Forum Discussion

bobphoenix's avatar
bobphoenix
Explorer
Dec 22, 2016

2000 Coachmen Catalina Sidewall Repair

Hi all,
During the last trip of the Summer I was traveling home on one of the worst maintained roads I have ever traveled. For nearly five miles it felt like I was getting hit by another vehicle, only from below...
As soon as I got back onto a better road I stopped to put the bakeware in the oven, sweep up the dish that came out of an upper cabinet and reset the shower doors.
Once I got home and started emptying out I noticed daylight coming from the floor at the outside wall behind the passenger side couch. The Sidewall of the coach is separating away from the floor (the gap is nearly a half inch) and the door binds.
I looked at the fasteners that are behind the trim strip and they have suffered corrosion and snapped off for about eight feet from the wheel well to the entry door... Based on the stress on the dashboard and the racking of the entry door, I think the sidewall is sagging about two inches.

So, with that, does anyone have any ideas for how I can raise the sidewall up and refasten the sidewall to the floor... before our next trip in March...?

I'm thinking that there is going to be some angle aluminum involved and I already have sourced out some 3 inch self tapping headless tech screws.

All thoughts are welcome!
Class A
  • crasster's avatar
    crasster
    Explorer II
    Dec 23, 2016
    I hate to say this, but it sounds like it is beyond bad for the average handyman to fix. It may take several jacks, hoists, and the overall framing may be out of whack. It may be worth your while to go to a repair facility that SPECIALIZES in RV's... yes, camping world, or the like (not just a regular mechanic) and just see what they think. They may give you a quote or not for free, but at least then you'd know what you are up against.

    I would not advise just starting to fasten things together as of yet without a pros opinion.

    If they come back saying it is not the frame of the house but rather "it just needs to be re-aligned and fastened, take a bunch of picks and come back here.
  • moisheh's avatar
    moisheh
    Explorer
    Dec 23, 2016
    What you have encountered is a built in flaw in Coachman RV's of that vintage. The floor is attached to the sidewalls with just some screws. They rust and break. In some of those units one can sit on the sofa and watch the dash float up and down. A proper fix is a big deal. If it were mine I would sell it! You might try and post some pictures of the floor/sidewall area.

    Moisheh
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    Dec 25, 2016
    If you post some photos you might get more accurate advice. But from your description I would try to jack the floor up to where it belongs and make some angle brackets to support the floor to the sidewalls. I would also remove all the screws along the floor line and replace the rusted ones.
  • moisheh's avatar
    moisheh
    Explorer
    Dec 25, 2016
    I was under that other Coachman I mentioned in a previous post. But that was more than 4 years ago. The walls were laminated but had little or no metal reinforcements. Usually there is metal tubing in both the floor and the wall. This is a difficult fix. We were in Mexico and a Mexican welder did the repairs. If it had been in the USA the cost would have been prohibitive.

    Moisheh
  • bobphoenix's avatar
    bobphoenix
    Explorer
    Dec 26, 2016
    moisheh wrote:
    What you have encountered is a built in flaw in Coachman RV's of that vintage. The floor is attached to the sidewalls with just some screws. They rust and break. In some of those units one can sit on the sofa and watch the dash float up and down. A proper fix is a big deal. If it were mine I would sell it! You might try and post some pictures of the floor/sidewall area.

    Moisheh


    Thanks for all the advise...

    Yesterday, the temperature went up to the mid 40s and I was able to get up underneath the wheel well...
    Just poking around and feeling around I felt a loose piece of wood and gave it a gentle tug... I dissolved in my hand!
    Apparently along with the screws rusting away, I have a leak inside the wall and the wooden underframing has also rotted too... After closer examination, the inside wall at the passenger's window is de-laminating... On the inside... This is serious!

    So, the first thing I'm going to do pull out the passenger chair, the loveseat sofa and pull back the carpet on that side... Then take a good hard look at the flooring, frame connections and the sidewall... get up underneath with a good strong work lamp to see what I've got there too... I've also got to find out where that water is coming in on the inside... I think it is from the front awning mount that needs to be re-caulked...

    BTW: On the last trip home after and that section of bad road, I did see the dash "floating" in relation to the side wall, as the RV went up and down with the road... So, I have to start getting some stabilization started before I try to move it again...
  • larry_cad's avatar
    larry_cad
    Explorer II
    Dec 26, 2016
    Unfortunately you are experiencing what all too many find out about typical RVs. The manufacturers build these things cheap and quick. The result is amazing deterioration as we go down the road. Wood rots, metal rusts and fasteners break, pull out and disappear. It happens in all brands and models, including top of the line diesels as well as small towables. It is a problem but we keep buying them and they keep making them with huge built in problems that no repair shop knows how to fix. I wish you luck, but this is going to be a journey!
  • tropical36's avatar
    tropical36
    Explorer
    Dec 26, 2016
    larry cad wrote:
    Unfortunately you are experiencing what all too many find out about typical RVs. The manufacturers build these things cheap and quick. The result is amazing deterioration as we go down the road. Wood rots, metal rusts and fasteners break, pull out and disappear. It happens in all brands and models, including top of the line diesels as well as small towables. It is a problem but we keep buying them and they keep making them with huge built in problems that no repair shop knows how to fix. I wish you luck, but this is going to be a journey!

    What you're saying can be true and evidently is in this case, but I can honestly say, that many are built pretty well, as in the Tropical, we sold. At 18yrs old it was as good as ever, other than starting to show it's age here and there. Certainly no signs of rust or falling apart anywhere.
    With our present 9yr old coach, it looks to be built even better and should serve us well, also.
    To the OP and if it were me, I'd do the best I could for patching it up and getting rid of it. Having it done professionally, as some would call it, would surely lead to paying an astronomical price, that would well exceed it's market value and you'd end up with still having the same workmanship that you had in the first place.

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