Purchased RV leak over cab, now what?

[cbsurfmom]

Hi RVers,

Well, we purchased this RV 2 months ago and are now planning a trip for Oct so thought I'd go clean it out and this is where I'm at (see pics). The outside walls are loose and we were told that it's from sitting around the sun which didn't seem to affect it structurally. Yes, we were told there had been leaks but that they were repaired and it did not leak when we bought it (the hose trick). Anyhow, it's still leaking a tiny bit on the rt side of the cab over part. The real problem is all the damage that did occur w/the past leaks. Several questions, is this 'fixable'? I tend to say yes, everything is able to repair but it's gonna cost $$, but how much?. This could get much uglier before it gets better. I'm willing to do this work, of course I'm now roping my husband into it, he thought I was just cleaning the rig :B Any suggestions on where to start. What is the best stuff to use for these seams? My plan... First, seal the leak, I checked out Eterna Bond and that seems awesome but what about marine epoxy? Second, gut the cab over floor and walls? Third, sell it now don't mess with it? Four, do the work but how long will this take? Thanks for any input!

[Usagi]

I have a similar situation. I bought a 1994 Four Winds 5000 which is 29 feet long and has 54K miles. I got 6 good tires, a new toilet, new electric/gas refrigerator, a 4K Onan generator that starts with a bit of coaxing, an awning that is rotted a bit near the front-upper edge and some leaks and rot. I coated the roof and I think I got most if not all the leaks. Perhaps not totally in the cab-over area.
Here's my Baby (or maybe lemon?):

The leaks:
One where one of the luggage carrier mounts allowed water to enter.
Many around the TV antenna which I've now removed.
Many pinholes and leaks in the cab-over.
I coated the aluminum roof per this post:
Sealing Leaky Aluminum Roof
I think that stopped the roof leaks.

Now I'm working on the inside of the cab-over area, ripping out rotted wood.
The construction consists of these layers:
aluminum roof (filon on the sides)
luan plywood wet and rotted in places
styrofoam
thin cardboard
vinyl ceiling (paneling on sides)

I plan on using liquid nails - panel and foam formula to stick new or dried and cleaned styrofoam to the sides and roof. I plan on following that with thin paneling and perhaps finish ceiling with vinyl walpaper.

My problem is what to do with the rotted areas where the ceiling styrofoam broke away from the rotted luan plywood. I may drill holes when I feel it has dried, inject some liquid nails and then cover the holes with more vinyl walpaper.

I paid $3500 for the R/V. I got it with the idea of being able to get close to the coast then walk the docks on coastal areas so I can look for a sailboat to live on. Unfortunately I had no idea that R/V parks charge outrageous amounts of money, in fact far more than my apartment costs. Hence I'll likely be doing a lot of boon-docking until I get my sailboat.

Thoughts?

[Dusty_R]

Mich F wrote:

Dusty R wrote:

Mich F wrote:
My son does RV repair for a living. He sent this picture a few weeks ago of an RV that had severe water leak problems. He got it to what you see in the picture in less than 2 hours. It took 40-50hrs to rebuild and they charged about $8,500.

That looks like our mh. I guess I'd better go and check the barn.

🙂

Dusty

I don't think you would want your motor home to ever look like that. :B
He said it's an Itasca. Going by the graphics, I'd assume from sometime in the 1990's.

The graphics and the placement of all the compartment doors, the whole side, looks just like out 2003 24V Itasca, on a 2002 E-350.

Dusty

[cbsurfmom]

bsinmich wrote:
One tip not mentioned prior is to NOT use silicone caulk on an RV. I would also never let a child ride up in the cabover while underway. They have no protection in a crash and could become a projectile. Good Luck on your project.

Re. the Silicone, of course that is what's been used all over the place. Is it best to scrape off the old silicone as best as I can or to just go over it w/the Eternabond? I would never let my kid not be seat belted in, not matter if it's a motorhome or car.

