Fixing or Replacing the underside panel

I have been into the underbelly a couple times. I had a brain flatulence involving filling a water tank, and soaked all the insulation underneath, which had to be replaced.
Another time, I had to replace the gate valve on the black tank. (I know, EEEWWWWWWUUUUU!) and it was pretty smelly.
My cover material is screwed to the frame whenever possible, and then taped over the outside. I have added some insulation and used some expanding foam with bronze wool to keep critters out. I just take it one step at a time.

LarryJM wrote:
Back about 5 years ago I did a major rework of my underbelly area because I had to repaint my frame. I took a lot of pictures and tried to document everything fairly well and that work is in THIS ALBUM. This album has info on what I found, the specifics of how I sectionalized my underbelly, along with rerouting my LP gas lines, the frame painting and how I added a bunch of extra insulation to the underbelly area.

Awesome.

Thanks Larry....makes sense about not gluing to Coroplast.

Ron

rjsurfer wrote:
Larry,

That's the best system for redoing the underbelly I have seen yet. Thanks for the great pictures in that album also.

Two questions, would gluing the board insulation to the Coroplast have worked? It would seem that it would help stiffen it up?

I saw no advantage to trying to do that and it just lays on the supports now and slides out if access is needed. The sections are small enough that with the al. angle iron there is minimal sag.

And where did you get those beam clamps?

You can get them in the plumbing section of Lowes/HD and they are called beam clamps and have threads in them to put pipe supports for running plumbing along I-beams so you don't have to drill and tap holes in the I-beams.

Thanks

Ron W.

Larry

Larry,

That's the best system for redoing the underbelly I have seen yet. Thanks for the great pictures in that album also.

Two questions, would gluing the board insulation to the Coroplast have worked? It would seem that it would help stiffen it up?

And where did you get those beam clamps?

Thanks

Ron W.

Back about 5 years ago I did a major rework of my underbelly area because I had to repaint my frame. I took a lot of pictures and tried to document everything fairly well and that work is in THIS ALBUM. This album has info on what I found, the specifics of how I sectionalized my underbelly, along with rerouting my LP gas lines, the frame painting and how I added a bunch of extra insulation to the underbelly area.

The job was not hard, but was not a weekender project either and a lot of my time was experimenting and waiting on parts such as the nylon bolts, etc. I also took my time in fixing the various issues and planning my next step in the overall project. I think I spent about 10 to 14 days of actual working on the underbelly and I put the trailer wheels up on a stack of 2x10s to raise it about 6" for better access along with raising or lowering the tongue jack all the way depending on if I was working in front of or behind the axles. About a third to 1/2 of that time was in wire brushing and painting the frame. IIRC the total cost was well under $200 and 80% of that was in the al. angle iron with the rest being in the nylon bolts/nuts/washers.

Larry

Is the coroplast on any of your trailers screwed to the frame rails? The 2015 Wind Jammer 3008 I bought is just sitting on top of the frame. Has a few screws across the back and front and two in the middle by each door. Just curious if this is normal as I would like to look under the panels sometime.

Mine is in sections and the joints have an aluminum strip and screws, but that sags too. Not sure what it is suppose to be screwed to though. I would assume a steel cross member but must not fastened well.

myredracer wrote:
What do you mean by wavy? It will sag under the tanks which is normal, especially if you have a heated underbelly.

Removing and reinstalling the coroplast is not the easiest of jobs and I don't think you really want to do it unless you're certain there is something really wrong. If you do take it down, it's also an opportunity to take care of any sloppy wiring, plumbing, tank supports, etc. and to maybe upgrade the insulation. All in all, not exactly a weekend job.

The tape is called Scrim tape and you can buy it by the foot at a dealer or RV repair shop and in 25' lengths on ebay. I would suggest cutting the coroplast into sections and mechanically attaching the seams with a length of flat aluminum and screws and then the Scrim tape over that. You'll also need to reseal piping and other penetrations.

Thanks for all of the information everybody, especially this one.

By wavy I mean it sags in places and I would prefer it to look tight, but now that you mention it, perhaps it's just the holding tanks. In any case, I just know I'd do a much more meticulous job if I were to do it myself, in comparison to the production line job it received.

And I'm sure you're right, "not exactly a weekend job."

What do you mean by wavy? It will sag under the tanks which is normal, especially if you have a heated underbelly.

Removing and reinstalling the coroplast is not the easiest of jobs and I don't think you really want to do it unless you're certain there is something really wrong. If you do take it down, it's also an opportunity to take care of any sloppy wiring, plumbing, tank supports, etc. and to maybe upgrade the insulation. All in all, not exactly a weekend job.

The tape is called Scrim tape and you can buy it by the foot at a dealer or RV repair shop and in 25' lengths on ebay. I would suggest cutting the coroplast into sections and mechanically attaching the seams with a length of flat aluminum and screws and then the Scrim tape over that. You'll also need to reseal piping and other penetrations.