's problem. In a Week there would be Water Damage but No Rot happens that fast!

[donn0128]

Do you have any wood working skills or tools? You will need both before you attempt any work.