I'm definitely patching the two spots I found w/Eternabond. Cutting some foam board to replace what I pulled out. Kept the old ones in tact so I'd have a template. Then buying a large piece of plywood and covering it w/batting and fabric and placing it on top. That way when we come back I can pull all that back and get to doing it right over the winter.

I'd love to see an actual picture of what all these layers are and how it works. What I pulled up was the 'wallpaper' which was attached to some balsa wood, then the foam insulation board, then another layer of balsa wood, now there's one more thin layer of that balsa wood left and I think the stuff that's on the outside (what is that called?). That funky balsa wood is a mystery, what is that? On the upper right corner the balsa wood did peal right off where it covered the metal frame so now that is exposed. I don't really have a problem w/that look and the balsa wood wasn't anything except a surface to stick that hideous contact paper, I mean 'wall paper' to. I'm probably going to leave that exposed.

Unfortunately this coach does not fit in our barn so I'm going to just have to time the weather.

You're all so helpful, thanks again!

[DaHose]

The CPES is a very runny epoxy that soaks into the wood and "replaces the missing wood by encapsulating whatever is left and using it as support for the hardened expoxy. It also behaves just like wood, so heat expansion is fine, but there is NO water penetration to well treated wood.

A lot of the materials to rebuild are available, but "sort of" unusual. The internal timber spars in mine were 1-1/2 X 2 and the floor was 3/4 plywood. The metal sub-frames were also 1-1/2 X 2. The wood I was able to find at HD, but the long spars were only available in 2X2. I just used that in the two spots I needed it. The steel was not so easy to find, but Reliable Hardware and Metal in Santa Rosa Ca. is an AWESOME metal supplier. They had more than enough steel in stock for me and all the stainless screws I needed. If you are close to Reliable, they are an absolute gem of a shop. I highly recommend them. The adhesives I had to order were the eternabond tape and 3M Contact 10. The spray cans of 3M 90 I got at HD worked great for adhering the aluminum roof to the new luan underlayer and I used Alex to seal contact seams. All the screws were purchased at HomeDepot.

If you don't have an air stapler and giant staples, you will need to buy them. It makes tacking back in the upholstery a job of hours, not days. The other essential tool to have is an oscillating cutter. I cannot tell you how much I used it (cutting, scraping and sanding) and how happy I was to have it. Beyond the two more unique items, a well stocked tool chest with decent cordless tools (drill, saw, impact drill) will get you by for most jobs/work.

Jose

[bsinmich]

Git Rot is an old wood boater's tool. Today there are many different epoxy products on the market. You drill small holes into the wood and inject the epoxy into them. The idea is to get the epoxy into the rot and make it solid again. It does work if there is some solid wood left. Guess who had a wood boat. Once you get everything repaired, I really love Eternabond. I knew about some roofs leakiing at the sidewalls and when I got my Pace Arrow I put Eternabond on all of the roof seams at the sides + front & rear. I never had a leak on that MH. My Newmar has a totally different roof/sidewall construction so that is not a problem. One tip not mentioned prior is to NOT use silicone caulk on an RV. Dicor comes as a self levelling product for roofs and another tye for sidewalls and window framing. I would also never let a child ride up in the cabover while underway. They have no protection in a crash and could become a projectile. Good Luck on your project.

[Firebirdman]

The rot doctor stuff, isn't that what you squirt in rotted wood and it solidifies like epoxy?
Heard about it but never used it before.

Do you have to shave wood down or are these coaches built on standard sizes?

[Snowman9000]

Do you have a way to shelter it while it's torn apart? I guess a tarp could work if it's big enough, and is secured well.

I think the same way as Mocoondo. In for a dime, in for a dollar. If you are going to fix it, do it right. It will be a lot more labor to do it right, but not a lot more money. I think DaHose's dollar amount is a good number.

If you want to legitimately cut corners, do look up the Rot Doctor CPES stuff. If anything can fix some wood in place, that will be it. I'm speaking from experience.

Otherwise, if you can't bring yourself to do what it takes, dump it now and take the loss. Someone with the desire to fix it will probably still give you 3 or 4 thousand for it.

