Repair a Camper with a bulging side ?

[Catoff]

Hi Guys. I have found an Adventurer 104DSS,2002. The window on right forward side below the bed had leak at sometime,which made the fiberglass bulge out below the window and down to the storage locker.

The rest of this camper seems good and at 7 grand canadian the price is cheap! Do people fix these issues or just live with them,im wondering if its worth paying a shop to fix it.
Im not scared of different projects and im wondering if i could buy a
skin for whole slide side somewhere?. I'm guessing it more than likely needs new ply but i couldnt feel the ply flexing underneath when i gently pushed on it. Anyone on this forum ever rebuilt a side on a camper? Any info would be great. Thanks

[Catoff]

Thanks guys for all the advise. I left the camper where it was.

It didnt realy scare me off. 12G for 7G. I realy dont have the time to fix it myself for at least 1 year,new baby,building a house ect.

We do have a large 3 bay shop,and i have wide range of equipment and hand tools.
I think a guy need to have a few thing in a row to fix this camper.
Time,enjoyment in projects,tools,shop.
Thanks again guys. Hope this thread will help others.

[Reddog1]

When I read about Delamination on TCs, I wonder how practical it would be to remove the siding and replace it with aluminum. I'm not suggesting it would make the project, but do think it be a more solid and practical fix.

I respect the fact we all have, and are entitled to our wants and needs. But, if I were to buy a new TC, it is extremely unlikely it would be a Filon TC. It almost looks like a******shoot if they will have a delamination issue over time. I am sure they do not all fail, but it appears there are an exceptional number that do. I wonder if there is a TC manufactured that does not have Delamination issues?

Personally, the only way I would consider that TC for $7000 is if I could skin it with aluminum. To be fair, I have no experience working with filon. Although time consuming, the framing would be the easy part for me.

Wayne

[K_Mac]

RUN baby RUN as fast as you can with me pushing. 7 K is alot of money, want to buy a bridge?

[Super_Dave]

Lots of comments of panic about rotted wood. Is an Adventurer a wood frame or an aluminum frame? Delamination isn't the end of the world if the siding has just come unglued. What is the size of the delamination?

[Oasisbob]

Run like the wind in the oposit direction.

[n7bsn]

I've done this type of repair, twice.
Time consuming but not tough if you are handy and know basic (and some advanced) repair stuff.

I would never pay that kind of money for a rig I knew needed structural repairs.
First you park it out the the weather, then you start tearing it down to get all the rot, etc out.
Then you put it back together, with clean, new materials.

[Photomike]

$7000 for something with this issue is not cheap. If it was a fridge or air conditioning that was broken sure but this could be a issue that involves a major repair job. Run don't walk from this one.

[bobndot]

rjxj wrote:
Run away. Doesn't seem cheap for a 2002. If I had to buy something that may end up with the whole side torn off for repair I would be thinking $1,500

They want someone else to solve their problem.

x2....... and that's $1500 to buy it, not repair it . When my dealer did my delamination repair it tied up his shop for 6 mos. waiting for the mfg. to ship the materials.

Its more involved than a soft delaminated skin. Its very labor intensive and involves unforeseen delays.
More suitable for someone with rv repair knowledge and the tools, time and barn to undertake the job.
The repair will be thousands $$$$ depending on what they find when they open it up and see all the unseen damage .
The water intrusion seeks the lowest point , expect rot and damage down below, along the firewall , along the sides and out the back . The water that entered has to find a an exit point .
Filon rv repairs are more expensive than aluminum.
No dealer would take it on a trade. Whoever owns is stuck with it.

[whizbang]

$7000? No Way. It has a serious problem.

Even at $700, it would be an expensive pain in the rear. Unless you get it almost as a giveaway, steer clear.

[Bonesquatch]

Keep looking. Nothing to see with that one except rot problems and lots of additional $$$$$.

[azrving]

Run away. Doesn't seem cheap for a 2002. If I had to buy something that may end up with the whole side torn off for repair I would be thinking $1,500

They want someone else to solve their problem.

[nycsteve]

Pass on thisa one, its not worth it.

[ed6713]

Under the delamination is almost certainly, lots of rotted wood.
Put "delamination" in the search box on this site. You will find dozens of references. None are good. This is a major issue unless you simply don't care about it, in which case go ahead.
Enjoy your travels.

[Bumpyroad]

if it is dirt cheap for the year/model and you don't care about resale value you could perhaps do like others here have posted, drill holes, inject glue, clamp sides together, etc. one possibility would be to fasten a bracket to hold a BarBQue on that spot to hide screwing it back down? assuming that is the only delamination spot.
bumpy