Water Damage - Where to Start?

[AC1]

We haven't used our 24V Itasca Spirit in a couple of years but during that time both of my brothers & my sister have borrowed it.

We pulled it out of the field (we keep it at my parent's farm) this past weekend and everything looks fine except one small supply hose to the toilet is leaking and, oh yeah, the entire rear passenger side corner (back by the ladder) is soft and has broken away from the corner cap. There is actual moss growing in the wood behind the outside panel!

This all appears to have originated because some yahoo opened the emergency window over the back bed a bit and never closed it. :M

Where do we even start to fix/remediate this? I'm sick to my stomach thinking of this damage.

[bukhrn]

ron.dittmer wrote:
That is one of many reasons why I refuse to loan or rent our rig. Not even to our adult children. What could I say to them when something like this is discovered? Simply put, it would be my loss of which my financials can't afford such losses.

It's hard enough to loan out my tools. When I have to ask for them back, those people are on my "Do Not Loan" list.

Yes, pictures would help to understand the situation you are left to deal with.

X-2, I don't think many can help without seeing it.

[pauldub]

You really should call your insurance company. A friend of mine had water damage on his camper that the insurance company covered the entire amount minus the deductible on his comprehensive.

[AC1]

Thanks for all the how-tos and explanations. Now to get time off to get back to the farm to fix Serenity.

[hotbyte]

Cousin_Eddie93 wrote:
...You can install this against the interior foam and beams with screws and liquid nails or PL construction adhesive or any like bonding glue...

Standard Liquid Nails will melt the foam and not adhere. Liquid Nails has a version that you can use on the foam - Projects & Foam Board Adhesive

[Cousin_Eddie93]

You can do the inside wall the same as the exterior using 1/4" finished plywood. What I did was measure and cut my piece ( be sure to one solid piece as oppose to several smaller ones. This will add more strength over all). Once my piece was cut and tested for size, I applied a thin coating of epoxy resin to both sides; again this strengthens the wood. Let it dry and air out for day or two. You can install this against the interior foam and beams with screws and liquid nails or PL construction adhesive or any like bonding glue. I do not recommend applying epoxy inside the RV, it will stink for weeks. Even the exterior resin odor will seep inside. You'll need to air out the rig with windows open for several days to remove this smell. Allow for 24 hours curing time for the construction adhesive to bond. Once complete, you can paint or paper the wall as you see fit.

[Cousin_Eddie93]

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[Cousin_Eddie93]

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[Cousin_Eddie93]

This looks fairly similar to the water damage on my cab over I repaired. If you are handy you can fix this for around $200. The delam is on a seem so you may have to fix both sides. The rear window will have to come out as well. This is fairly easy to remove with cordless drill and a utility knife. The repair itself (depending on the extent of the damage) will take 2 - 4 days. Things you will need that are most cost effective and that will get the job done looking good:
1 gallon of West's epoxy resin, $75 - $100 (you can also use bondo epoxy resin, $35 1 gallon; It will work fine but West's has a much slower cure time of 45 minutes where as with bondo you'll have only 8 - 12 minutes of workable time before the stuff cures solid).
1 sheet of 1/4 finished plywood, a few 2x4's you'll need to rip if any wood beams are part of this design. For mine I used 1" and 1 and 5/8's and 3" deck screws for reinstalling the corner piece, several cheap paint brushes and a few small 6" rollers. You'll need at least 1 quart of lacquer thinner for the resin cleanup and mineral spirits for the caulk and get a few sets of long rubber gloves as the epoxy is very messy and difficult to remove from skin once it cures. Bracing claps will be needed especially for the delam around the window; they are also a good investment for future repairs as such with most older RV's. Any Home Depot will have these materials as well as bondo but for West's you'll likely have to order online. You'll also need Decor EPDM rubber caulk, the non leveling type and a roll of RV puddly; any Camping World will have these.
The first thing to do is to remove all of the rotten laminate away from the filon, the exterior fiberglass sheet. So long as the foam core is not water logged you can reuse it. If it is, you can buy hard foam cores on line or go with the cheaper stuff at Home Depot. Once it's all removed, give your rig a couple of days to bake in the hot sun to dry any existing water. Once dried, you can start by installing your wood beams then foam if any. Most modern rigs use an aluminum frame which make this work a bit easier. If there is a thin remnant layer of luan remaining on your existing foam, you can apply the epoxy resin directly on it spread evenly after you've cut and sized your plywood. I've found applying a coating to inner side of the plywood as well works best. Once coated, You can also screw the plywood on to the aluminum frame every 6" or so. Just remember you have a short window of set time for the epoxy resin to cure. If the plywood is screwable, you probably won't have to use any braces for the plywood. Allow this to fully set for at least three hours before applying the fiberglass filon. For the filon, fiberglass sheet, you most certainly will need to brace it with wood and or clamps. The best way to do this is to brace your beams against a solid structure, like your house to get Max pressure to cure it onto the plywood. Any gaps or bubbles not braced will not not be pleasing to the eye although some are unavoidable. Remember, bondo 8 - 12 minutes, West's 45 minutes set times. If you've never done this, go with West's and good luck. I'll post a link to my most recent work with pics

[Snowman9000]

Insurance might cover it, as another poster said, because the damage was accidental and not due to the construction.

[AC1]

I'm 2 hours away from the camper currently, so I had my mom take a picture. Only the outside shot came through, she's going to try and send the interior later.




You can actually pull the exterior shell far enough away to pull all the moss out (that's what the hubs and I did over the weekend before we thought we'd better look into this a bit more before going further) and it goes up almost all the way to the top, though it doesn't bulge the last 2-4 feet.

The interior is just fairly bubbly, delamininating type stuff in a 2 x 2 area, under the emergency window in the back, where it was popped open a bit. The interior of the cabinets above the bed and the rest of the walls are all dry.

There will be no further loaning out of Serenity until everyone agrees to pony up some compensation for time used. But after this amount of time has passed, there's no way to know who caused it or when it happened. Expensive mistake that won't happen again.

[indyzmike]

Check with your insurance company. This might be covered, minus deductible.

[hotbyte]

Ouch! Sorry to hear of the issue. If you continue to loan out the RV again, I'd add a very thorough check-in process/inspection for when its returned. Hope you get the damage resolved!!!

[ron_dittmer]

That is one of many reasons why I refuse to loan or rent our rig. Not even to our adult children. What could I say to them when something like this is discovered? Simply put, it would be my loss of which my financials can't afford such losses.

It's hard enough to loan out my tools. When I have to ask for them back, those people are on my "Do Not Loan" list.

Yes, pictures would help to understand the situation you are left to deal with.

[Cousin_Eddie93]

Can you post a few pics of the water damage? Best to see what's going on before suggesting. I've done extensive water damage repair to my C for a few hundred bucks. A service repair will cost you thousands.