PS: Don't overbuild it by using bigger wood. All that does is make it heavier, which is not good. The problem was not due to the small light wood used.

PPS: If you need how to advice for a task, just ask here. All the skills can be learned quickly. Well, I don't expect you to need to weld like DaHose had to do. But you will need some carpentry skills, like how to run a saw, or to find a helper who can.

[Firebirdman]

Dusty R wrote:

Mich F wrote:
My son does RV repair for a living. He sent this picture a few weeks ago of an RV that had severe water leak problems. He got it to what you see in the picture in less than 2 hours. It took 40-50hrs to rebuild and they charged about $8,500.

That looks like our mh. I guess I'd better go and check the barn.

🙂

Dusty

I have a 96 Chevy Tioga Fleetwood Flyer that is getting ready to look exactly like that. I've already reskinned and covered the roof, rebuilt the bedroom, painted and new flooring throughout, now the front bunk is going to require a complete tearout to fix the damage up there. Those type pics help a lot, keep em coming.
Also, I've rebuilt the generator and fixed the exhaust manifolds, I also plan to upgrade the drivers area and possibly re-paint the entire thing.

Why would I do all this on a old 454 gas powered RV that cost $8500 and has 78K miles? Try to find a cheap RV that will pull an 8500 lb enclosed trailer. I literally had no other options, P30 Chassis, 10K towing, cheap. But, I don't have a problem doing most of the work myself. Although I did hire some of it out it's not a blank check to the local RV guy either.
Sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do. Right now it's caulked and taped to hold it together up front awhile longer.

[cbsurfmom]

DaHose wrote:
Probably more like $20K to get something I would expect doesn't need any work done to it. So it's a case of "pick your poison". If you have the cash laying around, then maybe you can pony up the $20K to get yourself a very nice and ready to use MH. If you don’t have the cash, then you can think about buying a “fixer-upper” but you BETTER know what you are getting yourself into and have the skills to make your dream a reality.
Jose

Hi Jose, I totally agree with you. I felt 5K was fair for what we paid for besides we don't have 20K. The interior is still in nice condition. It has heat and AC that works, toilet works, Fridge is good, upholstery in nice condition. It's mechanically sound, yes, so there was a bad leak that no one fixed in the correct way, but I will. In the mean time I have a house that I own free and clear, not many friends of mine can say that!

[DaHose]

I agree the bottom line reality is that MH = money pit. With older coaches it is potentially worse, as the OP (and I) found out.

I really believe the question is, how much can you realistically do yourself? My parts cost was negligible (all things considered) and now the cabover is like new. However, I had to do cabinetry, metal working, welding, plastic repair and electrical work. That is a really broad skill set and you need LOTS of specialized tools.

I also did a BUNCH of other stuff, just to get the whole thing even running right. I rebuilt the coach main fuse assembly (and replaced all relays) in the engine bay and replaced batteries. I repaired the non-running generator, replaced the toilet, replaced the fridge (residential unit), repaired exhaust manifold leaks, rebuilt the carb., bought new tires, fixed the rooftop A/C, replaced the engine voltage regulator and upgraded the battery isolator to a combiner configuration. WHEW! I am just now finishing up with repairing the in-dash A/C. I know there has been some leakage at the back and that will have to be opened up and fixed next Spring. However, the coach feels rock solid and I have no worries using it now. I also don't expect this to be a short term keeper anymore. We love the floorplan and will keep the old girl for a long time to come.

What has all that cost me in dollars? Including purchase price of $5k, I am in about another $4K, so that’s $9K or so total. I did overpay for the old girl and wish I had only paid $2k - $3K on the rig, but I see dealers with MH’s that are smaller and look to have the same sorts of issues as mine did. They don’t even have generators and the asking prices are $6K and up! However, I have kept on looking around and it seems impossible to buy a 26 ft. MH with the floorplan we have, for less thank $15K. Probably more like $20K to get something I would expect doesn't need any work done to it. So it's a case of "pick your poison". If you have the cash laying around, then maybe you can pony up the $20K to get yourself a very nice and ready to use MH. If you don’t have the cash, then you can think about buying a “fixer-upper” but you BETTER know what you are getting yourself into and have the skills to make your dream a reality.

