Another Thor Victim - Bad Fiberglass

[31P-RV]

We bought our first motorhome, 2006 Thor Fourwinds 31P, which only had 8300 miles and Mint on the inside. The person we bought it from, was far from honest about the history of the unit. It had all new paint and new decal package on the outside, and looked almost new...
What he did not disclose, was the real reason for the new paint job on the sidewalls of the motorhome. It happens to be one of the 2004, 05, 06, 07 units with the bad fiberglass from Crane Composites, with blisters popping all over the walls.
The previous owner simply had body filler spread over the blisters (pock marks) with no real prep work, sanded, and shot a coat of white paint on the walls...
After we purchased it, the first month it dipped into the 20's (degrees), the filled blister pocks simply started letting go and chipping off... Looks like the walls has been shot with a shotgun...
I have been researching this issue for several months, and feel completely STUPID for being taken so badly with this motorhome and its historic problem.

My question is :
Has anyone successfully fixed one of these motorhomes with th e blisters ?
I have talked to three different RV repair shops near me, and they want $6,000 up to $10,000 to do it, and with NO warranty !!

I am just pursuing if any one has DIY successfully, or do I just need to dump this otherwise nice motorhome ?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Bionic_Man]

donn0128 wrote:
I would think a boat shop or a nody shop specalizing in Corvetts could do a good repair job. Wont be cheap, but your into it now, so.....

This is the route I would go. Call a couple boat dealers and see who they recommend for fiberglas repair.

Still won't be cheap.

[31P-RV]

Camouflage is a good idea !
That would hide the **** well.
However, my wife would not let me go that route.

[31P-RV]

Thanks to all for the fast responses.
My unit is now painted. They put white paint ( I believe the same white as the 2006 Ford E450 cab) back over the side walls, to cover all the bondo and subsequent sanding. If the blisters had not chipped back off, it would have been a very decent job of the repair.
There are hundreds of these motorhomes out there. If you have never seen one, it is hard to describe the extent of the issue. I will attempt to post up a picture of a couple of the areas for you to see.
The published cause of this issue, is supposedly not keeping the equipment that lays up the .050" fiberglass sheet (which they made in 32 foot x 8 foot seamless panels) and the resin was not properly mixed with hardener and the mechanism that spread it, also left very small air pockets. On some days, you can touch some of the chips, and the goo in the cavity is still tacky.
There are literally hundreds of these small (1/8 a 1/4" diameter) chips.
With no prep work to the original chip, and the goo, the bondo (or whatever they used, it sure wasn't fiberglass based) just chipped back out with the first big temp swing.
These 'defective' panels were used by multiple brand names during the years I mentioned in the opening post. All of which started fixing the walls on units that failed during warranty as full wall replacement. They of course, went back to Crain looking for help and financial recovery... After several dozen (hundred) repairs, Crain filed for backruptcy, and walked away.
Today, Thor still will not admit to any of this history, and simply takes the stance of, "improper owner maintenance"... Now where, and how often, have we all heard that for any type of **** construction or workmanship at the factories ???
They can leave a crack the size of a canyon, but if it survives the warranty, then it is the owners fault it rots to heck two years later...
So much for my rant.
Let me get a couple of pictures sometime this week.
I know there are a few Forum Members who have seen this, either on a used lot, or in the campgrounds. Mine sparks many conversations from camping neighbors asking who 'shot me up' with a shotgun. Not LOL.

[SidecarFlip]

Paint it in camo (dull, no gloss) and call it good.

[Terryallan]

31P-RV wrote:
We bought our first motorhome, 2006 Thor Fourwinds 31P, which only had 8300 miles and Mint on the inside. The person we bought it from, was far from honest about the history of the unit. It had all new paint and new decal package on the outside, and looked almost new...
What he did not disclose, was the real reason for the new paint job on the sidewalls of the motorhome. It happens to be one of the 2004, 05, 06, 07 units with the bad fiberglass from Crane Composites, with blisters popping all over the walls.
The previous owner simply had body filler spread over the blisters (pock marks) with no real prep work, sanded, and shot a coat of white paint on the walls...
After we purchased it, the first month it dipped into the 20's (degrees), the filled blister pocks simply started letting go and chipping off... Looks like the walls has been shot with a shotgun...
I have been researching this issue for several months, and feel completely STUPID for being taken so badly with this motorhome and its historic problem.

My question is :
Has anyone successfully fixed one of these motorhomes with th e blisters ?
I have talked to three different RV repair shops near me, and they want $6,000 up to $10,000 to do it, and with NO warranty !!

I am just pursuing if any one has DIY successfully, or do I just need to dump this otherwise nice motorhome ?

Thanks in advance for any help.

The blistering is more than likely air pockets under the glass where it has turned loose from the backing wall, OR air pockets between the glass and gelcoat. Yes you can fix it IF you have experience with fiberglass repair.

You will need to chip off the Gelcoat on the blisters, Sand them, leave them sort of rough to give the resin a foot hold, and depending on if the glass has turned loose from the backing wall. Either roll Roven Woven glass on using a goodly amount of resin. Or use fiberglass matt, again rolling it on with resin. Making sure to roll out the air. I'm thinking matt would be you best bet, as strength shouldn't be an issue. Then sand it smooth, but slightly lower than the surrounding gelcoat, Do feather it out into the good Gelcoat. But leave no sharp edges, as that will leave a ring.

Then you can spray, or even brush paint GelCoat back on. You can get a disposable sprayer at your local building supply. spraying is best.

After that. you will just need to water sand the Gelcoat until it is as smooth as the rest. Hint. Use a block. Just using your fingers will leave "grooves" in the GelCoat. When you get close. Use at least a 400 grit water paper, (600 is better) and plenty of water. The higher the grit the better the shine. Then just buff it out and wax it.

Mixing the hardner with the resin is really the tricky part. You don't want it so hot it sets up too fast, but hot enough that it sets up in a reasonable length of time. You can use a hairdryer to help it along. Much depends on the weather. If it is hot when you do it. Less hardner is needed, cold out? more hardner. Same with the GelCoat.

how is that 6000+ sounding now?

BTW. I was once the "Boat Doctor" at Dixie Boat. My job was to repair new, and used boats to new status, as far as their looks went. Yes, New boats get dinged, and have air bubbles as well. but not when I got done with them.

[path1]

Go to Carine composites. The have pdf file that covers repairs. 90 percent is all labor and takes time. cu

[SpeakEasy]

Can you do something creative/clever with decals to make it look like it's designed? I have a friend who put bubble decals all over his sailboat. Looks cool.

Just a thought. (not kidding either)

-Speak

[donn0128]

I would think a boat shop or a nody shop specalizing in Corvetts could do a good repair job. Wont be cheap, but your into it now, so.....