Ooops! Now to fix it ...

[jillhop]

I was doing really well with the backing up thing (first-time RV owner) and got a little cocky backing into my driveway. I ran the rear corner up on a rock, and when pulling off, pulled the corner molding slightly (where the side of the MH joins the passenger side rear), leaving a small gap. The gap is only about 1/4" wide at the bottom/widest point, but I'm afraid of water infiltration. Recommendations for repair?

It may be that I need to do something quick and dirty now with a more definitive repair in the spring, as I live in New England and the "nice" weather is not going to last much longer ... I'm more worried about preventing further damage than I am about cosmetics.

I've never tried to load an image, hope this works ...

[Snowman9000]

No need for all that heavy hardware! As one of the videos I posted shows, all she needs is one of these, available in every hardware store in the country in various sizes:

[Islandman]

Have you tried using a bottle jack wedged between a 2x4 on the RV side and a sturdy object on the other such as the lamppost idea or a big sturdy tree. With the jack you can observe what's happening and hopefully it will pop back in.

[Gonzo42]

Perhaps you should use what are called "fender washers" which are large but have a small hole in the center. Less chance of pulling through or making an ugly repair with wavy sheet metal.

[camp-n-family]

This might sound a little "Out There" but you might want to try this.

1) Find a parking lot with a solid concrete lamp-post base.
2) Place properly sized lumber between the concrete and the place on your low-point rear wall where it pulled away.
3) Very slowly have your spouse or friend back up the rig while you hold the lumber in the right place for the right pressure point. Some practicing on extremely slow backing would be a good idea.

Let the rig creep extremely slowly without using the gas pedal until you see the separation start to close. It might just go back into the right position once relaxed. Then caulk and I'd think you are good as new.

Or you could just wedge a 2x4 between the bumper and the corner and pry it. Much easier, and safer.

[woodworker414]

Hi jillhop, BUMMER on the corner. I did the same thing to the moulding on therear streetside pulling out of a bay at the local quick oil change place. Kinda tight area, didn't pull out far enough and the swing of the backend caought a concrete thing at the door entrance. My fix. I drilled a hole in the moulding and put a long stainless steel screw through it to pull it up tihgt and then calulked it. Can't tell any difference from the other side.
Good luck.
Life is a trip, ENJOY the ride.
Safe Travels.

[EMD360]

Caulk is good for now but in the spring you might try eternabond. Here is a photo of our rear corner repair.

I took off the metal trim to the top but let it hang, then used 2 2" strips of eternabond overlapping the corner then rescrewed the trim using new stainless screws and replaced the vinyl strip.

Another way to put pressure on to straighten or hold a glue joint is to use a scissor jack, you might have a couple to stabilize the RV when parked.
Ours were brand new here. We used the car to secure against because it was the right height. Here I was gluing the filon back on a lower area repair.

[Bob_Olallawa]

Good choice, Darned leaks are so hard to find at times

[jillhop]

Thanks for all the suggestions--very helpful! Since I had the ProFlex out today anyway trying to stop a leak, I just put some in the gap and sealed the area for now. The mobile RV tech is planning a visit in the near future, so I'll have him address it more permanently. I'm confident for now that water won't be getting in (at least not there ...). 🙂

[Snowman9000]

Some youtube ideas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms2ba79OvRM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re19I08pvAQ

[Snowman9000]

Does the rear side have a vinyl insert? If so... Pull it out from the bottom. This should expose the heads of screws which have pulled away from the body. You can try to rescrew them, or try longer screws. Most likely the best way will be to redrill the screws into new holes away from the existing ones.

If it has the screws I'm talking about, the right way to do this includes getting some putty tape and applying it under the trim piece. Afterwards, it still would make sense to use some Proflex RV caulk or similar product on the upward facing lip of the trim piece.

In a pinch for now, buy some GOOD foil HVAC tape. It is great stuff. You can tape the edge into place with it, and maybe a dab of caulk on the top edge of the tape where it starts.

A mobile RV repair service could probably fix you up in 15 minutes.

[dan-nickie]

[CloudDriver]

Did something similar to the rear corner of our MH when on a trip a couple of years back. Good old duct tape sealed it up until we got home.

Our metal corner strip is held on with screws, so my "permanent" fix was to apply Dicor to the inside edges of the trim and screw it back in place. So far, so good.

[powderman426]

ron.dittmer wrote:
This might sound a little "Out There" but you might want to try this.

1) Find a parking lot with a solid concrete lamp-post base.
2) Place properly sized lumber between the concrete and the place on your low-point rear wall where it pulled away.
3) Very slowly have your spouse or friend back up the rig while you hold the lumber in the right place for the right pressure point. Some practicing on extremely slow backing would be a good idea.

Let the rig creep extremely slowly without using the gas pedal until you see the separation start to close. It might just go back into the right position once relaxed. Then caulk and I'd think you are good as new.

I don't like this idea. Too much chance for further damage. The proflex should be fine. I would see if I could flex it open at the bottom by hand just enough to shoot some sealer in there and then run a couple of washer head screws into the back side of the trim to pull it closed followed by a dab of the sealer on the screw heads. It also would probably be a good idea to trim off that pointed end on the trim so you don't get hung up on it in the future. Things sticking out like that can cut you good. I know from first hand experience.

[ron_dittmer]

This might sound a little "Out There" but you might want to try this.

1) Find a parking lot with a solid concrete lamp-post base.
2) Place properly sized lumber between the concrete and the place on your low-point rear wall where it pulled away.
3) Very slowly have your spouse or friend back up the rig while you hold the lumber in the right place for the right pressure point. Some practicing on extremely slow backing would be a good idea.

Let the rig creep extremely slowly without using the gas pedal until you see the separation start to close. It might just go back into the right position once relaxed. Then caulk and I'd think you are good as new.