Jose

[Mich_F]

Dusty R wrote:

Mich F wrote:
My son does RV repair for a living. He sent this picture a few weeks ago of an RV that had severe water leak problems. He got it to what you see in the picture in less than 2 hours. It took 40-50hrs to rebuild and they charged about $8,500.

That looks like our mh. I guess I'd better go and check the barn.

🙂

Dusty

I don't think you would want your motor home to ever look like that. :B
He said it's an Itasca. Going by the graphics, I'd assume from sometime in the 1990's.

[winnietrey]

Maybe band aid to fix the roof is the wrong term. I would fix it sort of right if that makes any sense.

It is not uncommon for folks to buy these older homes, thinking they are cream puffs and will run forever. But they find out they are more like money pits.

Pretty soon they have 10K or more into a 5k MH. Thats what I think you should guard against

[Dusty_R]

Mich F wrote:
My son does RV repair for a living. He sent this picture a few weeks ago of an RV that had severe water leak problems. He got it to what you see in the picture in less than 2 hours. It took 40-50hrs to rebuild and they charged about $8,500.

That looks like our mh. I guess I'd better go and check the barn.

🙂

Dusty

[cbsurfmom]

Mocoondo wrote:


Are you saying that you are seeing evidence of water intrusion half way back the length of the coach? If that is the case, you are in for an enormous project that, in my opinion, would not be worth it considering the vintage of the coach and the amount of money currently invested.

As to the cost of materials, it really depends on what all you will need, which can only be determined by evaluating the extent of the damage. I will say this -- with these types of problems, the materials cost is negligible. It's the labor that will kill you.

I hate to sound like Debbie Downer, but if the extent of the water problem is at least half way back the length of the coach, I'd probably take a match to it and consider it a valuable lesson learned.

No, the roof leak is at least 1/2 the roof above the cab over part not the entire length of the coach and 2 feet on the side of the cab over part. The problem really seems to be contained to that area. I don't see any other leak damage on the inside.

[Gale_Hawkins]

winnietrey wrote:

cbsurfmom wrote:
FYI, the previous owner only had it for 3 months before we bought it. I think he realized what a mess it was and passed it on to us. I had a feeling something was up but they were a seemingly nice, well to do couple from Telluride who purchased it to use to go to Lake Powell and Moab this spring. Before that it was owned by a Halliburton surveyor who just had it sitting in the sun hence the explanation of the sunny side delaminating. And because there was no more apparent leak we figure it was all good. What a bummer. I don't have a problem tackling it this winter. Have all the tools I don't know how to use them but my husband does so I guess it's time for me to learn. I want to totally gut the thing anyways. Has anyone gutted one in order to lighten the load to get better gas mileage? Is it even worth it? Thanks for all the replies you ALL have been extremely helpful.

Just My thougth, but to gut it. You will be in many thousands of dollars, and hundreds of hours of labor. At the end of the day it will still be worth only 5K

How old are the tires? They shoud be replaced every 6 or so years or they have a nasty habit of blowing up and taking everything underneath with it. Your fridge is now 23 years old, 1500 to replace, water heater, pump and on and on.

You probably have a ford 460. They are not trouble free. Manfold gaskets are a biggie, starter, radiator, shocks and so forth.

56k on a 23 year old MH is not a good thing. Means it sat unused. That is extremely hard on the running gear.

Just saying, although I hope it does not happen to you, you maybe in for some nasty expensive repairs. Beyond the roof.

Me I would band aid it, enjoy it and keep it going as long as you can.
Chalk it up as learning experience and do better on the next one.

I know that is not what you wanted to hear. but it is the truth, at least in my opinion

One can add $3K-$5K in the first couple years of owning a MH so you can safe to do a cross country trip.