Need to have damage done to my rear/side Bumper cover on our 2010 Chevrolet/RoadTrek 190 Popular repaired.Would anyone know what the bumber cover is made out of?Ron

I believe the ground effect covers are made of PVC. If so then it is made of the same material that is used for some of the sewer pipes in many homes.

Ron, that seems to be a common place to injure those ground effects.I had a similar experience on the left front bumper three or four years ago. My plastic actually cracked for a distance of about 3/4 inch. I fixed it myself by cleaning the back side of the plastic and then lightly sanding the affected area with rough sand paper to get a good bond. Then, I applied liberable amounts of J&B Weld up there. I let it dry for a couple of days then wet sanded lightly the visible damage and touched it up using a matching color auto touch up paint. I emailed Roadtrek and they sent me the code for the correct color of touch of paint. Interestingly, it was a Pontiac color! It matched perfectly.I got to thinking how vulnerable those corners were to abrasions and so I went to Home Depot and bought some adhesive backed material used to repair pond liners (the kind of water features people have in the back yard that are lined with a really heavy special plastic material). I cut out four pieces of the patch material to about a 3" by 5" size and cut a radius on each corner of each piece. Then, I removed the backing carefully aligned and applied the piece to the bumper cover corners so that exactly where your damage is would be covered, that obviously being the most vulnerable spots. The material has a black matte finish and almost perfectly matches the black portion of the bumper. Believe it or not, it looks great and appears to be original to the design. I kept some extra material and figured if I ever zapped a bumper again and scratched up the little guard I had made, I would just replace it. Once the material is in place and pressure applied to it for a minute or so and after it sets overnight, it is on there to stay. Years later and lots of washings later it has never moved or come loose. Remember this material is designed to be applied in a continually wet environment so it is pretty resilient. If I were doing it again, I would not even bother to use the touch up paint. I actually like the appearance of the four little bumpers better than the plain look from the factory. It makes the bumpers look less vulnerable and we all know those ground effects are exatctly that: vulnerable.Total cost of the repair: less than ten bucks for the patches and about ten for the touchup kit, which is good to have on hand anyway. I also have a Chevy touchup kit for the Sand color of my RT body.

Thanks Loving Retirement and PSW for the information.I appreciate the info that PSW forwarded regarding the adheshive backed material that is used to repair pond liners.Will be going to Home Depot to check it out as well as to purchase it.Ron

PSW wrote:Ron, that seems to be a common place to injure those ground effects.I had a similar experience on the left front bumper three or four years ago. My plastic actually cracked for a distance of about 3/4 inch. I fixed it myself by cleaning the back side of the plastic and then lightly sanding the affected area with rough sand paper to get a good bond. Then, I applied liberable amounts of J&B Weld up there. I let it dry for a couple of days then wet sanded lightly the visible damage and touched it up using a matching color auto touch up paint. I emailed Roadtrek and they sent me the code for the correct color of touch of paint. Interestingly, it was a Pontiac color! It matched perfectly.I got to thinking how vulnerable those corners were to abrasions and so I went to Home Depot and bought some adhesive backed material used to repair pond liners (the kind of water features people have in the back yard that are lined with a really heavy special plastic material). I cut out four pieces of the patch material to about a 3" by 5" size and cut a radius on each corner of each piece. Then, I removed the backing carefully aligned and applied the piece to the bumper cover corners so that exactly where your damage is would be covered, that obviously being the most vulnerable spots. The material has a black matte finish and almost perfectly matches the black portion of the bumper. Believe it or not, it looks great and appears to be original to the design. I kept some extra material and figured if I ever zapped a bumper again and scratched up the little guard I had made, I would just replace it. Once the material is in place and pressure applied to it for a minute or so and after it sets overnight, it is on there to stay. Years later and lots of washings later it has never moved or come loose. Remember this material is designed to be applied in a continually wet environment so it is pretty resilient. If I were doing it again, I would not even bother to use the touch up paint. I actually like the appearance of the four little bumpers better than the plain look from the factory. It makes the bumpers look less vulnerable and we all know those ground effects are exatctly that: vulnerable.Total cost of the repair: less than ten bucks for the patches and about ten for the touchup kit, which is good to have on hand anyway. I also have a Chevy touchup kit for the Sand color of my RT body.I am sooo visual...any pictures?

I have been informed by an individual on the RoadTrek Facebook that he believes the bumpers are ABS Plastic, he also mentioned If it needs body filler I would need a flexible abs plastic body filler.On another forum I was also informed that they felt it was ABS Plastic.With the information I have received I will attempt to repair the damage myself.Ron

Re: Question on RoadTrek Bumper Cover | Good Sam Community

grizzly_bear
Explorer
Mar 14, 2014
I have a 2004 roadtrek (chevy express 3500). I have sucessfully

removed the front bumper cover,revealing the original chrome bumper. There were no extra holes in it as it was not rivited on. The bumper was only held on by a strong adheasive foam tape. All I needed was a putty knife and a small pry bar. Check the inside of your bumper for any bolts or rivets. If there are none your front bumper may be attached the same way.
sergeant76
Explorer
May 02, 2013
Had the damaged rear bumber cover repaired, picked up the RoadTrek today at Precision Collision, Bridgewater, MA owned by Jay Filteau.

