How to fix this?

[Medic_Chick]

I moved the MH from her storage shed out to the side yard yesterday in prep for upcoming travels. It wasn't until I'd put out the awning however, that I noticed this awful crack running from the corner of the bedroom window, diagonally up towards the roof! I'm not worried about stopping the crack, as it's already gone as far as it can go... but I really would love to fix it so that the rain doesn't run inside the open gap! There's doesn't seem to be any delamination anywhere other than the area right around the crack itself.

Can I fix this? How/what should I use?

Here are pictures of the crack.
http://1drv.ms/1HbSEyj

[Gjac]

Then delamination from what I can see can be fixed with any epoxy resin. Make sure it is dry before you put the resin in or it won't adhere well. The substrate that you are bonding to(foam) is weak and will fail before the adhesive will. If you have it covered now with tape that should prevent the water intrusion. I would remove the tape, hit it with a hair dryer apply the resin make a caul plate out of wood covered with Saran wrap of wax paper so the resin squeeze out doesn't stick to the wood. The wood plate would distribute pressure to the repaired area. When I repaired mine I used a car jack against the side or a building to apply pressure. It helps if you put the jacks down first. When finished and sanded maybe a decal covering the area would look nice.

[Medic_Chick]

Hey Bluwtr49!

Good idea. 🙂 It used to show up in my signature line, but not anymore it seems.

Anyway... 1986 Triple E Invitation, 30' long, running a 454 big block (according to my uncle). Not a lot of miles on it for the age... I think it's sitting at less than 100k still. Single rear axle. Had some H2O damage in a previous life, but we resealed the leaky seams, and there's been nothing since. I'm *pretty sure* that the exterior skin is made of Filon... it's a thin, flexible sheet with a pebbly appearance & has what looks to be fibreglass fibres running through it.

Does that help at all?

[bluwtr49]

Medic_Chick wrote:
I moved the MH from her storage shed out to the side yard yesterday in prep for upcoming travels. It wasn't until I'd put out the awning however, that I noticed this awful crack running from the corner of the bedroom window, diagonally up towards the roof! I'm not worried about stopping the crack, as it's already gone as far as it can go... but I really would love to fix it so that the rain doesn't run inside the open gap! There's doesn't seem to be any delamination anywhere other than the area right around the crack itself.

Can I fix this? How/what should I use?

Here are pictures of the crack.
http://1drv.ms/1HbSEyj

It might be useful to provide some details on the coach. Never know, some other owner might have some useful tidbits.

[Medic_Chick]

Thanks all! Gorilla tape is in place... now I have to get to the city for the tub repair kit. What should I use to glue the skin back to the foam underneath?

Will post photos when it's done!

[enblethen]

Sorry slow getting back to you!
Yes, the tub repair will work. Finish will come out smooth.

[Medic_Chick]

Clay... didn't see it... have seen it now & responded. Thanks for letting me know! 🙂

[Clay_L]

Medic_Chick wrote:
vfox... it's been sitting in storage on our property since September. I drove it across the (bumpy!) pasture to bring it up to the house on Monday, but that's the only place it's been. No missing rivets/fittings/attachments that I can see. There *was* some previous water damage in the very back corner (previous owner - since fixed), but no new leaks, or missing seals (silicone).

It almost looks to me like a stress fracture... maybe the MH did a weird side to side twist when I drove across the pasture? 😞

Did you see the private message I sent you?

[Medic_Chick]

vfox... it's been sitting in storage on our property since September. I drove it across the (bumpy!) pasture to bring it up to the house on Monday, but that's the only place it's been. No missing rivets/fittings/attachments that I can see. There *was* some previous water damage in the very back corner (previous owner - since fixed), but no new leaks, or missing seals (silicone).

It almost looks to me like a stress fracture... maybe the MH did a weird side to side twist when I drove across the pasture? 😞

[the_vfox]

The next step needs to be find out why it cracked. You should check all visible mountings and attachments underneath to make sure you not lost one or bent one. Have you been on some really rough roads lately?

[Medic_Chick]

Thank you! 🙂

I have Gorilla tape in my toolbox. *grin*

Bud... I'm not sure what the lining of my RV is made of... it's got a pebbly appearance, with (what I assume is) fiberglass fibers visible. Will the tub repair kit still work for this?

How do I resecure the small delamination back to the MH wall?

[enblethen]

I used a product like this to repair minor damage. It comes in Bisque or white. The Bisque came close to my color. I used only the gel portion and no glass mat.
Bath tub repair kit

[rgatijnet1]

For right now, Gorilla duct tape is the best solution to temporarily keep out rain. Then it is going to take some fiberglass repair work and paint to get things back to the way they were.