Disappointed in my new Lance
I've had it 2 weeks today. The fridge didn't work on propane, which cost me a 500 mile, 2 day round trip to the dealer, much of which was in an ice storm. Should have found the faulty thermoco...
Forum Discussion
lincolnmatthews,
You didn't offend me at all but I wanted to keep the info on this thread truthful and accurate.
Here's a way to stop wings etc from rotting in areas you don't see. Especially if you are in a wet type climate. Carefully and thoroughly dry out the wings one at a time as best you possibly can. Days of blowing heat not hours so all the moisture wicks out! Assuming the wood in the wing is in decent condition, replace all the screws in the wing molding with longer SS screws pre-dipped in a good sealant covering the threads to the head and screw them in. Now water won't leak around the screwhead. Next, mask off the molding and around the wing to eliminate overspray leaving 1/8" to 1/4" of the molding left bare next to the black inside side of the wing. Then spray 2 to 3 coats of Dupli-Color pickup bed spray in liner totally sealing the inside surface of the wing and all joints including over the bumper lag bolts inside You can't see the inside anyway unless you climb under the TC. Wait an hour or so between coats or more if in high humidity and the temp must be above 50 F. If you see a crack or aby cracks that didn't cover/seal totally between the molding and the wood or at a joint, fill it with the spray after the rest is covered. It's a tough rubber membrane when it's dry and impervious to water.
I'd done this to the big 11-1/2' Caribou TC we owned to the entire under side and it worked super but the roof leaked above the door and rotted the door frame so bad that it was ready to fall out and the TC was only 6 years old. Fleetwood refused to fix it even if we paid the bill. They knew something we didn't and it went bye bye. That's when we bought our first Lance.
I've used the Dupli-Color bed liner or several things since and it's great stuff. Can build it up so it thick and it really seals. Takes weeks to a month to harden into a real rubber coating so give it time but you can use the items while curing but not to walk on. Sun or heat on it cures it much quicker. Remember that it's made to be used for a pickup bed sprayed in liner so it has to be tought when cured.
I also treated some plywood with Thompson's Water Seal and allowed to dry for a few day with heat and then sprayed the bed liner on it and it still after 14 years in the year around elements uncovered in Michigan is like new but it took a couple months for the bed liner to cure to hard when over the Thompsons. Just depends on your patience and how good or long you want something to last.
I'm very familiar with Matthew Yachts plank boats as there are a lot of them on the Great Lakes. Also, my older brother worked years before retired from Rybovich Marine, now merged with Spencer, in WPB Florida at 42nd on North Flagler Drive where they built extremely expensive custom plank boats called "Rybo Runners" ocean tournament sailfishing boats 30' to 80' long with huge SS towers. They fiberglassed and epoxy bonded between the inner plank and the outer plank and used 52-100 on all thru hull fittings etc. Later used Fiberglass hulls. Perhaps you are familiar with them, both wood and glass!
Small world!
You didn't offend me at all but I wanted to keep the info on this thread truthful and accurate.
Here's a way to stop wings etc from rotting in areas you don't see. Especially if you are in a wet type climate. Carefully and thoroughly dry out the wings one at a time as best you possibly can. Days of blowing heat not hours so all the moisture wicks out! Assuming the wood in the wing is in decent condition, replace all the screws in the wing molding with longer SS screws pre-dipped in a good sealant covering the threads to the head and screw them in. Now water won't leak around the screwhead. Next, mask off the molding and around the wing to eliminate overspray leaving 1/8" to 1/4" of the molding left bare next to the black inside side of the wing. Then spray 2 to 3 coats of Dupli-Color pickup bed spray in liner totally sealing the inside surface of the wing and all joints including over the bumper lag bolts inside You can't see the inside anyway unless you climb under the TC. Wait an hour or so between coats or more if in high humidity and the temp must be above 50 F. If you see a crack or aby cracks that didn't cover/seal totally between the molding and the wood or at a joint, fill it with the spray after the rest is covered. It's a tough rubber membrane when it's dry and impervious to water.
I'd done this to the big 11-1/2' Caribou TC we owned to the entire under side and it worked super but the roof leaked above the door and rotted the door frame so bad that it was ready to fall out and the TC was only 6 years old. Fleetwood refused to fix it even if we paid the bill. They knew something we didn't and it went bye bye. That's when we bought our first Lance.
I've used the Dupli-Color bed liner or several things since and it's great stuff. Can build it up so it thick and it really seals. Takes weeks to a month to harden into a real rubber coating so give it time but you can use the items while curing but not to walk on. Sun or heat on it cures it much quicker. Remember that it's made to be used for a pickup bed sprayed in liner so it has to be tought when cured.
I also treated some plywood with Thompson's Water Seal and allowed to dry for a few day with heat and then sprayed the bed liner on it and it still after 14 years in the year around elements uncovered in Michigan is like new but it took a couple months for the bed liner to cure to hard when over the Thompsons. Just depends on your patience and how good or long you want something to last.
I'm very familiar with Matthew Yachts plank boats as there are a lot of them on the Great Lakes. Also, my older brother worked years before retired from Rybovich Marine, now merged with Spencer, in WPB Florida at 42nd on North Flagler Drive where they built extremely expensive custom plank boats called "Rybo Runners" ocean tournament sailfishing boats 30' to 80' long with huge SS towers. They fiberglassed and epoxy bonded between the inner plank and the outer plank and used 52-100 on all thru hull fittings etc. Later used Fiberglass hulls. Perhaps you are familiar with them, both wood and glass!
Small world!