They did a wonderful job, very satisfied, reasonably priced, suggest them to anybody.

Ron

Damaged Rear Bumber Cover:

Damaged Rear Bumber Cover:

Damaged Rear Bumber Cover:

Repaired Rear Bumber Cover:

Repaired Rear Bumber Cover:

Repaired Rear Bumber Cover:
PSW
Explorer
Apr 19, 2013
That seems like an excellent price to me. I shudder anytime I get near a body shop.......too many hammers and fumes!
sergeant76
Explorer
Apr 19, 2013
Went to a auto body repair & painting, collision services, they specialize in fiberglass work.

In 2004 I had my roof on our 2002 Dodge/RoadTrek worked on under warranty, they did a good job.

Today I was quoted a price of $125 to repair my damage, feel this is a fair price for the work that has to be done.

Ron
sergeant76
Explorer
Apr 10, 2013
Paul,

Thursday will be going to another Home Depot, hopefully they will have the pool patch in stock.

Like you I enjoy making modifications to our RoadTrek, have made many.

I agree with you regarding RV manufactures being well advised having an advisory group that use their products, that they would learn something.

Unfortunately there are manufactures who do not appreciate feedback.

Ron
PSW
Explorer
Apr 10, 2013
Ron, that size seems to be the same that I purchased at HD. I bet it is the same stuff and size.

By the way, I bought some stair tread tape at HD about the same time. It was adhesive backed and designed to be placed on the edge of stairs for traction. Just a very high grit product on a tape about an inch and a half wide and ?? long. I cut some lengths of it an stuck it to the top of the front and back bumpers. It really helps to keep me from slipping when I use the bumper as a step stool to clean the windshield when buying gasoline. The back helps because I have a bracket up at the top of the AC outlet that my exterior tv antenna snaps into. AND, I have a backup camera up there that I can just step up and adjust or clean if need be.

I just have a lot of fun "monkeying" around with these little conversions. I have donedozens of them to my RT. I always do them with the fact in mind that the next owner may not like my "workmanship" and so most can be changed easily.

I always thought RV manufacturers would be well advised to have an advisory group of people that actually use and enjoy their products. They might learn something.
sergeant76
Explorer
Apr 10, 2013
Just checked it out on Amazon, the one you bought at Home Depot, was it the same size 18"x5"?

Will check out another Home Depot also close to my home, hopefully they will have it in stock.

It was also 77 here in New Bedford, MA, southcoast of MA, tomorrow in the 60's, but look out Thursday and Friday, 40's, showers.

Thanks for the info on Amazon.

Ron
PSW
Explorer
Apr 10, 2013
Ron, I distinctly now remember it was Home Depot where I purchased the pond patch. All of our Home Depots and Lowes have fully opened their garden centers for the season. Why not? It was 77 here today and a bit higher yesterday. Now: probable ice storm tonight! That would be a record for this late date. I bet all those poseys are going to be a little brown and crisp in 24 hours if they don't get them inside. In the last five years we have had a 500 year flood, three years of drought, set an all time state low (-27F over north of Tulsa) and it was 112 right here last year in OKC. Go figure. Glad the weather is not changing.

In any event, this looks like the same stuff or darn close to it:

http://www.amazon.com/Beckett-LP1-EPDM-Liner-Patch/dp/B00827H7C2/ref=sr_1_2?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1365557660&sr=1-2&keywords=pond+liner+patch+kit
sergeant76
Explorer
Apr 10, 2013
PSW, went to my local Home Depot to purchase the adhesive backed material used to repair pool liners.

They did not have any stocked, just starting to stock the shelves with pool supplies, I do know the price is $4.98, went to Lowe's they did have material to repair pool liners, but the material is clear, not black.

Also, it does not have the adhesive backing, a tube of glue comes with it.

Ron
1775
Explorer
Apr 09, 2013
loving retirement wrote:
ryegatevt wrote:
I've always been tempted just to take off the plastic "bumpers" altogether. The RTs I've seen without them look more stealthy and to me neater. We bought our rig off the lot and if I had ordered I would have deleted the ground effects. No plastic would also cure the dreaded "curb anxiety"...

I have been told that a few owners have successfully taken them off of Roadtreks. Anyone that has done so, I would be very interested in knowing the steps in removing the front and rear ground effects.

There was a recent discussion about this on the Roadtrek Facebook group and Roadtrek says that they rivet the bumper covers on so removing them would result in a bumper with a lot of holes in it. The alternative - which one of the owners there is doing - is to buy new bumpers and replace the covered bumpers.

We did not order our RT with the bumper covers. It looks just fine with the OEM Chevy bumpers front and rear. I can pull up to the front tires when parking facing a curb with no worry.

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