1987 Wilderness crack repair

[pira114]

Hello again. Still trying to get my trailer up to snuff.

If I did it right, below are two images of the top corners of the main door. You can see the body is cracked on both sides. I showed these pics to an RV repair shop and of course he said he needs to see it in person. Which I will do in a couple weeks.

My question to you out there is, from the pics anyway, what are the possibilities as far as repair? He mentioned that he might need to replace the whole panel, or maybe could repair with some sort of bonding agent (he said a name I wasn't familiar with and don't remember).

It's not that I don't trust this guy, but I've never needed major repairs before and I'd like to know what some options are in case I need to ask about them.

I'm also not opposed to doing work myself, but this seemed out of my scope of experience. So I went to the only real RV repair shop in my area. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks

[colliehauler]

Another option would be a rv salvage yard. You might find a aluminum panel to match at a reasonable price. Or watch ebay and craigslist you might find a trailer from that era for cheep price for parts.

[RV_daytrader]

this may work for you if not worried about looks...buy 6 feet and apply from roof to door. 12" wide is made too. Or 12" eternabond if u can find it buy the foot somewhere
http://www.bestmaterials.com/detail.aspx?ID=19599

[Mike_Up]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I have some bad news for you.

Those are stress cracks and the only way to make them look like new is replace the whole panel. I have the same problem with my Layton. I love my trailer so much I checked out even replacing the panels on my TT and the price was CRAZY just for the panels and me doing the work. It was like 5 grand just for the aluminum. :E

Oh sure, you can stop drill and fill them with some sort of flexible filler like an RTV. Or you can plate the crack on both side much like we do on aircraft. But we both know what this is going to look like don't we.

I have come to the conclusion that I have wringed all the fun out of my TT and it's time to move on and buy a new one. Sad but true. 😞

That can't be accurate at all. My previous 19BH had minor hail damage and the cost to completely re-skin with aluminum siding was $3500. That included aluminum siding, caulking, access hole covers, and all labor.

*forgot, and all decals and trim pieces that needed to be replaced.*

For that trailer, maybe 2 pieces of siding at most.

[pira114]

Thanks gentlemen.

I'm not overly concerned with how it's going to look. It get used mostly in State and Federal campgrounds. Sometimes an actual RV resort, but nothing high class, that's for sure. I don't want to look like a rolling meth lab, but doesn't have to be perfect.

I'm concerned mostly with it not leaking water. Which it did the first time I noticed them.

In a couple weeks it gets dropped off to the local repair shop. We'll see what he says. Just want to prepare myself a bit. Thanks.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Oops double post.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

I have some bad news for you.

Those are stress cracks and the only way to make them look like new is replace the whole panel. I have the same problem with my Layton. I love my trailer so much I checked out even replacing the panels on my TT and the price was CRAZY just for the panels and me doing the work. It was like 5 grand just for the aluminum. :E

Oh sure, you can stop drill and fill them with some sort of flexible filler like an RTV. Or you can plate the crack on both side much like we do on aircraft. But we both know what this is going to look like don't we.

I have come to the conclusion that I have wringed all the fun out of my TT and it's time to move on and buy a new one. Sad but true. 😞

[CavemanCharlie]

How purdy do you want it to look?

I don't know how much replacing the whole panel is going to cost you but, I bet it would be a lot. I'm not sure it's worth it but, only you can decide that. I would try to repair it in some way if it were me. I wonder if a piece of tin and some pop rivets might help. I will let the other more knowledgeable members of this site decide if that may work.

[pira114]

Oh, it's a 1987 Wilderness 26G, if that matters.

[pira114]

Thanks.

I'm not 100% sure, but a good bet on the cause would be me. The last several years I've dragged this poor thing down some logging trails I shouldn't have. It was mostly a hunting rig. Now I'm slowly, and painfully, fixing it up for more family use.

Only reason I'm not blaming myself for sure is that it looks like it might have been repaired once before. At least in one corner. But it's an '87. And I've only had it 7 years. Can't say for sure what it's life was like before me, but I've abused it to be quite honest.

From here out, it will be treated much better. I want it to last another 9 years until I retire and buy my 5th wheel for traveling the country. But it needs to last those years. So I'm prepared to spend a bit upgrading and fixing.

Just wanted to know if there were things I needed to know about before I just take the repair man's word. He gets great reviews here, but I know very little about this type of fix. Would like to know if there was a type of repair to absolutely refuse or one to suggest if he doesn't.

Tha KS for the replies.

[BarneyS]

I think those cracks at the corners of the door frame are from frame flex causing the metal siding to move and develop a crack. I would drill a hole at the very end of the crack to try to stop it from growing larger and then fill the crack with some type of filler that would stay somewhat flexible and not crack.

Not sure what you can do about the frame flex. Are you using jacks at the corners of the trailer and tightening them down pretty hard? This could cause the frame to bend a bit and produce the result you are seeing.

This condition was common in some Sunnybrook and other brand trailers in the late 1990's and the fix was to replace the panel. I don't know if it is a common condition today as you don't read many complaints about it anymore.

Good luck.
Barney

[westend]

The cracks can be repaired using epoxy resin (I would add some fiberglass mat for durability.
Do you know what caused the cracks? That would be important to me.