Trailer under belly

[heagle52]

Has anyone ever cut out a section of their trailer's under belly to gain access to plumbing, etc.? If so, how did you reattach it? The covering on my trailer is a sheet of flexible rubber.

[bob213]

Same idea as Gorilla Tape but wider. This has been recommended for the coroplast under bodies.
Flashing tape

[laknox]

A lot of people just cut 3 sides and leave the 4th side as a hinge. Swing the panel out of the way, do your repair, then use Gorilla tape to fix it back in place. FWIW, I've never heard of Gorilla tape coming lose =if= the surface is properly cleaned first.

Later: Make =sure= to leave the hinge to the front of the trailer, so if it =does= come loose, it'll just blow back up. Also, check it from time to time.

Lyle

[frankwp]

I've seen corrugated plastic & my current one has a woven membrane, but I've never seen a rubber cover, so I can't comment on that. Black Gorrilla tape works very well on the plastic & fabric covers. I have some on that has lasted for years & still is firmly attached.

I would stay away from just about any of the grey duct tapes cause they just fall apart after a few months.

[Fisher_Bill]

Mine has corrugated plastic the whole length, it's attached with a metal trim that uses self tapping screws to frame.

Couple weeks ago I noticed about 5-6' had come loose and was actually riding on top of the leaf spring shackles.

I loosened the screws in the immediate area and after trying a couple of ways to support the bottom (with boxes and coolers) I found that C clamping two 2x4's across the bottom of one side, laying a small section of plywood across those and then C clamping the 2x4's to the opposite frame to compress the bottom therefore taking up the pillowing slack giving me the material to tuck back under the trim and re-tightening to secure.

Always a challenge working alone with large pieces but this worked well for me.

Bill

[Mark_Heisler]

remove the whole panel
do your repair
put it back in place
no more worry's
or you can cut it out and glue or screw the piece back in by glue a piece to the inside an then glue or screw your panel back on to it
them run caulking around the seam to seal it up

[tinner12002]

If you needed a smaller hole in between the frame rails you could take some wood and make a picture frame of sorts around the hole splitting the wood between the existing edge and the opening, use drywall screws to attach the wood to the panel then put the piece you cutout back in the opening and screw that to the wood that overhangs, then tape edges with tape. The wood will help stiffen the opening where your cutout is and also lets you get back into that area if needed.

[md_procouple]

Had the same problem on out T/T a few years back, I used a strip of galvanized pipe strap, from one side to the other secured with self tapping screws, and covered the actual "cut" with Gorilla Tape. Kept a check on it from time to time to make sure it was holding. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!

[kerrlakeRoo]

downtheroad wrote:
kerrlakeroo has suggest an excellent way to reattach an inspection panel or repair opening.

Also you can tape the piece back into place using Gorilla Tmape.

And depending on the size and location it can work well here, personally I have used gorilla tape, but tend to worry about it when it is likely to be exposed to moisture or temperature extremes. It can be used well though between solid fasteners as a means of sealing between fasteners.

[downtheroad]

kerrlakeroo has suggest an excellent way to reattach an inspection panel or repair opening.

Also you can tape the piece back into place using Gorilla Tape.

[kerrlakeRoo]

Drill driver pushing self tapping screws with washers into the frames.

[Lwiddis]

No but I could help you cut yours. I have a chainsaw.