In my ongoing trip report I mentioned getting caught on one of the worst sections of highway in North America.... and we had to go to the next exit before we could get off...It caused the side of the camper to flex so bad it tore the skigThe section of highway is shown on the map on the 4th post down on This page.

I over coated the area with caulk.... and it continued to seperate for the whole 2014 trip.This is at the back of and under the dinette slide out, beside the propane storage.There is a steel "c" chanel inside the area running from front to back inside the camper under the dinetteAnd a length of Unistrut on rhe outside also running from front to backOnce there is a tear in the Luon skin of the camper it has to be replaced... I did not want to interupt our trip down the coast to South Padre Island

Do you have a reliable repair shop in your area..or is it off to Lancaster?

I tried running it out.... to see how deep the damage was.

Sorry to ignore help at this point.... it was more than a year ago.This post is about what I did... thenI tried to get more caulk over it... when it looked like rain I added tape.... the trip comes first. I could see a little swelling underneath...We still had 2 months to go on our trip... the way it was going and the way our lives were going it might be our last trip ever..

Home at last ... shelter... openned up everthing and let it dry out

2014 Ugly repair, Camper damage MS I-59 | Good Sam Community

sleepy
Explorer
Jun 30, 2015
A little bondo and it would fool a buyer....

since I don't want a buyer I just painted it....

I like to post for selfish reasons.... every once and a while someone has a proven idea that is better than mine....

and thats the one I'm looking for. Most of my ideas have already been influenced by more than 10 years of lurking...
Naio
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
Nice!
arto_wa
Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
I would suggest loosening the camper tie-downs some in future.
bobndot
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
Good job sleepy. I'll bet that repair will work for you.

:B Are you going to test out the repair by driving that same route in Mississippi ? :E (see how it holds up to the OEM, i'll bet it would hold up )
pjay9
Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
How did it work on the last trip?
I can see that you are facing the same issues I had. I know you are looking at my rebuild. You might consider pulling out the outside shower and reaching in to see if the steel angle goes along inside. If it does you could possibly run a bolt thru from the outside and use a white plate on the outside for extra support. The bolts should go thru wood beams and not insulation area, so it could help spread the load.
ScottG
Nomad
Jun 27, 2015
Nice job!
tommykelly
Explorer
Jun 26, 2015
very good ...a pic of the finished product?...
sleepy
Explorer
Jun 26, 2015
I raised the jack, removed the prop, removed the modified tee... drilled some 1'4" holes in the filon... (the fibrglass covered Luon)

I squirted caulk inside the wall through the holes.... as much as I could get to go....

I then coated the outside where the tee would be.... added some to the inside of the tee....

then, I placed the tee in place and forcced it "home" by lowering the jacks... and seating the galvanized Tee sideways with a rubber mallet.

I then wiped up the outside surfaces... and installed the SS screws...

I used Naptha to clean up.... everything... the outside of the repair and the outside of me

A few days later I Painted the area with a small brush and a high quality white paint (for galvanized metal)

The slide room flange must hide it a tiny bit... no one has mentioned seeing it

We have traveled 60 more nights since then with no problems.

We'll thats it... my UGLY fix

Chet
sleepy
Explorer
Jun 26, 2015
Checked it twice.... well more than that...
sleepy
Explorer
Jun 26, 2015
I carefully measured the distance from the surface to the bottom of the modified Tee...

I cut a scrap 2"x4" board to the measured length with a notch on top to keep it from slipping

I raised the truck camper slightly with my Atwood Jacks on the drivers side using my remote.... and lowered it for final test fit